Over the years I’ve heard people tell me that I have a lot of patience. I can sit and do a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle for hours on end. I can push pixels around in Photoshop until my eyes go fuzzy and I can wait in line for 6 hours to meet Vince Gill (my favorite musician of all time). I have a degree in forestry which is also a career that requires a lot of patience. Most foresters in charge of managing huge tracts of land never live to see the fruits of their labors. A lot of science goes into managing a forest. You have to make sure that when one tree is cut for timber another one is planted to eventually take its place. (it’s a little more complicated than that–but that’s the basic premise).
We’ve all heard that 95% of people who attempt to be successful making money on the internet give up. It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve totally been there. How wonderful it would be to spend more time with family, read more books, watch more movies, and spend less time sitting in front of a glowing screen. However, the whole point of working hard now is so we can work less later.
I was reading Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover book and came across a line that really reminded me of blogging and the whole internet marketing scene. He talks about mentoring people who want to pay off their debt. He says, “If they are looking for a get rich quick scheme or some intellectual theory instead of sacrifice, hardwork, and total focus, we give them a really low probability of becoming debt-free.”
Just change the words “debt-free” to “successful online” and there you have it.
I decided to write this blog post after taking a gander at my Google Analytics account and looking at some of the websites I built almost two years ago. I noticed that a couple were ranking on the first page of Google for some pretty competitive terms. Geez how did I manage to do that? Back then I didn’t really have a clue about SEO and was basically putting together websites to build-up my credibility as a writer in the field of veterinary medicine. Now that I know a little bit more about how to make money building niche blogs I’m looking forward to tweaking them a little more.
It also gives me hope that the work I’m doing now will payoff later, even though I may not be seeing immediate results. With that in mind, I’m going to publish this post now and go plant some more blogs–err, I mean trees. 🙂
Photo credit: -Teddy
Amanda is a wife, toddler mom, PMAD survivor, certified nutrition and running coach, recovering perfectionist, and minimalist-in-training. Her mission in life is to help others get off the pity potty, embrace their own brand of weirdness, and get after their dreams. Proverbs 3:5-6