Two years. It’s been just over 2 years since I last published a blog post on this site. What happened? Why didn’t I continue to write and publish more and more content?
Was it lack of commitment? Did I really hate blogging? Did I lack focus?
The answer to that question is not quite so simple.
Like a karate chop to the throat, Life happened.
As a new blogger, when I started blackbeltentrepreneur.com it was a site that truly had no direction. No clear purpose on who I was helping. In fact, I was still working on deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I had some soul-searching to figure out how to start things up again.
Before I launched the site back in 2016, I had a Kindle Book Publishing business which gave me the first taste of earning an online income, but then shut that down (mostly…more on that later)…and then I got to the heart of what I truly wanted to be doing. Teaching online courses. But what topic would I teach? Who would want to learn from me? Again, analysis paralysis set in along with its good old friend…Doubt.
Which tools to use, productivity hacks, content creation habits, blah blah blah…so much to do and so little time. I was wanting success without putting in the effort and it felt like a chore. With 2 children at the start of this site, followed by 3 more bringing the count to 5 little ones, I simply just didn’t have the time with a hectic family life. Priorities.
I let go of my site to rediscover myself you could say. I needed to cut down on social media. I needed to focus more on my family and my health. But most importantly, I needed to focus on God who without Him, none of these gifts would have even been possible.
I needed to let go of what I was missing out on and instead focus on what blessings I had.
I had to focus on what would get me the results I wanted with as little time investment as possible. Boy was I wrong. I learned it wasn’t about the time you invest but the long game. Taking micro-actions while being extremely patient (something marriage and having young children is teaching me). Waiting for the right moment in every moment.
Instead of writing blog posts and trying to promote my own course on my own platform without an audience, I sat down, fired up the video camera and hit record to publish my 1st online course on Udemy.com teaching Jira, an online project management tool used for agile software development teams.
After 3 years of being on Udemy I was able to truly enjoy a secondary income stream that was mostly passive. With only a couple courses, it’s helped me in tremendous ways to pay down debt the Dave Ramsey way and start saving for the future on top of my day job. I can’t stress how important this is. If you’re in debt, financially speaking you don’t have any business starting an online business. Period. But when I say that I mean you should stay far away from marketing funnels that try to sell you all types of tools and shiny objects to start your business…
Pro tip to creating courses online with little money investment: Digital video camera/webcam, decent affordable microphone (I use a Blue Yeti), editing software (if you’re on a Mac you can use iMovie for free) and your computer. That’s it.
Now I am starting to get back into the groove of creativity. Let’s face it, even for those who you think it comes natural to, creating anything is just plain difficult at times. Read the book “The War of Art” before you start your online business.
Produce don’t consume.
Of course, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy as they good old saying goes right? But sit down and pull out your phone to listen and watch the news or get up to speed with your social media favorites or games and you’ll quickly realize you just lost 2 hours in the morning (no kidding).
The over-consumption of digital media is a real problem in today’s digital world and to become successful, you must fight the urge to whip out your Android or iPhone for no good reason. Only consume what makes you grow. The world will happen with or without you. Build up your faith, help others, and just do something healthy like take a walk or take up a jiu-jitsu class. By learning to “consume less” you will automatically fill up that time and space to “Do” more.
Want to learn how to get better at anything? Do the thing you want to get better at. Practice it routinely. Make it a habit.
The same applies to blogging, recording videos, writing emails, all of the stuff it takes to build a real online training business. Want to know how much time you spend on social media, news sites, games and other media types vs actual productive work? Rescue Time is a great app to install on your computer to help show you how much time you spend producing vs consuming content.
The bottom line is this. If you don’t create it they WILL NOT come. You will NEVER get the business you dream of started and running successfully.
If you don’t change your habits today, they will define your tomorrow.
What will you create?
