Thinking About Value

byDCDT

293 followers

6 years ago

One of the things I've been thinking about a lot this month as I have been working on my Wealthy Affiliate training, and building content for the blog I'm building as part of that training and for the blog I started on my own last year is VALUE.

Free? What do you mean all this is FREE?

When I first signed up for the free trial for Wealthy Affiliate, I was, like many of you, impressed with the free training and tools available. I couldn't believe how much was available to new users for FREE. Pretty quickly, though, I realized the limitations of the free trial membership. I couldn't answer the friendly welcoming comments I was receiving. I couldn't actively participate in various chats that interested me. I couldn't continue farther in the training... I was intrigued and wanted more of what Wealthy Affiliate had to offer...but I worried a lot about that $49 per month committment.

Over the years, I've taken lots of different trainings. Some in classrooms, some online. I've purchased programs from informericials, and later, online. I've sat through free webinars and paid web classes, and I've bought literally hundreds of books on various training topics. I've wasted a lot of time and money on programs--some good, some not so good. Some I've finished, some put me to sleep <grin>. And I take responsibility for those choices--good, bad or ugly--I made the choice to try the program, and I made the choice to let the program go.

So I did a LOT of research on Wealthy Affiliate before I joined. I read a TON of what I now realize are probably affiliate pages created by folks in this group! I waffled, I worried, I considered, I bargained with myself, I backtracked...and in the end, I jumped in. Mainly because of the value I had already received...for FREE. And because of the curiousity I had for what I could tell was just outside of what I could see...

Leap of Faith

And oh my goodness, am I glad I jumped! I have been so overwhelmed by the unbeliveable amount of content available here, and by the helpfulness of so many members. There is SO MUCH MORE content than I ever anticipated. It's truly incredible! In addition, I have found that I love reading posts from other members, and I feel like I learn something new from a member every single time I pop in to my dashboard.

My world is in a bit of upheaval at the moment, and my financial situation is not great--but the decision to join WA continues to be a decision I am not just confident in, but grateful for and proud of. I am not here every day, and I am not (yet) one of the rock stars as I haven't quite learned how to keep real life from knocking me off my path, but I am moving forward every single day on my goals. I am learning amazing things from WA every single time I am here, and I am AMAZED by all the content that is available here. I am so excited by all the things I'm going to be learning over the coming months! (and years?!?!)

Just DO IT

But here's the best thing I've found about WA (so far!). The way Kyle has structured this training is "DO IT" as you go. Unlike almost every other class or training I've ever taken, where you learn a bunch of stuff and then are set loose into the wild, I'm taking action on my sites in every training module. And things are LIVE. I used to be so scared to post things LIVE, to let things go live---I'd sit on my hands FOREVER, waiting until I thought I was "ready". WA is pushing me--gently, but still pushing me--to take action, and to move forwards AS I'M LEARNING. There's no waiting until you know how to do everything, no waiting until you're ready, it's let's go and get started. It's a very proactive approach, and EXACTLY what my procrastinating afraid to take a risk chicken-S#@% side needed desperately.

Sometimes, my cautious nature freaks out a little bit--but then I look at how far I've come, and how much I've learned so far. And the world hasn't ended, and no one has knocked on my door and called me an imposter for doing this before I'm "ready". I think if my cautious side had her way, I would stay at a boring 9-5 job forever, taking useless training after training, and never doing anything to really pursue my dreams. WA isn't letting me get away with that. WA is pushing me out of my comfort zone, and asking me to take action on pursuing my dreams.

It's scary, but it feels AMAZING. Who knows if I'll be successful and make a full time income from my sites? I know there is no guarantee, and that there is a long road ahead before that time will come (if it does).

BUT, I have to tell you, it feels like I'm already successful in some ways because I'm facing my fears and forcing myself to take action--and I believe I would NOT be able to be doing these things without Kyle's training. He's sneaky in the way he gets you to take these little actions. They don't SEEM that scary. Little baby steps--and suddenly you're publishing articles live on the internet and real people can find them and read them and comment on them. AAAACCCKKK! But seriously, I'm really happy to be here, and really happy I took the leap of faith. The value that WA provides, between the training, the members, the support, the confidence building....it's SO MUCH MORE than $49/month. I'm so thankful for the community that is Wealthy Affiliate, for the training modules, the live events, the built in research tools, the great domain and hosting pricing options, and for all the intangible value that is part of the Wealthy Affiliate experience that is impossible to define but is worth so much more than money.