Do you want to be a real blogger? Walk the walk and talk the.. Wait that’s for another show.. But okay – do you want to type the damn words and get paid tons of green? Yeah. I think that would be pretty cool too. But the big question is:

So why don’t you?

The fear of success can sometimes be frightening. For instance, some years back i started my own webdesign agency. It was just a small company where I made websites for companies. Well i wanted to. But when i had my first 3 clients locked and was selling them websites and maintenance and so on, I quickly sold the company and kept my day-job. A little later i did exactly the same with a new company. Once it took off, I sold it. I was scared of the potential success I was experiencing and that could lead me to actually having to quit my day-job and all that security that comes with that. With an old house, three kids, a wife and a great job. I just don’t need the thrill of not knowing how to pay the next electric bill. Maybe later in life and maybe never. I guesstimate that I’ve spend more than 1000 hours in my spare time, trying to plan and setup a business on my own. Only to find out, that I never wanted it to take off. I just needed to get a great job.

 

As the great James Bond says (in SkyFall), “Fieldwork is not for everyone”. Translated into entrepreneurtalk, “If you really want to succeed with your business, you will. But consider it as a personal insight-victory if you discover, that it’s not really for you anyway”. Tons of  people go on saying that they want to be full-time bloggers and make a living by doing that. You can pretty much tell from the blogs on blogging (the so-called meta-blogs), that there is a huge market in writing and teaching people on how to blog their way to success. I can’t help wondering how many aspiring pro-bloggers out-there, actually have a deep desire to make it big time. The insecurity in being independent can be scary for a lot of people. For most people in that situation, it’s the obstacles they blame for not making it.

I you are struggling to get your blog off the ground and you keep getting distracted by external circumstances like kids, house, car, garden, friends, family, etc., you should really try to think about, what you really want, with this blog experiment you’re in the middle of. The cardinal rule, that every succesful entrepreneur will tell you is that, if you really want it, you will find the time. It’s that simple. There are no excuses. Plain and simple. It really doesn’t matter how bitchy your wife is, or how impossible your kids are. If you really, really have a deep desire to make a living from your blog, you will find the time to make it happen.

To do that

1. Think about your blog as a business, the same way you would a physical business. It needs you be nurtured every day. And it needs loads, tons and heaps of hard work. Nothing ever comes easy. Ever!
2. Think, Plan and Execute. Think very hard on your topic. You need to be able to write about it for years. Make a business plan for your blog and stick to it. Execute your plan. Turn off the TV and get things done.
3. Don’t copy, be original. Don’t just read about how others are doing. Do it yourself and do it your own way.
4. Could you drive you business every day? Do you have the self-discipline to do that? Be honest to yourself and dig deep in your heart and see for yourself, if you like to be independent or just like the idea of being independent.
5. Imagine yourself sitting in your office, alone for eight-to-ten hours every day, just writing content for your blog. You need to be structured and attend to your business with full focus. Not just when the sitcoms are over. Writing can be a lonely mans game.

If you’ve thought deeply about my questions for some time and still feel intensely about starting your own business. Then go-ahead and get cracking. Plan your business and get it done. But don’t sit around too long, planning. Remember nothing happens without the Execute part of the plan. Plans are great, but they’re worth nothing, if not executed. I wish you the best of luck. Please put a link to your blog in the comments, so I can follow your great content.

If you’ve thought about my questions for some time and you admitted to yourself that maybe the security of having a full-time job, is not all that bad, don’t feel bad about that. It’s better to know yourself than to waste a lot of time, trying to build a business with half a heart. Don’t see it as a defeat. It’s a victory for your mental health and stress-factor. Go on doing your stuff, but adjust the ambitions for the blog and the day-job. Maybe that will lead you to a happier life. Telling yourself that you could be a full-time blogger, when deep down, you know that it would never happen, will just lead to frustration and not the freedom you desire.

In the words of the wise and almighty Mater Yoda, “There is no try. Do or do not!”

What do you think? What is your measure of success? Drop a comment below.