This post is based on Episode 88 of the ProBlogger podcast.
Where are you on your blogging journey?
You may be at the beginning of your journey, preparing to start your first blog post. You may be a little further and are thinking about taking the next step – maybe a second blog or maybe a podcast. You could consider starting a course to teach others what you know, or putting all of that knowledge in an eBook and selling it.
No matter what stage you are at, there is one thing you can do that will get you further than anything else in your journey as an entrepreneur.
Begin.
A blogger trip
In November 2002 I received an email from a friend with the subject “Check out this blog”. At the time, I didn’t even know what a “blog” was and it would have been easy to delete your email and move on. But curiosity overwhelmed me and I opened it up to find the same four words followed by a link to a website – TallSkinnyKiwi.com.
I clicked the link.
Two hours later I was absolutely thrilled. Not just on the blog (written by a guy named Andrew Jones) but on the whole concept of “blogging”.
So much so that I started my own blog on the same day.
I’d love to say I blogged in the water like the proverbial duck, but I’d be lying. I wasn’t a great writer. I’d never designed or set up a website before and didn’t know how to code. I didn’t have any money for a domain or hosting. I didn’t know any other bloggers. (I was just leaning against what a blogger was.) I was worried about what people would think of my ideas. I didn’t have a niche or idea what to write about.
But I started it anyway. And it changed my life completely.
A few years later, I became a full-time blogger. Soon after, I was offered a book contract. I’ve had the privilege to speak at conferences around the world. And I had millions of people reading my words every month.
And all because I started a blog.
The first of many begins
But while my blogging life began, I’ve had many other “starts” over the years. I started writing a book. I started using different social networks, I started business partnerships. I started writing eBooks. I started creating courses. I started a job exchange. I started an event for bloggers. I started a podcast.
And they all contributed to where I am today.
Of course, not everything I started was a success. Some things that I started with never got going, others went down shortly after starting. But it’s amazing how many of my “starts” have given me wonderful opportunities.
A bright idea in the dark
One of these “starts” actually began around two in the morning. I was thinking about what to write for ProBlogger when an idea hit my mind. I could write a month-long series of posts each day giving my readers a blogging tip and activity they could do with their own blog to reinforce the concept.
In the end, I got up and wrote a post announcing a new series of posts that I would post titled 31 Days to Build a Better Blog.
This first series of posts was so successful that it became a second and then a third series. It later became an eBook that sold more than 20,000 copies. And then I used what I wrote for the e-book to create a 31-part series of podcasts that are still the most popular episodes I’ve ever recorded.
And this eBook sparked ideas for other eBooks. I’ve created over 30 of these now and they have sold hundreds of thousands of copies over the years.
And all because I started this series of blog posts.
A lesson
Why am I telling you all this? Because I want you to start paying attention to the ideas that you can’t get out of your head. Don’t just let these ideas inspire you. Do something with them.
In other words, get started.
And don’t let the ideas you get disregarded after this you started this first series of blog posts could have been the last. Instead, I developed the idea further and opened up possibilities that I would never have thought possible at that moment at two in the morning.
I want to close this post with a tweet that I posted a while ago and that still resonates with me.
If you’ve considered doing something but haven’t followed up, get started. And keep getting started when these ideas come to mind.
Starting is the most important thing you will ever do as an entrepreneur. And next week I’ll talk about that second The most important thing you will ever do as an entrepreneur. But in the meantime, pick something you’ve thought of and actually start.
And then let us know what it is in the comments.
Photo from Start Digital on Unsplash