Emma Gannon is my favourite millenial (let me just say that I’m not entirely sure I am using this term correctly, I think I am but if you disagree leave a comment and let’s discuss!). Mostly because she has done what I’ve always wanted to do. She has taken a passion for writing and communicating on all possible media (print and social media and now she has this killer podcast and amazing book!) and has turned that passion into a career.
She is one of a handful of superwomen that I follow on social media, mostly because they inspire me. I mean hello, they’ve accomplished what I wanted to do ages ago (when I was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and less disappointed with the world) and they are so much younger than me! I know people always say 40 is the new 30, and I am right there, just over the threshold (I turned 40 this year) but there are days when I think about what I need to learn, what I have to do and I wonder if I’ll ever get this particular ship out of this harbour. I know the inertia that I’m feeling is something that only I can overcome. I’ve got to light that firecracker under my backside and I’ve got to start moving (literally and figuratively!) if I want to get to where I want to get to. I have a plan in my head but a plan isn’t really worth anything if I don’t attach any things to do and action points to it.
First thing to do is to create an environment where I am doing things that will get me to where I want to be. I have to create a positive go-getter frame of mind. I know that the day job is important at the moment because the day job will help me fund the activities that I need to participate in to get to where I want to get to. I am reminded of Emma Gannon’s podcast episode with Paulette Perhach who talked about the importance of the side-hustle and how important it is to keep hustling. I have allowed myself to wallow in the wishing stage of this whole endeavor so really, I haven’t been hustling as yet. But hustle I will and hustle I should!
I have been wondering about my blog, why it hasn’t really taken off in the way my previous blog did. I had people reading my blog, commenting on my blog, actually following my blog. I lost that when I moved into a different blog hosting platform (Blogdrive did have a community and people actually read other people in Blogdrive) – this is not to throw shade on all the people following my blog; to you lovely lot, I am forever grateful. I’m not assigning blame. I just think my blog was stuck in a particular kind of blog theme where people shared their feelings to try and find validation. We all want that all important thing: validation. But it’s also important to know that people also want to read inspirational stuff, aspirational stuff. Because if you boohoo and rant all the time, you bring your readers down with you. It’s okay to vent, but I think it’s also important not to overshare your emotional and psychological baggage. I think the audience isn’t as receptive to that anymore. There has to be a balance between saying it like it is and depressing the heck out of your readers!
The quote below is a screen grab from Emma’s blog entry about Sharing Less. It resonated so much. And yes, I am going to write because I have something to say and I have a great story to share, not because I need validation.
Oh and I know that I’ve started to view my writing differently because every time Alan asks me “are you sure you want to blog about that?” these days, I no longer feel like I am being attacked. I stop and think about what I really want to say. I don’t say this enough but thanks Alan♥
Yellywelly 