The Lifestyle Dilemma
I remember one of the most intimidating aspects of entering the internet as a participator, rather than a sideline attendant, was this idea of the finding the blogging lifestyle.
The digital arena of online media is welcoming because there is a culture of transparency and honesty. However, there seems to be a dissonance between how we are perceived online versus how we are perceived in our physical lives, especially from a business and marketing perspective.
Often, it can feel as if we are reaching for a lifestyle where one is directly supported by their blog, rather than finding productivity externally. In rare cases, this may be attainable. But, in most situations, it’s not even a worthwhile goal. The most successful and interesting entrepreneurs, regardless of their field, use the digital writing spectrum to highlight their ideas and to hold themselves accountable offline. Their writings are one of many means to a revenue generating end, rather than a single cause.
I have found that blogging, or writing publicly as a whole, is most useful as an exercise for in between our projects. In What Would Google Do?, Jarvis talks about the small amount of direct income his blog generates versus the indirect, revenue generating effects it has had on his career. “Indirect,” meaning opportunities such as his professorship, paid speaking and media consulting, which are a result of his excellent content.
The lifestyle dilemma, specifically in writing online, can be avoided by focusing on content that supports our ideas indirectly. Going in with any other mind set is unproductive and failure prone.
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