This is a guest post by Gip Plaster.
Photo by manicmorff.
Still Here: 1 Key to Online Success is Realizing Potential
I don’t know Ari very well, but I know we have something in common:
We’re still here.
No matter whether your reason for participating online is to make money from website ads, promote your products and services, satisfy your own need for expression or simply keep your name in front of people who could be useful one day, one of the keys to success online is establishing a presence and nurturing it.
That means staying with the blog you start, showing up on social media when you have something to say and taking steps every day to expand the size, reach and value of your message and online properties.
A Few Steps from Massive Success
For most of my life, I’ve been only a few steps removed from massive success. My first true love was freelance journalism, and I quickly reached the top of my niche, but I didn’t really capitalize on what I achieved.
Then, I tried working in an office for a couple of years, and I was able to jump from a dead-end department to a position working with a well-respected departmental director. But I quit because I didn’t think office work was for me.
I first placed websites online to promote myself and my services so many years ago that they were designed in Microsoft FrontPage. WordPress didn’t exist then, and neither did blogging. Those sites had Google Adsense ads on them, and the ads made a little money. Why didn’t I see then that by expanding my online presence and the reach of my message, I could increase my income too? I was only a few steps from realizing some potential then.
Are you only a few steps from realizing your built-in potential for massive success?
Taking a Few Steps
I’ve been blogging seriously at So Much More Life since December 2009, and people come there every day to read about simple, deliberate living. I’m not exactly a minimalist, but I explore the minimalist lifestyle from both an outsider and an insider point of view. People seem to like what I write.
What’s even better, people click on the ads there, and I make a little money. A couple of people have even been impressed enough with my writing at So Much More Life that they now pay me to write their blog posts for them.
Even better than that, my modest success with my blog has encouraged me to place other websites online aimed specifically at making money, and they’re starting to bring in a little cash too.
To put things more simply, I’m starting to realize some of my potential rather than letting it build up and then escape as I have all my life. Still better than all of that, I like the way my life is going now. I’m not a massive success, but I’m not turning my back on good opportunities anymore either.
But This is Really About You
This post tells a little about my story. It says something about how I’m not missing as many opportunities as I once did, and it tells how I’m benefiting from staying put, showing up and taking the next step.
You might benefit more from a post about you, however. What should you do? What steps should you take?
I think the answer is simple:
Do the work that’s in front of you today, and take every opportunity to take steps that move you toward your goals. Soon, you’ll be making more money, increasing your presence and expanding your reach.
You may soon find that you’re a massive success.
Of course, all of this talk about massive success is a bit grandiose considering I’m nowhere near where I’d like to be regarding income or personal potential.
Still, I’m closer than I was yesterday. Are you?
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
February 24, 2012 at 5:06 AM
Just the other day, I actually felt I didn’t belong here and maybe I should give it all up. I just started blogging as a way of self expression and I continue to do it. But sometimes the pressure is too high; or maybe I am letting it take a toll on me. I should be pausing and seeing what works for me and what does not.
Given that blogging landed me my big freelance writing job, I feel I should be here, maybe efforts will pay off and yes, I am on the way; I shouldn’t be expecting results so quickly! I do hope I make sense here!
I love your name, Gip!
February 24, 2012 at 8:56 AM
You make perfect sense, Hajra. It sounds like you are already benefitting from your blogging experience. Knowing what works and what doesn’t is important, then it’s just as important to stick with what works UNTIL it works it even better.
I like your name too, Hajra. A unique name has a lot of benefits too. I won some concert tickets in an email contest just a couple of weeks ago because the person choosing the winner liked my name!
Gip
Hi Gip, I agree with you. Online business not quick rich scheme – It needs persistence too… Thank you for sharing
February 25, 2012 at 2:00 PM
You’re welcome, Nurit. That’s right: Persistence is the key to success in just about any venture.
Gip
February 24, 2012 at 5:13 PM
Gip,
Is your name really Gip Plaster?
Yes, there is much to be said about staying the course and to provide balance you have to know when to quit, eliminate and focus on the critical few. Seth Godin speaks about this in his book ‘The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)’
Quote from the book: “What really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts. ”
Thanks,
Suzy Weiss
Dating Coach for Women
February 25, 2012 at 2:03 PM
Thanks for commenting, Suzy. Yep, that’s really my name. It makes me memorable, don’t you think?
I haven’t always taken my own advice about staying the course, but my most successful ventures have involved getting in and staying in.
Gip
February 25, 2012 at 11:10 AM
Hi Gip, at the end you say “Still, I’m closer than I was yesterday. Are you?” and I think that is very important. If you are not further today than you were yesterday then you are going backwards.
Your entire article focuses on self-evaluation, and I think that that is one of the most important ingredients in the mixture that is success. If you can work out where you are and where you could be, you can act and get there!
Thanks for an insightful article Gip
Christopher – Technology Bloggers Admin Team
February 25, 2012 at 2:06 PM
You’re right, Christopher. Self-evaluation is a much more important element to success than many people realize. Real forward movement isn’t possible without understanding which way forward is…
Gip
February 26, 2012 at 5:53 AM
“Real forward movement isn’t possible without understanding which way forward is…” – exactly, without setting goals you want to achieve, how can you be sure you are improving?
February 25, 2012 at 4:00 PM
It can be difficult to keep plugging away when initially there is little (if any) return on time/labor invested. But as in all things in life, stay the course and work hard, things will turn out for the better. And based on your writing, Gip, I’d say that you will continue to be extremely successful at it.
