Four Pillars of Success, Alice Style
As I write this it is international literacy day in my country. If you've read my profile, you know this is an issue I care deeply about. I worked in the field at one time; it is ridiculously under-funded. I would like to make money and give a portion to various causes, including literacy. But my progress at WA is slower than planned or expected. I am at the four-week mark, and I am not where I thought I would be.
Reading my title, you are probably expecting me to talk about a website, traffic, keywords, and monetizing. Those are obvious parts of the structure of making money online. But those are not the pillars I am thinking of. My pillars might be a little less obvious, but are no less necessary.
The first one is persistence. We need to keep going, even when it seems difficult, even when we are frustrated, and especially when we are disappointed. That old cliche about "getting back on the horse" really applies here. Do it anyway. Sometimes life gets in the way and blocks our path and slows us down. Keep going. Some progress is still progress.
The second one is patience. I complained about the week I was having and how it was taking me away from WA. I am talking about family commitments, local politics I am in the middle of, a bee sting, a car accident that blocked people from crossing a bridge I needed to cross, an injury that acted up, etc. I complained about some of it here. And a dear soul reminded me that "this is not a race." It really hit me. I set goals and I wasn't meeting them, but when I set them I didn't have all the facts. How could I? I was trying to predict the future. So I changed my plan, and decided to be kind to myself as i would be to a child, and practice patience.
The third, Alice style, is review. In my case, I have gone right back to the beginning to square one. Lesson one. Am I stalling? Yes! But I am also restoring and increasing the confidence I had before all the setbacks. I AM seeing things I missed, and I AM seeing things in a new way! When i get back to where I was, it won't be the same place! it won't look or feel the same, anyway.
The fourth pillar to this structure is support. I am not referring only to the abundance of answers to questions, and the encouraging words and so on that we are all familiar with here at WA. I am also referring to the member who reminded me that this is not a race. His saying that has made all the difference. And I will succeed. Alice Style.
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Yes the only person I am competing with is myself. I can set some goals right now, but who knows if they are going to apply for me later on down the road? I always told my kids, enjoy this moment because no one can give you back your time! Just because I think I may be having a bad day, its no one's fault. We get busy with the details of life, And sometimes life....just happens:)
Excellent post, it is true, this is not a race, each one of us will have our own goals, and a way to get there, this is not a race full with stress, do not forget to live, and take time to breath.
Thanks for sharing
And thank you for sharing your thoughts, too! Much appreciated. Oh, and thanks for the compliment too! Those are always welcome. :)
Excellent post Alice. One of the best posts for persistence I've seen. Continued effort with few visible results is the the hardest time to push through. Your vision of what will be will keep you going through this time.
Thanks for encouraging the rest of us as well.
Doug
Thank you so much, Doug. I felt a little stupid sharing this, but I know this kind of experience can't just be true for me. If it encourages someone else, I am grateful for that. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. -Alice
I enjoyed reading your blog. Many of us has other distractions in life that makes our progress slower. I know I am one of them!
Thank you. Part of me has this image of myself as a starving artist / writer in a garret, suffering for my "art" and doing little else. Fact is, I am a mother and a worker and a neighbour and a friend and a dog owner and and and... the garret will have to wait. :)
This is one of the best and most informational blogs I have read Alice. It is NOT a race, you are so right. Yes, we all hope to make money, but we have to have that structure in place and sometimes it just takes longer. I wish you the best!
Wow! Such high praise! Thank you very much. Sometimes life simply "gets in the way." It is called "living"! LOL. I am following you now, and I wish you success.
Alice, I'm following you because I know you can make this happen.
One of my favorite quotes would fit in nicely here.
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." - Calvin Coolidge
I LOVE this quote. I haven't heard it in awhile. Thank you so much for the valuable reminder. Also, thank you for the vote of confidence. Most of the time I truly believe I can be successful at this too. Some days (or weeks!) can be frustrating. I wish I could spend hours and hours every day on this, but can't afford that luxury just yet.
Everything is difficult until it's Easy. What makes it more difficult is that there are so many things to learn that are interrelated to so many other new things. All we can do is give it the time we can, do our lessons, ask for help when we have questions, apply what we've learned and keep moving forward.
Sounds like a plan! There is no shame in reviewing lessons. We won't talk about how many times I've played some of them. To me, that's the beauty of WA. I can just review, review and REVIEW until I "get it." I agree with you that literacy is VERY important. I used to tell my students on the first day of class, "If you don't read well, come find me. There is help out there." Many did, privately. I did whatever I could to help. They all knew my basic speech. "If you can't read well, you're screwed." Short, sweet and to the point.
Thank you. I'm glad I'm not the only one! I am glad I am reviewing. i really paid attention the first time, and it is not that long ago that I watched them, but I am surprised how much I am learning! There is simply so much information. I have tutored kids, and I work in schools now, but I was a provincial co-ordinator for Laubach Literacy, which was a wonderful international organization that joined adults who were illiterate or sub-literate with someone who wanted to help. We gave workshops to train the tutors, and eventually i trained the trainers too. We used VAK methods, a touch of Orton-Gillingham, a pinch of this and that. We gave sensitivity exercises, so our tutors would know how it felt to be an adult in that situation, and sit beside rather than across, and take a non-authoritarian approach. An adult with this issue usually comes with some baggage from a system that let them slip by, passed them on without help, humiliated or embarrassed them, etc... in short, all of the bad things that could happen when they didn't have the good luck to come across a good teacher like you. I work with many good teachers, and am glad our kids won't become adults who can't read. Bless you for your work!
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Great blog! I am glad that you are blessing yourself by taking the pressure off of you. I can certainly relate. It is difficult sometimes to flow with the tide and relax and know that it will all eventually work out. It will, as you continue on your journey of success! :) Christa
Thank you Christa. You are lovely and supportive in your responses, and I appreciate that. i am sure others here at WA do too. Thank you so much for re-affirming my experience and my journey. Alice