I’ve got a few friends that care for me deeply – I say that because most have known me for at least a decade; most always have lots of news about their lives to share with me; most accept that I’m a ‘traveler’ by nature and subject to move out of town every 3 to 4 years and most of these great people put up with me NOT being a telephone ‘chatter’ therefor having to leave brief update messages several times before I can carve out the time to call them back. True love indeed! Now I must say in my own defense that once I do get around to calling any of my lifelong buddies OR should they happen to catch me while I’m sitting by the phone doing something that will allow me to split my attention and listen to their story, they are rewarded with my devout attention and duly earned concern/interest in all that they’ve been wanting to share. Most of them hold my ear captive for a couple of hours and for me that’s my fill for another 6 to 9 months! Eternal true love for certain!
Lately, I’ve been encouraging 2 of my girl friends to start writing a monetized blog as a way to share what’s on their mind with folks [freeing up the demand for my attention] and earn some easy money. Friend #1, we’ll call her Sue, has experience writing for AP back in the day when she lived over seas, so her passion for writing is truly something that needs to be honored. Friend #2, we’ll call her Laina, has such an incredible gift of gab, especially for spinning a colorful tale about her day or even her trip to the local flea market, allowing herself to write those great tales in a monetized blog or email would be a practical launching pad for a successful career in novel or short story writing! So I keep asking and wondering, “Why not write a blog?” and have finally come to accept what’s keeping my friends and far too many creative, talented and imaginative people from writing those thoughts, feelings and observations that they conscript their dearest friend(s) or closest family member(s) to hear.
Fear. There are five (5) major fears that prevent exceptionally fanciful people from embarking upon a pleasant and income generating ’social’ writing campaign:
I. Fear of being ‘good enough.’ The first person to ever draw a pictograph on a stone wall had no guideline or inner critic to tell them they were doing it ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ for that matter! So this ‘good enough’ thing that has been drilled into most of us is something that we don’t have to embrace to the extent it blocks us from being at peace with the utilization of our creative gifts. Of course your ‘good enough’ because you are the only you there is, therefor your story, thoughts, observations, etc. are unique – no two people living have experienced the exact same thing the exact same way and will TELL it the same. Celebrate your individuality and know that your writing will not only be ‘good enough’ it will be outstanding, simply because its one of a kind!
II. Fear of being ‘read.’ Once you write something and post it in a blog or email or article online it will get read. It may get read by a lot of people, depending on how you promote it, where you post it, and how it’s ‘packaged!’ Funny stuff gets read and passed around a lot faster than doom and gloom, however there’s a market for doom and gloom in many of the online blog communities!
III. Fear of NOT being read. Anyone that I know will definitely get their blog, article or email read immediately because, my lifestyle is such that reading is faster and more practical for me to do than talking on the phone! Make sure you notify the ‘readers’ that you know that you’ve written something and provide them a link to it! Most of them will read it – some may not read it right away and there’s nothing you can do about that – however the upside is most will also pass it to those on their email list as a courtesy and support for your efforts!
IV. Fear of the world [or more specifically parents, relatives and significant others] seeing some not too attractive aspects of the personality of life. If your life and escapades are such that you’d be embarrassed, ashamed or fired if anyone that knows you were to read about it, then write under an alias [most people do anyway]! Change enough of what you’re sharing so as to not look like yourself. On the other hand, since you’ve done such a great job of hiding this ‘oh-so-juicy wild’ side of your persona from those that know you, they won’t know it’s you anyway! Change the names to protect the innocent and preserve identity security, etc.
V. And the biggest fear is getting started! Tit’s best to get started by researching ways to get paid for blogging, writing articles or emailing. Then read some blogs, articles and sample monetized emails [those can be gotten by opting in to any newsletter mailing list found at the sites you visit] and get a feel for the styles, topics, and ‘candidness’ they offer. For me, after reading a few ‘featured’ blogs and ‘award winning’ articles, I was floored with the thought, “I can do THAT!” and I stopped making excuses for not writing for money.
Experience is the best teacher because those lessons are ‘lived’ as opposed to ‘memorized.’ Then, too, the voice of experience can also be a great teacher for those that would rather take the path less filled with potholes, boulders and dead ends! As someone that has been writing something since I first learned to write a sentence, it feels exceptionally gratifying to pen my thoughts, observations, musings and expertise for pay. Which is exactly the reason I’m finding less and less time to talk on the phone: when I’m not writing about the things I see in life, I’m busy living my life so I can see things!
YE is Here!
SUR-BET Global Enterprise Network
YE is an author; WebPreneur; electronics, computer & gadget geek; Certified Holistic Health Consultant; grandmother and devoted traveler that currently resides in Georgia. She can be contacted for interviews, consultations and general comments at either of her websites.
©2008 S.U.R.-B.E.T. Publishing
Posted under Business Opportunity, Money 'Da' Easy Way, Prudence, SensiBusiness
This post was written by YEisHere! on July 24, 2008
