It’s really hard when you have wolves howling at the door and kids at your side
Ayodeji, you have so, so much good to say, and so many good points, but this one part makes me cringe.
Call me delusional, but I had a full time income writing before I had even one blog post. I did not even have a blog for 6 years after I started.
You see, I lost my job, my income and my marriage all in one swoop.
Poof. Gone. Wolves at the door, a child to feed and no income. I didn’t have time to go the slow path.
But first, some of your really strong points…
1. Lack of belief and momentum are for sure the biggest problems
Most people struggle believing “they” can do it. They don’t doubt that “other people” can. They just aren’t sure “they” can. They hear so many people talk about how hard it is that they never really give themselves a chance. You are SO right about that. They need to say “if he/she can, why not me?!”
2. Not following advice (or following through) is another big one
The human mind is to blame for that. Because we judge everything subconsciously by what we know. And since the new thing is foreign to our minds, it’s hard to walk that unfamiliar path. And scary. And on top of it, if it’s a LONG path, that makes it even scarier. Who wants to spend months or years, not knowing if it will work. So they listen, but don’t follow through. So true!
3. As you say, it’s not 1975. The Gatekeepers don’t matter now.
Before the Internet, the only way to make it as a writer was to have a gatekeeper approve. A publisher or editor, maybe at a publishing house or maybe at a magazine. We don’t need those anymore. We can go out and make our own connections, build our own audience.
If you have the ability to build authority and grow over time, go for it. Believe in yourself. You can do it.
Blog your heart out. On your blog and Medium and guest posts. Hone your skills and watch your own writing get stronger . Make connections and grow authority. It works just like Ayodeji says. But you have to do the work.
Problem is, not everyone has the time for the long path…
I didn’t. When my marriage ended, my income ended overnight.
The very bottom for me was when I had to borrow my little girl’s birthday money to pay a bill. I cried myself to sleep that night and many after.
Then I approached small businesses and told them I could improve the copy on their website and help them sell more. I told them they only had to pay half up front and if they didn’t get more sales, they didn’t have to pay the balance.
If they didn’t have a website we would buy a template and I would write the copy . A lot of people said no, but oh, we celebrated when someone would say yes. I had only one person didn’t pay the balance.
(Eventually I taught myself design, too. Baby steps. It’s all baby steps.)
But it all starts with believing in yourself…
Ayodeji is 100% right about that. You will never know if you don’t try.
Doesn’t matter if you take the longer “authority” method of building a reputation, or whether you go knocking on doors like I did. But if you don’t believe in yourself, who will?
Ayodeji — I joined your group yesterday. I have spent years working with clients I’ve grown attached to. Some have been with me over 10 years. But now I want to try your path. So I’m in. Thanks for listening! I’d give you 2 ❤s if I could…
:)
