Going the distance

It feels like ages since I've had time to really be present in the community, I pop in for short spurts where I can. Over the last two weeks I have been looking at competitor websites. Looking at formats and the styles of reviews that are being done.

I decided to try to do what I call a running product review. In the training it says this kind of review should include 3-19 products. Woah! if I thought writing 1000 words was hard. I'll never think that again, in fact it will be a piece of cake now.

I have completed one post in the last two weeks, in between work and finishing my website training levels in WA. It contains 3250 words and 13 products (I still want to add 3 more to it). This to me is a mammoth effort to go from struggling to write 850 words to 1200 to 3250.

As a beginner how do to you learn how to apply the endurance you need to keep going, to push through, to not throw the towel in at the first obstacle?

Have patience! Instant gratification will lead to failure

I learned this over and over while undertaking a 4 year, and ongoing, ecological restoration project of my gully system. I'm trained in ecology, specifically NZ Native species- they grow incredibly SLOW. There are many steps and a lot of work to do before you can even consider planting e.g. I had to spend the first two years just:

• Clearing 11 invasive weed species
• Bagging them and removal of system
• Cutting in light gaps
• Cutting down exotic invasive tree species
• Weeding EVERY weekend
• Increase soil condition

This reminds me of the WA Way and all the steps you have to put in place before you reap the rewards:

• Do and follow the training
• Decide on a niche
• Create a website
• Develop cotent
• Understand how to use apps to create traffic
• Get indexed
• Get Ranked

In my gully I failed in one section over and over again, as an ecologist I knew better, but I could not bare to look at unplanted bare soil, so impatient. So I would spend big $$ on plants and planted them for instant gratification. Well Guess what? Yip I got my gratification, took my pretty picture and in two weeks they were all dead. I knew very well without light gaps, good soil, water and absence of invasive species, nothing was going to grow. I didn't have patience!

Just Breathe

Sometimes you need to take some time and just step away and breathe, because when you are in a situation sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. Stepping away from a situation helps you view it from a different perspective.

Have strategies to measure your preformance

We all can get overwhelmed. We can all work extremely hard, but not see our own progress. Like my gully, I am working in it all the time, I don't see the progress, all I see is all the work there is still to do, and in reality there is another 5 years min before it is self-sustaining. I put a very simple strategy in place. I take pictures from beginning to end so I can go back and see what it was like to start with, I could do the same with my website.

Picture of the Gully in the second year after clearing, before planting.

Picture of the Gully at 4 year mark

This section now sustains itself, no effort is required from me, I hardly ever have to go in and weed it and I am reaping the benefits of returned bird life, lots of green and a nice place to sit with a wine :)

This is how I see my journey going with WA, it's the same:

• Work hard
• Do all the steps
• Even when you complete one thing and there are 10 more ahead, keeping going
• Put in simple strategies to measure your preformance
• Remember to pat yourself on the back for your hard work
• Step away and breathe when you need to
• Don't rush it
• One day you will be able to sit back and reap the benefits
• One day your business will be self sustaining

Regards Everyone,

Nad and Bob