Level 4 Completed - a Personal Victory!

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Haha. Guess "they" haven't lived long enough or been personally challenged enough! This "67-year-old dog" has learned quite a few new tricks and had a blast learning them!

Wealthy Affiliate Training

Having been the recipient of more training programs in my career than actually want to even recount, I am thoroughly convinced the WA training is by far the best organized and concise learning environment I've encountered. It love the way each learning step is given a task, which when completed, has a built-in reward system from peers. The learner, I think, actually becomes a bit "addicted" to positive reinforcement and hurries forward to complete yet another task.

Reward System

Quite by accident (or perhaps it was subliminally planted in my mind), I discovered early on in my training the feedback comment reward system. In order to obtain comments, I had to give comments on a 2/1 ratio. Not only did I see beautifullly organized websites, but I was exposed to both really good and really needy writing and it was valuable to learn both from what I perceived as "mistakes" and even more so, total wins in terms of writing and style.

Site Comments rock! Getting slammed for not noticing that the writer only asked for certain feedback was a wake-up moment for me. Pay attention to what the writer wants back from you in terms of feedback. It makes you a more focued reader as well as a better commenter. And surprise. When you reach the Certified Commenter level you begin to be paid for commenting - didn't know that was coming!

Finding My "Voice"

Perhaps even more difficult than finding my "niche" was finding my writing voice. I am trained to write technically, but have no diffficulty in verbally communicating on almost any level. I had to learn (and am still learning) to find a happy medium and develop a "human" writing voice. I am so grateful to those of you who have the knack of refining technical information into a relaxed, easily understood conversation with the reader. Thank you!

Moving Forward

Now that I've completed 3 levels, my website has been indexed (by the way, I'm thinking the secret is getting Google Analytics in place), and become a Certified Commenter, I'm even more excited to begin adding the social media component. Surprisingly my focus has been on completing my tasks rather than "making money" right off. I'm indebted to those of you who consistently remind us that this is not a get rich scheme nor are monetary rewards quick in coming.

This "old dog" can't wait for the next new trick - and I'm excited to see what treats are in store!