February 25, 2012 at 7:32 PM
Thanks, Alex. I’m confident in my writing skills, but I have to confess a lack of confidence in my ability to put then to good use. But as I said, I’m getting better every day.
Gip
February 25, 2012 at 6:01 PM
Christopher makes a good point you are either moving forward or going backward. There is no standing still.
Suzy Weiss
Dating Coach for Women
February 25, 2012 at 7:30 PM
Yes, he does. And I’ve spent too much of my life standing still/moving backwards. It’s time to grab for greatness.
Gip
My dad used to tell me that when talking about my personal life and I think it’s very suitable to apply to a business also. If you’re aren’t moving forward, then you’re probably moving backwards…A good motto to live by. Thanks
Perhaps the first step is defining “success.” For me, that means my basic material needs are met and my life is reasonably fulfilling.
I think each person has their own definition of success. For some, that’s more money, more stuff, a more expensive car, or higher business or social status.
For others, success comes in the form of realizing that we don’t need all those material indicators of “success” to feel successful and live a rewarding life.
March 5, 2012 at 9:16 PM
You’ve got the right perspective because it is all about continually moving forward. I know there are days when our reach or audience isn’t growing at least a wee bit bigger. But most days, we better be advancing. Take the days in stride where we go a bit backwards, but as a rule, we better have more “moving forward” weeks, than “going backwards” weeks.
I tend to go backwards with social media because I take off too much time from my Twitter account. It seems like if you stay silent on social media for any amount of time that it’s a step backwards. I’m trying to remedy that now, but still often fail.
Here’s to progress in our every day life.
I was meant to read this post today, thank you! For the past week I’ve been struggling, contemplating going back to my old profession because I haven’t been feeling too confident about my ability to make it online and on my own for that matter.
This was a nice reminder to just put one foot in front of the other. It’s all going to work out, I just need to push back when the going gets tough.
March 8, 2012 at 6:16 PM
I’m glad this post provides the push you need. One step at a time is the way to accomplish any goal.
Thanks very much for your comment. It’s nice to know people are reading and taking the message to heart.
Gip
March 8, 2012 at 1:16 PM
I think it’s a very common story among successful people that they give up a little too early on a few projects before sticking at something that brings what they are looking for. It’s also important to do what makes us happy and certain things are meant to be.
March 10, 2012 at 3:36 AM
Hi Gip,
You are correct patience and hard working required for make business success. Online business is much similar to basic business as we have to keep eyes on market and watch on over competitor for get success. Thanks once again for your guidance on Business. It will surely helpful for my MBA exam
Hi Gip!
A real unique name! Yeah, I agree about looking ahead.
Maybe the massive success might take awhile but if you’re good at what you do, it’ll come sooner or later
March 12, 2012 at 1:38 PM
Your article reminds me of when I was a newbie. I was sure that people would somehow find my blog, and since I had a great message, they would join me. And I waited, and waited… The road to success demands action.
You have to create your plan, and stay with it. For me, I devote as much time to my passion–my blog, while maintaining my mundane daily job. I see signs that I am closer; more visitors and a plan to take the next step, so I can relate to what you are writing.
March 13, 2012 at 8:23 AM
I’m actually delighted to stumble upon this post, because I recently composed an article that gave my readership the “key”, so to speak. I proposed that the key was patience.
I’ve never encountered the problem of not realising my potential. I’ve possessed quite an arrogant attitude throughout my life which has create a terrible amount of problems, but it’s always meant that I’ve been confident that I can do whatever I want to do.
Perhaps that’s why I interpret the key as being patience; because I have constantly told myself I can achieve the success I have been chasing, it means that I exert my entire abilities into completing my objectives, and learning what I need to complete my objectivities.
The difficultly with this is that when I work so vigorously, I almost expect to see results immediately. This is still almost adopting a silver platter attitude to internet marketing, as there is the pain of waiting that I must endure.
Thank you for composing this article Ari, it’s given me some insight as to what the “key” actually is – I think it’s what we’re missing.
Hello and goodbye everyone, I wish you all good luck in our shared goal of building a fortune.
I loved your article Gip! ? was captivated by your personal story, and you really inspired me too! It’s very easy to be disappointed and anxious when nothing is changing, when for example traffic is low and the comments are few, but the most important thing as you said is to take every opportunity and make steps that will move you toward your goals!
Thank you very much
March 15, 2012 at 6:36 AM
Blogging is a form of writing, and people have different approaches to writing and it’s the same way with blogging. But the key to success – as with everything else in life – is a combination of persistence, patience, aptitude, willingness to learn, and you got to want success bad. I see a lot of really talented people who fail miserably because they were doing things half-heartedly. I’m not speaking as a person of success, but as the person who did things half-heartedly. But I’m going to make sure this time will be different. I will not falter this time.
We need sometimes negative outcome or we need to move backwards because through this we will be perfect. Take these as challenges in life and make that challenges to do more and more ways to take the ladder of success.
March 15, 2012 at 4:41 PM
Thanks for keeping the comments coming everyone. I appreciate all the positive comments.
Gip
March 19, 2012 at 6:23 AM
Hi Gip,
thanks for sharing, nice points.
First step to online success is to “Take Action”.
Then you need persistance, passion, creativity, and you need to be original !
{ 1 trackback }