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Do The Work – It’s That Simple

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I just finished reading Do The Work by Steven Pressfield for the second time.

Why some bloggers succeed and others don't.

My copy is dog-eared and tattered.

But anytime I need a good kick in the butt this is where I turn.

You see, I often get frustrated with my blogging progress.

And then Steven Pressfield puts me in my place.

The world is not out to get me. I am getting in the way of my blogging success and the solution is simple: Do The Work.

Why Some Blogger’s Succeed And Others Don’t

Do you ever wonder why some bloggers are crushing it and you just can’t get ahead?

I always feel that way, no matter how well I’m doing.

That green-eyed monster just rears it’s ugly head. Call it jealousy, defeat, procrastination, or distraction. It’s there to send me off track.

And too often I let it.

In Do The Work, Pressfield calls me out on it. Why am I not where I want to be? Because I have to do the work – duh.

The Tools are In Front of Us

Seriously.

The forward for this book was written by none other than  Seth Godin. He says

And here’s a keyboard, connected to the entire world. Here’s a publishing platform you can use to interact with just about anyone, just about anytime, for free. You wanted a level playing field, one where you have just as good a shot as anyone else? Here it is. Do the work.

So here we sit with our computers.

We can get solid WordPress hosting for relatively little per month – and just get started.

And then, resistance kicks in.

Are You Guilty of Not Doing The Work?

One of the bloggers that I truly admire – Michelle Shroeder-Gardner – made $139,233 from her blog in January 2017. In ONE MONTH!

She is my hero.

And yet, I can’t help but feel a little down on myself. After all, I was given the same 31 days in January to do with what I please – and in all transparency, I only made a teeny tiny fraction of her earnings.

What went wrong? I need to do the work.

Do The Work Does Not Mean Work Harder

So, throughout the month of January when Michelle was making her thousands of dollars, I certainly was not sitting on the couch eating bon bons.

I was working too. But, clearly not on all of the right things.

If you read Michelle’s income report – a good portion of her income came from two income streams

Affiliate Marketing

Michelle’s course is called Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing and she outlines step by step how she uses affiliate marketing to make money blogging.

I own this course and have been through it – but there is so much that I have not implemented, yet.

Do the work – it’s that simple.

Selling a Course

Ironically, I have had a course in me for a long time.

I even have a subscription to the Teachable platform.

But as Steven Pressfield says in Do The Work, resistance has gotten the better of me.

Pressfield even describes how any novel or artistic endeavor can be outlined on one sheet of paper.

Beginning. Middle. End.

So easy.

It’s Time To Push Resistance Aside

If you can relate to the frustration of not reaching your blogging goals – then you are not alone.

We have the tools.

All we need to do is listen to Pressfield and set goalsDO THE WORK, and keep track of our progress.

Who Is This Steven Pressfield?

Of course, I am a little biased towards Steven Pressfield, having already read:

If you are not familiar, Steven Pressfield is the champion of artists everywhere. And I would say that it is not a stretch to include bloggers and entrepreneurs in that bunch.

Pressfield recognizes that we are our own worst enemies when it comes to producing content (or artwork).

We procrastinate and give in to a counter force that he calls resistance.

And I totally get it.

Won’t you join me in getting our work done?

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6 Comments

    1. Hi Liana,
      I hear you. For me, lack of progress is usually because I could be working differently instead of keeping busy doing the easy stuff.
      Thanks for the compliments on the post and thanks also for taking the time to comment!

  1. Neena,

    Yeah, if only it was that simple – do the work. That’s something my husband would say. I tend to get exuberant when I’m stressed and will yell to let off some steam. Unfortunately, it’s geared right at my twins…my husband? He tells me, Just stop yelling”…like it’s that simple.

    Blogging is a big commitment. I remember Sue Anne Dunlevie of Successful Blogging tell me that Jon Morrow said to avoid monetizing your blog for the first year. I partly believe in that. I ‘tried’ to monetize my blog a few months after creating it. It wasn’t a big hit.

    But, almost a year later (10 months now) I finally made 4 figures with my blog…

    So, for me, I try not to let all those other bloggers get me down (and I hope I didn’t get you down with my story). Just don’t compare your Chapter 1 to other’s Chapter 20!

    1. Hi Elna,
      You hit the nail on the head with “Don’t compare your Chapter 1 …” – falling into the comparison trap is very bad.

      I hear you too on the stress levels – people think blogging from home is so nice and relaxed. But it is far from that. Even if you have help, then you have a team to manage. So, blogging is just like any other business except sometimes there are children underfoot. 😉

      I don’t know how you do it all – but I really enjoy your updates!

  2. Hi Neena,

    No matter how hard we try, it’s hard not to compare ourselves to others in our niche. I think it’s only human nature. However, allowing it to affect us in negative ways is a big no no. I had to quit taunt those income reports. Although I happy for the person who made such a great accomplishment, I’m envious because I haven’t.

    That looks like a great book to read. I might have to pick up a copy. Thanks for sharing!

    B

    1. Hi Bren,

      I do have a love/hate relationship with those income reports. Oh the possibilities – but why not me, yet?

      And, honestly, it’s distracting and takes me away from progress. So, my strategy is to allow myself the distraction but only when I’m pinning. This way it is productive time too.

      Oh – an anything Steven Pressfield writes is pretty awesome for motivation. If you haven’t read War of Art – I would start there.

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