To be successful in anything, we need mindset work.
We don’t always know we need it, but our online business journeys will end up teaching us that we do, because it will never be as straight forward as you expect it, and you will notice there is just as much internal work done (mentally and perspective-wise) as there is externally (what your audience sees on your blog/brand)!
You can put in the work, take the action, but the mindset is what will dictate whether you keep going or not, at the toughest of times, and this blog post will be all about getting you as mentally resilient as possible to face challenges (that will come up which is normal), and keep going no matter what, because to be successful is to never stop until you get there.
That’s a little of what we will be talking about today; the mindset shifts to make you as successful of a blogger as possible!
structure
The structure we’ll follow:
- Mindset shifts (4)
- Actions to reflect these mindset shifts (3)
mindset shifts
Number 1: You won’t always feel motivated
You will be so lit up by your passion and visualisation of your financial freedom, and dream life, specially when you first start, but you need to know and normalise that this excitement will fade.
Then, it will become about to marathon of getting fitter, wiser, smarter, more experienced, and everything in between.
Feeling this huge burst of adrenaline, and dopamine, from all the Tiktoks and Youtube videos telling us about how they were now able to quit their 9 to 5s, now they’re on a beach, earning £10k months, they’ve retired their parents, they are now doing whatever they want. You name it!
Live the DREAM literally.
You can get there too, and you will (that’s what we are all here for, I will show you how, and share all of the nice and not-so-nice parts of my own experience)!
We will ALL feel this when starting our blogging journeys. However, it is important to mentally know what’s coming, which is that you will very-soon wake up and not feel like writing the blog post, or doing the work, or doing the learning for bettering your blog, due to life, adulting, navigating your 20s, all of it and more! But you will need to keep going, and that’s okay.
Your passion and love for blogging will always be there, but your beginner’s excitement will transform into more of an ongoing slow burn.
On some days, it will feel like no burn at all but you need to remember why you’re doing what you’re doing, and keep putting in the work, even if on certain days you can only give 1%, it makes a difference.
This mindset shift will prepare you to not be deceived by what it will actually take to get to your dream life, and will, therefore, set you up for success.
Number 2: Your Blog is more than a business, it’s a lifestyle
It’s easy to think of your blog, or online business, like a conventional job where you work the shift and be done with it.
No.
Your blogging business is more like a lifestyle, there are no shift times, no set expectations or “time-off” really, but I’m not here to tell you to be a workaholic on your online business. I’m just saying it is more of a lifestyle, and that’s awesome! Because YOU have the choice over how you work, what you work on, what content you create, how you inspire and help people, certain influence over how much money you earn online, and so on…
I am more so trying to say that once you get the entrepreneurial bug, and you find your authentic self to truly want to have an online business, like a Blog, it will be very hard to switch off or to have set-times. You may be going home and hear a conversation, or see something that sparks inspiration in you for content, or creative ideas, and that’s awesome, truly!
Blogging will be a priority that you will need to make a lifestyle, in how you integrate it into your life, how you adapt it to what works for you, how you juggle it with all of your other priorities in life.
This mindset shift will help you to see your online business as a priority like any other, rather than something you do and then be done with; it’s a lifestyle, a lifelong commitment.
Number 3: Better late, than never
This one is all about time-expectation, consistency and putting in the work.
These are all quite obvious at-first, and I don’t want to bore you with what we all already know, but to broaden your perspective to what it involves in reality, which is mindset shift number 3.
Feeling like you need to quit your 9 to 5 as soon as possible, giving yourself 1-year to make it, constantly showing up for your Blog when other areas of life get harder, putting in the work when you don’t always know how to : it takes a special kind of mental resilience to keep backing yourself to keep going.
For me, the mindset shift that has helped me keep pushing even when all of the above has got me feeling like I should be further ahead, than what I am, is “better late, than never”.
It’s not that you are late, but maybe according to what you expect, or so passionately desire.
True, and personal, story is when I first started my making money online / financial freedom quest journey, I told myself I would quit the 9 to 5 world in 1 year. 1 year passed, and I discovered my true passion which is Blogging. 4 months have passed, since now, and I am blogging wondering how I could ever expect that result when I didn’t even know which way I was heading?
Now, I still maintain the same desire to get there as soon as possible, for both me and my loved ones, but I have a lot broader understanding of the ENORMOUS AMOUNT it actually takes; lessons, experience, time to rank on Google, time to genuinely connect and find your audience, improving your systems, and more.
Therefore, I still remain that I would love and still plan to quit my 9 to 5 in 2024, and mentioned all across this Blog (girl keeping myself accountable!) but I also know that regardless, I will always prefer to take a bit longer, than I expect, and get there, than to force unrealistic expectations on myself, give up and never get there at all.
See what I’m saying?
This mindset shift is to keep you focused on the why, aware that success doesn’t happen overnight, and that you still need to become the person to then be able to see the results appear in the work you are putting in!
Number 4: Your mind needs to be set
…for your mindset to be successful as a Blogger.
That’s right! You need to be set on being a Blogger, on being a successful one, and making it work no matter what.
You might know you want to be a successful blogger, and decided that this how you will be financially free, and this is your ticket to quitting your 9 to 5, and having a super successful online business. But is your mind actually set on it?
