Balance- Helping others versus helping yourself
I came to the realization recently, that I was spending way more time helping others here, than working on my projects (website, research, training etc). I love helping others but I need to pay attention to the real reason that I am here... to build a business and earn some money. My rank was climbing, and I was at the 83 mark when this realization hit me. One of the members here, who is doing well with his websites, making good earnings, told me that it was way more important to pay attention to the real reason we are all here.
A person can get so caught up in the sidelines, the chats, the activity dashboard, that your websites will suffer or it will take you a very long time to finish building your own website. Balance is the key. I will not completely stop helping others here, but I am starting a new website today. My first was/is a rather huge project, and it had some set backs with becoming unverified twice, knocking down my traffic to zero each time.
After 2 1/2 months, my traffic is steadily climbing, 1,297 as of today.Two weeks ago, I made a commission of $8 off of a $100 product link...and like others here, I was excited about it! LOL! I manage to write a 2,000-3,000 word post once a week and do a little tweak every now and then. That's all I can do with it for now. Today, I have to help myself, using the training Jay and Kyle have provided, to create a more focused product niche website. Okay.... MUSH!
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Yes, it is still a work in progress for me too but I have two websites now, and I have to buckle down more.
I completely understand where you are coming from. I could use a bit more balance in what I do. I do tend to help others before helping myself, but I have learned a lot in helping others, which helps me to better help myself.
Kayle and Carson have designed this platform well. There is a ton of learning to be had in the training and blog posts that others write. Finding a way to strike a bablance can be done.
Best Wishes,
Anita
Thanks Anita, I still have to work hard to find a balance. I often get distracted by the Activity Dashboard LOL! Best wishes to you as well.
I loved treading this post Maddy.
When I first joined I also spent a lot of time focusing on my member rank, to the detriment of the real reason for being here.
I didn't have the time to do both so when life also threw a lot of personal challenges at me I withdrew completely. I had not done enough to build a business that could continue without me and my member rank quickly descended into total obscurity. So what was the value in that for me?
Now I'm back again and I will definitely not make that mistake again. It's great to help others but this time I will remind myself daily about what my main reason for joining here was. That little number or in my case, much bigger number now, in the blue square at the top of my profile will have to take second place as it never once paid even one of my bills!
Thank you Mark. I noticed recently that the fastest way to get a better ranking is to use SiteComments. It helps you and it helps others at the same time. Win Win :) To earn 2 comments on your own site, you have to comment, through SiteComments on 4 other sites.
So true, so true, stay focused, focus is hard.. to many distractions these days..stay true to our goals and our dreams. But most import stay healthy. Happy New Year to everyone. Thank you Maddy, making me also realize I am important also.
- Ellen.
Happy New year to you all as well! I joined WA almost exactly 1 year ago. Here I am ready to begin my second website, more focused and a lot more knowledgeable than 12 months ago. I hope you are doing well Ellen.
It can be a troublesome issue trying to balance all this. I try to work on a little of each every day. Best of luck with your decisions and here's to a great new year....
Congrats on your success, Marilyn.
Very true. It's all about managing oneself rather than trying to manage time. Write when the creative juices are flowing.
Do other things when they are not.
All the best for 2018!
David
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You raise a good point. We must always remember life is a balancing act.
As a beginner, I struggle with time management. I shun giving advice, since my site is in its' beginning stages. I find, some days, I feel I should just learn up on site rubrix, or some other focus of learning the platform. Still, I must find time to progress on my first site. I either, learn, ask or do (until I get to another wall). Then, I might do research, or ask another question.
There is literally so much available here each hour of each day could be productive for one as long as one doesn't stop: do, ask or learn.
Do NOT quit. Good luck to us all.
Thanks for the assistance. Hats off to you helper peeps! You're the best.
Sue
Thanks for contributing here. My rank has gone from close to 200 all the way to 98 lately. Why? I have been procrastinating, spending too much time helping and contributing here, and was getting NOTHING done on my websites. That's not good obviously. I temporarily lost my balance. Yesterday I got down to business and wrote an awesome post on one of my sites. Today I am having a little trouble again....
I get like that a lot. Last afternoon, I ended early - totally confused. I had errands to do all day today. But, now I'm back ( I had to force myself today) and trying to research and write a post. I thought the rank had to do with how successful one is at making money. Another words, top 100 were the top earners. Not true?
Unfortunately, the ranking we have has zero to do with our earnings or maybe it is fortunate, :) The rank comes from our engagement with the community. Helping others, asking questions, participate in live chat, etc...
Yup, like Riley says, the ranking is just an encouragement for us to help others here. I suspect that many of the higher ranked (low numbers) members here do not have very lucrative sites because they spend too much time improving their ranking. I suspect many of those with the lowest ranking here (highest numbers) are making the most money because they are spending the most time on THEIR business. The Ranking system becomes kind of a competition amoung many members, to see how fast they can get up there. The most important thing for you to do, is focus on your new online business... if you can do both, wonderful!
A good example, two days ago, my rank was at 823, took one day off to help my daughter move and when I log in I see 930, it can be so discouraging, but it is what it is, :))
Oh don't be discouraged! You helped your daughter, that was more important for sure!