Tag Archives: blogging

The Journey

In order to enjoy the journey, you must abandon the people pleasing part of you. The one that oftentimes is needed in order to navigate through life.

Trying to please everyone is a sure way to please no one. Trying to please some is also a sure way to displease all the rest.

Why compromise?

Why sacrifice time and effort?

Write for yourself. Write about what you’d like to read. The kind of stuff you’d genuinely want to engage with.

There’s simply no reason to do otherwise, let alone time.

I am by no means advocating for self-centred posts about what you had for breakfast, what your spouse did or what happened on a summer afternoon twenty years ago. No, no. Those are not the things that truly matter. They never did.

Ask yourself this question: what are the experiences that shaped me as a person? And in what way have they shaped me.

This should give you a ton to write about. Unless you’ve been living in a cellar for most of your life, in which case I doubt you’d be reading this book.

The significant moments in our life, the ones who make some people grey and wise, the ones that alter our destiny, are the ones we’d all want to read about, for it is always a good thing to learn from other people’s experiences.

This is a sure way to add value, which is what the Internet is all about. Value, entertainment, and connection, which oddly enough, is the title of the next chapter.

***

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book, the Journey: A No Bullshit Guide to Blogging.

To be released on September the 1st.

Special offer: those of you who pre-order the book will receive a free criticism of your blog.

The Journey: A No-Bullshit Guide to Blogging, only $4.99 on my e-store here.

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Expectations

“Expectation is the root of all heartache.” – William Shakespeare
Odds are that you set your expectations too high. Why is this important? Why is this even in this book?

Because your expectations are going to work against you. And you are going to want to give up. When you write a post and no one bothers to comment, when it feels as if you are not having the results you wanted, which means you aren’t good enough, and maybe this isn’t for you.

I know. Been there, done that.

First month blogging, I had five hundred views in total. Not what I was expecting.

You’ve got to learn to act without expectation. Easier said than done, right?

But you’ve got to understand that results take time. Longer than you predict. Significantly longer. Also, you’ve got to simply do your thing and enjoy the journey(this is becoming a running theme).

Blog for the sake of it. Blog because you have something to say, not because you want to say something.

This might seem like such a big cliche to you, but we often forget that cliches tell the truth. One that is so obvious that we tend to dismiss it.

Then there’s this other thing: the things that some people spend lifetimes doing seem effortless. Ever watched a great athlete? Or a brilliant artist?

Heck, most people would think it easy to film themselves and upload said videos on YouTube.

It is not.

You find yourself thinking “I could do that,” you’re not considering the learning curve. You think it’s too easy.

If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere…

That’s why expectations are bad. That’s why being result oriented is bad. Because when dreaming about said results, we always neglect to take into account the obstacles, the sacrifices, all the petty frustrations.

This is not a sprint, which is also why you cannot rely solely on enthusiasm alone to do the job.

As they say, patience is a virtue.

Let go of any expectations, and enjoy the journey.

***

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book, the Journey: A No Bullshit Guide to Blogging.

To be released on September the 1st.

Special offer: those of you who pre-order the book will receive a free criticism of your blog.

The Journey: A No-Bullshit Guide to Blogging, only $4.99 on my e-store here.

No Shortcuts

People love shortcuts: the easiest way from point A to point B. There are self-help book by the ton. How to guides, all sorts of lists and whatnot.Do this and this and this and this will happen.
It’s almost as if people hate thinking for themselves.

Be wary of shortcuts, for they usually lead you down treacherous paths.

My opening line served to prove this point. In the uncertainty of life, some folks will do odd things with the belief that they are actually influencing what is going on. The follow strict patterns that are nothing but bullshit.

They worry about things of little importance.

No, it’s not the most crucial aspect to optimize your blog for search engines, not is it that important to write a brilliant ending or use precious mental energy on coming up with a creative title. These things play a part, but it’s not as important as the actual content.

The same way hard work cannot be faked, you must realize that what you write matters most. Quality.

Focus on writing the best piece you can. Focus on writing about stuff you care deeply about. Focus on keeping to a proper schedule.

***

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book, the Journey: A No Bullshit Guide to Blogging.

To be released on September the 1st.

Special offer: those of you who pre-order the book will receive a free criticism of your blog.

The Journey: A No-Bullshit Guide to Blogging, only $4.99 on my e-store here.

Do what you love, love what you do

When I first started blogging over five years ago I had no idea what I was getting myself into. None. But I knew this: it was going to be cool. Epic. People from all over the world would be moved by my words, I’d have a platform to sell my novels, it would be awesome. More than awesome.

But I had absolutely no idea what to blog about. What does a writer blog about? Let me rephrase that: what does an aspiring twenty year old writer blog about? Writing? Does he pass advice he got from others? Does he write flash-fiction?

I reviewed books.

But I soon realized that I’m not a big fan of doing that. I do not have the patience to descriptively praise or criticize some other writer’s stuff.

I had a problem. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know what to do to get it.

Because, you see, there’s this thing we, humans, do. We want the victory, but not the struggle.

Most people would like to be rich and famous. They’d like to be rock stars or movie stars. They’d love to have a blog and write about their thoughts and ideas and receive thousands of comments.

But…

That is the reward. The rich & famous part. The admiration of others.

We all want the reward, but few are willing to do what it takes to receive it.

That is why, as terrible as this cliche may be, it is important to do what you love. To follow your passion, so to speak.

Why?