By this, I mean, are you willing to commit and make it work, even when you have no idea, no motivation and your 20s are feeling a bit overwhelming? Because that’s the true reality of it, at some points, and that’s why mindset shift number 2 of making blogging a lifestyle, is so important in this whole process.
Having your mind set is doing whatever you need to do, becoming the person you need to be, and pouring out value in the best way you possibly can, without ever giving up in your potential, in your dream, and in your self.
There will be times you may go a little off-track, not post when you were meant to, but you’re human, you feel, you learn and you grow to know how to prepare for these moments in business and in life.
If your mind is set, your success in blogging will follow. Behind every successful blogger, is a rock-solid mind that is set on making their success happen not matter how long it may take (even though we always reach for the stars and aim for as soon as we can).
actions
The third one is my favourite! ♡
Number 1: Prepare for the unexpected
In our mindset shifts, to be a successful blogger, we have spoken a lot about knowing we have to keep going even when it feels hard to.
Knowing how to reflect this in our actions will be a big gamechanger in actually getting us to do the thing we know we need to, and make our lives easier, in the process.
As a successful blogger, the pure basics of your online business is your content and your marketing.
To prepare for the unexpected, is to say, in other words, to have your content and marketing sorted for some time ahead, so that if:
- You were to get sick
- Go through a low personally (hopefully not but happens sometimes to us all!)
- Go on holiday
- Want to have some spontaneous fun
…you can still have your online business running for you in the background, and know that if other priorities in life take more of your time, your blog will still be working towards your goal, even if you are manually not.
For this, I recommend batching your content ahead of time.
- Content: Blocking out a day or two from a weekend, or even a few time slots over a few days, and writing a few blog posts and scheduling them a head of time (on WordPress).
- Marketing: Batch designing or creating some Pins on Canva and scheduling these ahead of time on Pinterest.
It does take a lot longer than you expect, at-first, but setting yourself up with achievable objectives (like I want to be 1 blog post ahead of schedule, then 2, then 3, then maintaining it at a constant rate of writing 2 per week to stay ahead of content schedule).
You will feel so empowered to be living your daily life, knowing your online business is on track, is growing, and has proof against anything unexpected that could disrupt your content from going out (if it wasn’t prepared for in advance).
This action helps support the mindset shift of making your blog a lifestyle (since it fits in with your other life priorities), knowing you won’t always feel motivated (since if you’re finding it hard to get out of a rut, some content will still be getting published), your mind need to be set (preparing for the unexpected shows you are committed to keeping your blogging business going and shows intention of how serious you are).
Number 2: Trying different ways of time managing your work
To know how to make your blog a lifestyle, or to keep putting the work in consistently, you need to learn what works for you.
Try different ways of allocating your time, and then once you find what is best for you, do it!
I’ve seen a lot of online gurus or Bloggers say they work on their Blog everyday, for hours on-end during the weekend, but that has honestly never resonated with me.
I am all for making money online, growing my blog, and creating a gorgeous community of like-minded girlies in their 20s who want to have a successful online business, and not at the expense of time with my loved ones, investing in my self, life experiences, fun and life!
I have gone from trying this, to burning out, to working a few hours each day, to losing the creativity as a result, to now seeing that the best for me is to have a day on the weekend where I do as much as I can in that one day and then reward myself, the next day, with fun and joy!
This fun and joy is what fuels me to pour even more value into my Blog, even when I feel I haven’t done enough, I remain compassionate with myself that I did the best I could, and that I am ahead even if only by 1 blog post.
It took some experimenting to get here, and now I have system that works for me, and this is something we all have to go through to ensure our systems are sustainable, so we can be progressively more successful as Bloggers.
Number 3: Practice confidence with positive self-talk
As I mentioned, this one is my top action to really embody the mindset of a successful blogger, and simply put, it is the act of practicing the confidence in knowing you will figure it out.
Self-confidence is the reflection of trusting in your ability, knowing you can and will, and this is what will ultimately keep you pushing through any blocks you experience in your blogging journey.
The way I personally have found magic with this is positive self-talk; being mindful of what thoughts I am thinking to ensure I am promoting an empowering internal environment for my self and thoughts. If I ever experience doubtful thoughts such as “blogging is feeling quite overwhelming”, I counteract that with “but I know I will figure out how to manage this better soon enough”. I will keep proving myself, through my internal dialogue, that I support myself and I am my own best-friend.
This is self-love in its truest form, self-love that will keep you focused through knowing you owe it to yourself to reach your dreams and fulfil your full potential.
It may feel a bit fake or forced at first, but keep repeating this practice and it will filter through your whole sub-conscious and being, until it simply becomes part of who you are. Confident.
Confidence will always propel any form of discouragement, lack of motivation or tough times. Doesn’t mean you won’t feel it, but it will keep you mentally resilient.
☀
I hope these mindset shifts, and actions, have contributed to you taking something valuable away from this blog post today, and that you feel more equipped to keep pushing through in your blogging or online business journey! This coming from a 4-month blogger, it has been hard but so rewarding to feel the personal growth and lessons…
We’ve got this girl, let’s keep thriving!