Beyond Words

Another webinar, another promise to teach you how to get 5000 hits in a day, 3000 subscribers, the best guest posts, millions of dollars and a shot at the big times. Yawn. I confess. I’ve watched a couple of these lately. Today it was a webinar on how to publish your own e-book on Amazon Kindle.

OK, so that last one is a bad example. It was full of very practical advice and I now know how to publish content in an e-book. I could do it tonight.  And, I could also give the speaker my $150 and learn to do it even better.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve seen in a long time comes from a mere kid (sorry, but at my age, you are a kid). I signed up for his magic words, once again looking around for sound advice on how to promote the new blog, pump up SEO, find the pot of gold. His name is Bamidele Onibalusi and his website is YoungPrePro.

It is refreshing to see such honesty… honesty that does not end with a pitch. I subscribed to his newsletter last week and just got the first missive from him. If I weren’t becoming so jaded I’d say that he blew me away.

All this hype and over-sell, it’s kinda like the miracle diet drugs. We want to believe in a magic pill. We want it easy. Fast. Now. And, it just ain’t happening.

Maybe I’m guilty of that too. My freelance writing is steady, but it’s not making me rich by a long shot. Why? Well, in all honesty, I’m not working hard enough. I’m not writing 30 queries a week, not promoting myself constantly, not networking enough. I take the evenings off to work on a needlepoint stocking for my daughter-in-law. I’m watching the Mad Men series from the beginning. I’m reading David Copperfield.

I’m not working hard enough.

And, here’s this young man from Nigeria, barely 20 years old and he’s Rocking It! This is an excerpt from the email I got today:

Unfortunately, writing online isn’t that easy. It takes time, and you have to put in the effort.
I might be the only one to tell you this, but succeeding online as a writer will sometimes result in countless sleepless nights; you’ll have to work your ass off and keep doing the same even if you don’t feel like it, and that is still no guarantee that you’ll get results the following month.

Success won’t be handed to you on a golden platter; you’ll have to work hard for it, and there’s no short cut.

I’m sorry, but that coach you just paid $250 per hour is not capable of helping you succeed.

This newsletter isn’t, and not a single blog is capable.

The only thing we can do best is what we’re doing now; giving you tips and encouragement.

The real success has to come from you; you have to put in the effort, you have to work hard for success, and you have to realize that it all lies in your effort.

No one will do it for you.

It’s time to stop lazing around looking for the best blog, newsletter or teacher. It’s time to start taking action on every little tip you receive right now.

The more effort you put in, the more results you will get and the faster you will get it.

Stop waiting for the miracle to come, and start working hard to make yourself a success.

No one will do it for you.

That about says it all. How hard are you working at your dream?

Interview on Digital Journal about Onibalusi. Photo by kevinthoule @flickr.com

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