“Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” Vince Lombardi
The best advice I can offer to new bloggers is to just write. You need to stop thinking, wondering and worrying about whether you should write or not and just do it.
Don’t waste your time worrying about whether you have something worth saying or if people will read it. It is as big a waste of time as the vortex that Craig talked about in his comment here.
You may not realize it but this advice is in sync with what Coach Lombardi said above. The only way chase perfection and catch excellence is to take action.
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” Vince Lombardi
Writing is a skill that improves with practice and the more you do it the better you will become. As a blogger you will need to take time to write so that you can find your voice and that only happens after you have been doing this for a while.
It doesn’t mean that you won’t make mistakes, because you will. Some of the mistakes you make as a blogger will be obvious and others won’t. In theory when you start blogging but in practice you might find that it changes and that is ok.
The pursuit of excellence is always going to hold some challenges and those cannot be conquered by sitting on the sidelines. One of the best parts of blogging is that you have virtually unlimited access to tips you can use to turn yourself into one hell of a Blogging Jedi Knight.
You won’t lack for advice and comments about how to improve your or insight into why people will or will not share your blog posts. But all that is worthless without action. The utility of a tool is often tied into the skill level of the user who is wielding it, so don’t limit your tool by not using it.
Just write and then do it again. Write, write, write and then write some more. It is like riding a bicycle, once you learn how to do it you never forget.
Blogging Is A Team Sport
“People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society.” Vince Lombardi
While there isn’t one way to become a successful blogger there is ample proof that the fastest and smartest way to do so is to reach out to others and build a community. Find like minded individuals and comment on their blogs. Show pieces of yourself in your posts and let people feel your passion.
Don’t just link to others because you hope to get their attention or a link back but do so because there is a purpose. When you link to a post that you find interesting you help to show there is a purpose beyond the link juice you may or not get.
Sometimes that purpose is to introduce your readers to blogs that you think they will like and sometimes it is because you have been chewing on an idea they introduced and you want to share that with them too.
But none of this happens unless you are willing to take action. Nothing goes on unless you make the decision to chase excellence. Don’t put it off any longer. Just write.
As we discovered yesterday, by comparing my very first blog post six years ago to one today…you have to just write. If I’d been afraid to post that (really awful) first post, I’d still be thinking about blogging.
It is sometimes painful to look at those first few posts but there is a lot to be said for being able to see how much growth has taken place. Sometimes you have to put the fear aside.
Thanks for the mention! I’ve honestly backed off from the vortex a bit and am in more of a creation mode these days. But I love what you’ve written here. I wish I would have started years ago, but I write every day, no matter what. Do The Work, as Sir Pressfield says 😉
Creation mode is a good place to be. That vortex is something that I am very aware of. it is really easy to get lost in it and lose sense of just how much time you have put in.
Sometimes that is ok, but not always. I love that you write every day, it makes so much sense and yields so much.
P.S. Thanks for the link juice!
My pleasure.
I always tell new bloggers to give it 12 months. Without that earned blood, sweat and tears (yes, there will be), you cannot find your voice or your passion. Keep on; #ThatIsAll
Twelve months is a respectable amount of time and certainly not unreasonable. It takes a while to find your voice, figure out what you are doing and build a community. The community is important for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is when you are down they help keep you going.