There's Always Room At The Top
http://www.careerfeed.net/articles/11866/1/Theres-Always-Room-At-The-Top/Page1.html
Chase Stowers
Chase Stowers is a blogger who writes about hints and hacks for a better life. His blog, Chase Stowers Dot Com, deals with all sorts of self-improvement, from physical improvement, as well as mental, financial, and entrepreneurial. He started blogging in November 2008. By Chase Stowers
Published on 02/19/2010
Do you ever get down on yourself thinking your chances of success are slim? Don't fret, because as long as you are doing your best each and every day you'll eventually find yourself at the top of your field.
Today I was thinking about my prospects at becoming a professional blogger, and I realized that I have many obstacles in my way. Blogging, like any other creative medium with a low cost entry point such as writing and going on up to art and film making, has a lot, and I mean a lot of people trying to do the exact same thing as you - trying to make it big.
At first this will be discouraging. I mean, for me, I am going up against millions of blogs that have already been created, and hundreds if not thousands that are being created on a daily basis. So how can one hope to stand out?
While I thought about this, I also thought about how many blogs I could name. And although I am active in the blogosphere, I could not list more than forty. I am sure people who are not big into blogs would be hard pressed to name any.
The solution lies within the problem - if there are so many blogs out there, how come I could only name a handful? The answer to becoming known - be the best blog possible.
You see, it doesn't matter how many people have taken up what you are about to take up and strive to succeed and succeed in a big way. If everybody else's is absolute junk, or even worse, just average, they are not going to stand out. They are mearly a statistic - one of another millions of blogs that no one cares about other than themselves, their relatives, and a few friends and co-workers. In essence, they don't matter. Everyone else out there doesn't matter if you are the best.
If you are the best, and you know you are the best, you command an authority. People seek you out. The snowball starts rolling, and you are able to grow organically without much effort. This applies not only to blogs, but basically every other medium there is - film, art, writing - as well as in the business world. Just look at Apple today - people want to own Apple just because it is Apple. There is a certain group think in being the best.
Well, how can you become the best? The first part is giving your all into everything that you do. This is easier to do for the things you enjoy, but you also have to do it for the things that you don't. You have to be on your A-game 100% of the time. You must never slide backwards.
This might mean that you have to sacrifice some things in order to achieve what you want, but no one ever said that this was going to come easy, did they?
Now, you might say "What if an emergency comes up or I am sick?" The answer to that is just do what you can at your best. Obviously your output isn't going to be as great if you are incapacitated, but you still must do something. You must work on your dreams every day to achieve them. Everything else will be in futility. You can start by writing down all your dreams and hopes by making a life goal map.
If you are the best at what you do, the next part will come easier - get the word out that you are the best. If you are truly the best, others will help you out with this. Say you are the best musician around. When you get a gig and people see you, they will think "Wow! That act was incredible!" And they will tell their friends. Some of them might even go to see you. So you repeat - put on the best show you can and gain more fans.
You might be saying to yourself "Well, how to I get the gigs in the first place?' You have to be proactive. The opportunities aren't going to come to you - you have to seek them out. For me, with my blog for instance, I have to market myself. That means blog carnivals, commenting on other blogs, writing guest post. Every day needs to be producing content, then letting others know about that content. And it has to be the best.
Eventually, you will find success. Or rather, it will find you. But it's not easy, and very few become the best. Make sure you don't become a statistic.
At first this will be discouraging. I mean, for me, I am going up against millions of blogs that have already been created, and hundreds if not thousands that are being created on a daily basis. So how can one hope to stand out?
While I thought about this, I also thought about how many blogs I could name. And although I am active in the blogosphere, I could not list more than forty. I am sure people who are not big into blogs would be hard pressed to name any.
The solution lies within the problem - if there are so many blogs out there, how come I could only name a handful? The answer to becoming known - be the best blog possible.
You see, it doesn't matter how many people have taken up what you are about to take up and strive to succeed and succeed in a big way. If everybody else's is absolute junk, or even worse, just average, they are not going to stand out. They are mearly a statistic - one of another millions of blogs that no one cares about other than themselves, their relatives, and a few friends and co-workers. In essence, they don't matter. Everyone else out there doesn't matter if you are the best.
If you are the best, and you know you are the best, you command an authority. People seek you out. The snowball starts rolling, and you are able to grow organically without much effort. This applies not only to blogs, but basically every other medium there is - film, art, writing - as well as in the business world. Just look at Apple today - people want to own Apple just because it is Apple. There is a certain group think in being the best.
Well, how can you become the best? The first part is giving your all into everything that you do. This is easier to do for the things you enjoy, but you also have to do it for the things that you don't. You have to be on your A-game 100% of the time. You must never slide backwards.
This might mean that you have to sacrifice some things in order to achieve what you want, but no one ever said that this was going to come easy, did they?
Now, you might say "What if an emergency comes up or I am sick?" The answer to that is just do what you can at your best. Obviously your output isn't going to be as great if you are incapacitated, but you still must do something. You must work on your dreams every day to achieve them. Everything else will be in futility. You can start by writing down all your dreams and hopes by making a life goal map.
If you are the best at what you do, the next part will come easier - get the word out that you are the best. If you are truly the best, others will help you out with this. Say you are the best musician around. When you get a gig and people see you, they will think "Wow! That act was incredible!" And they will tell their friends. Some of them might even go to see you. So you repeat - put on the best show you can and gain more fans.
You might be saying to yourself "Well, how to I get the gigs in the first place?' You have to be proactive. The opportunities aren't going to come to you - you have to seek them out. For me, with my blog for instance, I have to market myself. That means blog carnivals, commenting on other blogs, writing guest post. Every day needs to be producing content, then letting others know about that content. And it has to be the best.
Eventually, you will find success. Or rather, it will find you. But it's not easy, and very few become the best. Make sure you don't become a statistic.