Because until you form a habit of blogging, all you have is passion. All you have is determination and discipline. The excitement of embarking on a strange and perilous journey.

It wasn’t until I realized what my passion was that I could blog daily and enjoy it. I am a sucker for art. My walls are covered in paintings and drawings, even though I cannot draw a straight line. Even with a ruler. My body is covered in tattoos. My shelves are lined up with hundreds of books.

I wrote about that. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

I wrote about art and inspiration and then I realized I enjoyed writing about life and its intricacies and problems and all that. I also loved motivating and inspiring others, so I blogged about that as well.

So, the number one rule: Do what you love.

Ask yourself if blogging is what you want. If you believe in the power of your words and stories and ideas.

This is not about skill, but about will.

It’s not about having what it takes, but about being willing to do what it takes.

In this case, it means staring at a computer screen for quite a lot. Sometimes you’ll feel like giving up, for no words come out of your brain. Other times it means pouring your heart out, and no one notices or cares or even bothers to leave a simple comment.

You’ve got to enjoy the journey, the process of blogging.

This will sustain you for as long as it takes to form the habit.

So, the first thing one must do before creating a blog is to find one’s passion.

What excites you?

What makes you feel alive?

It could be art, it could be photography, it could be gardening, barbecues, or sky-jumping. Whatever it is, you need to write about that.

Why?

Because that’s what you love, duh. And because you love it, there’s a chance someone else does too. No man is an island, so that passion of yours developed because other people have been loving it before you.

We are not as unique and special as we like to think.

Find your passion.

Do what you love, love what you do. The first step when it comes to blogging.

***

Guys, I am excited to announce the Journey.

I do not like the term “guide” but I had to use it in my title. What I do like to tell you is this: the book is helpful. I put a lot of effort into giving you “no-bullshit” advice. What I mean by that? Stuff that I know works. Common sense that may not be so common. Insights and inspiration. The right kind of mindset. Developing the habit.

Launch date? The first of September.

Special offer: those of you who pre-order the book will receive a free criticism of your blog.

The Journey: A No-Bullshit Guide to Blogging, only $4.99 on my e-store here.

The Journey: A no-bullshit guide to blogging

“Those who can do, those who can’t teach.” – George Bernard Shaw

The so-called expert loses all credibility the moment he decides to ignore this profound truth: he doesn’t really know what he did to achieve his success.

Not the opening you were expecting?

Life has the quality of being random, which we hate(that is why most people are superstitious.) There are events that we cannot control, predict, or even influence.

That being said, if you choose not to read this book, let me give you one piece of advice that holds true: perseverance.

Is that all, you may ask. Yes, it is.

In my five years of daily blogging I discovered that even though one has no strategy, no knowledge, no relations, but works and works and works, one can usually get ahead of those who contemplate the perfect strategy over and over again.

Don’t think, just do is a principle that holds true in all areas of life.

And I’ll offer the following example: the first draft of any piece of fiction is awful.

The purpose, thus, is not to write a brilliant first draft, but to simply get it done with. Then you can edit.

The same principle goes for almost anything in life. It is important to get started, to develop a habit, then you can develop a strategy.

The Journey is a no-bullshit take of what’s supposed to work for those who are willing to persevere, while the previous statement makes it clear that they could do well enough without employing(or even reading) the principles found in this book.

***

Guys, I am excited to announce the Journey.

I do not like the term “guide” but I had to use it in my title. What I do like to tell you is this: the book is helpful. I put a lot of effort into giving you “no-bullshit” advice. What I mean by that? Stuff that I know works. Common sense that may not be so common. Insights and inspiration. The right kind of mindset. Developing the habit.

Launch date? The first of September.

Special offer: those of you who pre-order the book will receive a free criticism of your blog.

The Journey: A No-Bullshit Guide to Blogging, only $4.99 on my e-store here.

A recipe for a great blog post?

How to write a great blog post?
Short answer: no one knows.
Yet, there are a lot of folks who’ll tell you that creating visual content, lists, or breaking down your content into easy-to-digest bits is the way to go.
Truth be told, no one really knows.
You write a post, you work really hard on it, you’re kind of proud of the end result, and it just doesn’t resonate just as well with your audience.
Maybe it’s just bad timing. Maybe it’s bad luck.
In the end, it all comes down to passion.
I keep writing this, because it’s really that important.
A great post is one you enjoy writing, one you enjoy reading it yourself, reading it out loud.
It’s the kind of writing that makes you feel something.
So the secret is simply this: make people feel. Don’t be afraid. Just do it. Make them laugh or smile or love or even hate your words.
Stand for something, don’t be afraid to state your opinion.
Blogging is not for people-pleasing.
Blogging is an outlet that allows you to write about what really matters to you and to connect with like-minded individuals.
Sounds vague, doesn’t it?
Because there is no recipe. Sorry to dissapoint.
There are no rules.
You are free. You can define your blog whichever way you like.
You can write whatever you want.
And if no one reads it, remember this: keep at it long enough, and someone will. One day.
One more piece of advice: if what you’re writing about doesn’t make much sense to you, then maybe you shouldn’t be writing about it.

Writing a great blog post

First, I’d like to say that there is no how-to guide or recipe for writing a brilliant post. That being said, I’d also like to point out the fact that some posts seem to perform better than others. Lists and guides usually receive more comments and likes than “normal” blogs.

So this is not a how to guide. We’re just going to talk about the major components of a blog post. Continue reading →