I'm Finding My Way
My first Month.
I did a post after a week into WA entitled "A Happy Camper" while I was a happy camper you could see from the image posted, I was somewhat disoriented.
With today's image you can see I am much more focused in my direction.
My Wealthy Affiliate experience has been a wealthy experience. I came in with less than no knowledge of how to build a website, how to monetize, how to post a picture, what SEO meant and I could go on and on.
It has been an amazing experience for someone who knew nothing about something he was interested in.
Goals
When I joined I posted my monetary goals. For me they were realistic. However, I did not put any time limit for the third question. I was somewhat vague on time, my answer was "as much time as it takes"
There was a reason for the vagueness.
I will be more specific on a time to achieve my monetary goals, after I have accomplished some of my preliminary goals.
My first goal, a passion for writing I am accomplishing on a daily basis.
My second goal, to help people, is the purpose of my first blog. I firmly believe that everyone has a divine spark within them. It only takes a spark to get a fire going, it may need to be fanned, but eventually it will become a fire. My blog hopefully can fan that spark.
The blog may never make money for me, it is not designed for that, hence why I have not put a time limit on my monetary goals. That will come.
I replied to two new WA members this morning in respect to their monetary goals, which I believe they were very realistic. However, for the time element there was a vagueness, which I pointed out. This can have a very negative effect in achieving monetary goals.
When we commit to two hours per day, we have made a commitment to ourselves. Most people don't want to let themselves down.
That time commitment puts our feet to the fire.
It can be the most important and effective part of actually reaching the monetary goals.
Training
When I joined WA I began going through the entrepreneurial training, wanting to gain an understanding on setting up a website. I was not too far advanced when I realized I had to go back and start at the beginning and get the practical in place.
Since that point I have been plodding along, attempting to master each lesson from a practical perspective, having to revisit different lessons.
I am now at lesson twenty. I can't say I'm proficient, but I am so pleased with myself and my progress.
The help that is available in the WA community is terrific. I quickly realized I was not alone in my endeavor and had many people who had my back. That is a valuable asset having a go too person or persons.
Failure
Oh boy! don't talk about that. Why not? If you look in the dictionary failure comes before success.
We are hard-wired for success and want to avoid failure, we don't even want to talk about it, it's so depressing. Well my friend, we are going to talk about it.
Many people give up because of failure or won't try anything new because of the fear of failure. Fear incapacitates a person. The fear of failure can be stronger than failure itself.
Last year I walked the French Way Camino. Walking alone, and listening to silence it is possible to learn so much about one's self. It is also an opportunity to evaluate and think about life in general. When I was crossing the Pyrenees and walking through Galatia, both have some high peaks to go over. When I was walking up a steep incline, I knew that when I reached the top, I started the descent. I was going down in a valley but I was preparing for another climb.
Life is like that, going up is the success part, going down is the failure. Now let's consider a couple of things. I'm only going so low and it is preparing me to go up again. This time I may go higher than before, if I don't go higher, the view will be different and it will be exciting.
Failure can be a stepping stone or a stumbling block, you decide.
One more thought on the benefits of failure. A child learning to walk, falls, gets up, falls-how many times before they are steady on their feet. I think you will find, as many falls as it takes until walking is mastered. Then don't forget most children crawl before they attempt to walk.
Evaluating my First Month
I'm taking baby steps. I'm excited about my progress, excited about the training that is available and amazed by the wealth of expertise available in the WA community, that are there to help.
For me, what I paid to become a WA member was worth the money. I can now build a website, I have much more to learn and I'll advance beyond baby steps.
I will set a time to achieve my monetary goals in the new year. Meantime I'm accomplishing my preliminary goals each day.
I signed on to WA for free, the following day, when I saw the scope of WA I became a premium member. A week or so later the Black Friday special came out and I took the annual membership. I knew I had my money's worth without having made any money. I also knew what it cost to have someone build website and the cost if you wanted the services of a webmaster. Now I can build a website and as time goes on and I progress from baby steps I will be my own webmaster.
I say to anyone who joins WA Use the freebie to get started, but if you are serious about succeeding get the premium and further your training.
And above all, enjoy your failures, use them as stepping stones, and climb the ladder of success.
To all at Wealthy Affiliates, thank you, Merry Christmas and enjoy the holidays.
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Hi Russ,
Great post and thanks for the reminders.Have a great day
Phyllis