From Perfectionist Paralysis to Profitable Flow: My Wealthy Affiliate Wake-Up Call

byBriddy6

44 followers

3 months ago

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Imperfect £1

The Tale of Two Enemies: Perfection and Procrastination

Right, so picture this: nearly two years ago, I'm sat at my computer thinking I'm some sort of digital Napoleon, ready to take over the entire bloody internet. I'd just joined Wealthy Affiliate and honestly, my ambitions were mental ( so mental I paid for Premium Plus before I learned about affiliate marketing properly.) Five websites? Easy peasy. Every social media platform going? Yeah, I'll have them all conquered by teatime. Every passive income stream ever invented? Piece of cake, I'll master the lot whilst simultaneously blogging about how brilliant I am.

Spoiler alert: we all know how that went for Napoleon, don't we?

When Ambition Meets Reality (And Reality Wins)

So here's the thing about perfectionism and procrastination: they're like those two mates who seem completely different but are actually plotting against you behind your back. Perfectionism's there going "Mate, just make sure it's absolutely spot on before you even think about starting," and procrastination's nodding away like "Yeah, exactly! And seeing as it's not quite there yet, why don't we just leave it for another day?"

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: I wasn't putting things off because I was lazy; I was putting things off because I was absolutely terrified of not being perfect at it. Problem is, I knew bugger all about affiliate marketing, building websites, or really anything more complicated than switching my laptop on (and even that was hit and miss some days). So, being perfect at it? About as likely as getting my cat to sort out my tax return.

The Great Freeze of 2024 - 2025

What happened next was what I like to call "The Great Freeze." Not the weather I'm talking about, that special kind of brain fog that kicks in when your head decides doing absolutely nothing is better than doing something a bit rubbish. For over 18 months, I avoided Wealthy Affiliate like the plague. Every time one of those emails popped up, I'd be like "Oh bloody hell, that's the place where I was meant to become a millionaire by last Tuesday. Right, I'll just pretend I never saw that then."

The irony? While I was busy trying not to fail, I was absolutely nailing failure. Proper gold star performance in the failing department.

The Comeback Kid (That's Me, by the Way)

Fast forward to two months back. Something just clicked, you know? Maybe I was getting desperate, maybe I'd finally grown a brain cell, or maybe I'd just run out of things to watch on Netflix. Either way, I thought "Sod it, I'll give this another bash." But this time I had a revolutionary idea: what if I actually set myself goals I could actually achieve?

Out went the five websites (sorry, kids, mummy had to make some tough choices), and in came a much more sensible two websites. Why two? Well, when I get fed up writing about one thing, I can just hop over to the other one like some sort of productive butterfly. I know, I know it's still the same overthinking that got me into this mess in the first place, but at least this time it's actually working!

Embracing the Beautiful Mess

And here's what I figured out: perfection is basically the enemy of getting anywhere, but "good enough" is your absolute best mate. Soon as I stopped trying to be the next big thing and just embraced the beautiful chaos of making it up as I went along, something mad happened, I actually started enjoying it!

Suddenly, writing didn't feel like I was trying to win the Booker Prize. Building websites didn't need to be some sort of digital Sistine Chapel. And you know what? My wonky, sometimes rambling, definitely typo-riddled content started to feel... well, like me actually.

The £1 That Changed Everything

And then it bloody well happened, didn't it? On the 4th day of this month, I earned my first quid with Wealthy Affiliate. ONE MEASLY POUND. In the grand scheme of internet millions, it's absolutely nothing. But for me? Bloody hell, it was everything.

That single pound wasn't just currency, it was proof that imperfect action beats perfect inaction every single time.

I literally did a proper little jig around my kitchen. My cat looked at me like I'd lost the plot, but I couldn't care less. That pound wasn't just money, it was proof that my chaotic, completely making-it-up-as-I-go approach actually bloody works. Although the pound is not for writing my blogs, it's for being part of the community and joining in, showing up, and being brave enough to reach out to the community, take part, and learn.

Hopefully, the next bit of money I can dance about will be my first affiliate sale that I haven't forced my family to buy.

Finding Flow in the Chaos

Here's the mad thing, though, soon as I stopped trying to be perfect, I actually started getting better at stuff. You know when you're trying to remember someone's name and the harder you think the more it escapes you, then you stop thinking about it and bam, there it is? Same thing. The pressure was off, my brain started working again, and suddenly I had enough space in my head to actually chat to people in the Wealthy Affiliate community instead of hiding away like some sort of digital hermit.

This rambling blog post you're reading right now? It's my first proper go at contributing to the WA community. Two years ago, I'd have spent weeks agonising over every single word, googling "how to write the perfect blog post" for the millionth time, and probably never actually published the damn thing because it wasn't "ready." Today? I'm just telling you what happened, warts and all, because maybe someone else out there needs to hear that it's actually alright to be a bit rubbish sometimes.

The Performance Starts After You Begin

Here's what I've learned the hard way: you don't get good at something by waiting until you're already good at it; you get good at something by actually doing it, even when you're crap at it. Every cock-up is a lesson, every wonky post is practice, and every tiny win (yes, even my pathetic single pound) is absolutely worth celebrating.

I have even shared the websites with work colleagues, which is hard, and I cringe at the thought of them reading it, but I need to find that place where I can just let go.

So here's to embracing the chaos, celebrating the little wins, and remembering that when we put things off, we're not protecting ourselves from being rubbish, we're protecting ourselves from getting better. And honestly? Getting better is way more fun than sitting there doing bugger all.

Right, I'd better get back to it then. I've got some beautifully wonky content to create. After all, I'm practically rolling in it now with my massive £1 empire!

P.S. If you're reading this whilst. Hiding from your own Wealthy Affiliate dashboard, consider this your kick up the backside to go and make something wonderfully wonky today. Future you will thank you for it (and so will your bank balance, eventually)