Some one pinch me please…. this must be a dream!
November 2002
At the end of a day on a warm November day when I was about to leave work a friend emailed me a link in an email suggesting I check out a blog because it seems to be on a topic I have an interest in.
It’s one of those emails that most of us regularly trash without looking at because we don’t have time – but on that day I had a spare few minutes and I followed the link.
The blog was on a topic I was interested in – however it was the medium of blogging itself that immediately grabbed my attention.
- What was this ‘blog’ thing that enabled a Kiwi guy living in Prague to have his voice amplified around the world to thousands of people?
- What was this ‘blogosphere’ thing that enabled not only one guy to have a voice – but thousands of people have a voice, interact with each other and build community?
I was immediately hooked and started a blog of my own within a few hours. ‘It could be fun’ I told my wife….
The rest, as they say, is history….
April 2010
Now on this cool Autumn day (remember I live in Australia), 7 and a half years later I:
- make a good living from blogging (and have been full time at it for around 5 years)
- have written a book on the topic (it’s 2nd edition debuted at #140 on Amazon’s best seller list this week)
- have around 3 million people each month read what I publish
- have been interviewed and made appearances in more mainstream media that I can count
- get invitations to speak around the world on my topics of interest
I feel like I’ve been living in a dream
The above list of ‘achievements’ is actually something that I feel should be written about someone else. You see I’m not qualified to have them written about me.
Recently at a conference where speakers shared their ‘credentials’ to speak on their topics of expertise I decided to share my own list of ‘credentials’ from my life before blogging.
The list included:
- 20 jobs in 10 years (none of them in social media/web/tech or anything slightly related to doing anything online)
- a Bachelor of…. Theology (it took me almost 10 years to get)
- Half a Bachelor of Marketing (I loved the marketing subjects but kept failing the more ‘business’ related topics and ended up giving up.
- C grade average in English at High School
- Incapable of making text BOLD for 3 months into my first blog
I was certainly not a dismal failure in life. I’d done pretty well in high school, had achieved in some of my jobs and study and had a fairly happy and healthy life – however I was certainly not a high achiever with too many skills or experiences that would set me up as a blogger.
In fact if I could add to the list one thing it’d be that I was a fairly undisciplined kind of person. I’d not had a great track record at sticking to too many things for the long term (my longest stint in a job was 2.5 years) and was notoriously bad at deadlines. The thought of doing something daily for 8 years would not have been something I’d have seen myself ever doing.
Many days I wake up in the morning and think about where blogging has taken me and wonder if it’s all been a dream or a mistake – I really don’t think I belong in this life some days….
None of Us Really Belong
I’m sharing this today for a couple of reasons.
Firstly – I’m having one of those ‘pinch me, this must be a dream’ days. It’s a good dream, but I’m shaking my head and wondering how I got here.
Secondly – the main reason I’m writing this is that I want to share my story because the more successful bloggers I talk to the more I realise that I’m not the only one who feels like they’re in the middle of a dream that they don’t quite belong in.
On the flip side of things I also talk to a lot of newer and less established bloggers who tell me that they look at ‘successful bloggers’ and wonder if they can ever be like them.
Sometimes as more established bloggers those of us who have been around for a while come off as being more polished and qualified than we really are. The reality is that most of us are pretty normal and ordinary people.
Most of us have little experience in publishing, limited training in communication and have days where we wonder if we really belong or why we’ve had the success that we have.
By no means am I saying bloggers who’ve been successful don’t deserve their success (many of the bloggers I’m thinking about are creative, smart and hard working people) – I guess I just wanted to acknowledge that while I write about being a Professional blogger that there are days where I’m not sure I fit the ‘mold’. I hope in doing so that bloggers of all levels might feel a little more ‘qualified’ no matter what their background.
For me the key is not to be put off by the achievements of others but to focus upon who you are and how you can be useful to others. Learn from those who may have gone before – but don’t become distracted by them. Instead work hard on who you are and what you’re doing.
Keep in mind that blogging and the social media space is not really owned by anyone – none of us really ‘belong’ any more than anyone else. To put it more positively – we all belong and have as much right to the space as each other. 10 years ago the blogosphere didn’t really exist. 5 years back ‘social media’ was hardly a blip on the radar.
We’re all still finding our way in this space and there’s plenty of room for more to join us.
Hi Darren, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with us. I really look forward to your posts. Problogger has helped me immensley. I’m a blogger in South Africa and as much as I love it, it can be a bit frustrating sometimes because internet is still so expensive and slow in this country. But I love blogging and I’ll keep at it. Thanks for all the wonderful tips and inspiration.
As above, thanks very much for this article. Just earlier today I read a post complaining essentially about “nub” bloggers, and it really got me feeling down. Thanks for the encouragement and the honesty. Many bloggers would not say what you have.
Posting every day for 5 years can lead to great opportunities!
:]
This blog truly was inspiring. I’m sure every blogger has felt like this at one point and you covered the doubtful feeling perfectly.. It’s good to know that not all professional bloggers majored in English, journalism, etc etc..
Thanks a million for this post~
Perfect – I think this is exactly what some of us needed to hear right now. While it’s inspiring, it can be frightening, also, traveling in a troupe of giants. And even if we see small victories it can be tough to realize that the existence of someone else’s success doesn’t put a cap on ours.
Cheers, Darren. Thanks for posting this!
@siddhartha – I believe there’s a lot of opportunity to “break in,” especially anyone looking ahead to how blogging will evolve and how new technology will advance communication.
And I’m saying it a definite newcomer, having been at this about a year.
I’ve read your stuff, your voice rings clear. Clearer than most.
You’ve done well Darren. And it’s freezing in Melbourne.
[smile]
Darren, there’s a difference between being humble and having humility. Your reply is an indication of the latter. ;-)
Thanks so much.. There is hope for me after all.
I got “stumbled” for the first time ever 4 days ago, and I would say I have been in a dreamworld ever since then, wondering how it happened, who did it, whether they will do it again? The reaction seems to have tailed off a bit but it was a huge “claim to fame” moment for me! The feeling of being centre stage just for that realisation period! What a high! I’m addicted! :o)
Just wanted to say thanks for the response. That was my first time commenting here and the reception was better than expected. You are going to see a lot more of me going forward. Thanks for doing what you do.
no problem Daniel – I don’t have the chance to reply to every comment these days but this post seems to have resonated with quite a few and I wanted to make extra effort to touch base today.
Darren you do belong trust me. If it wasn’t for you I don’t think any of us would be here :) to get your tips, your knowledge, etc, etc.
Darren, you seemed tentative about the way you mentioned your Bachelor degree…..of Theology!
The way I look at it is you passed with flying colours. I mean once you have the degree it’s yours!
You might decide one day that you want to go on to do an MBA or something. That degree holds value!
You also made a comment just above about “if all your world crashed down around you”! On that one, because you have achieved success, the second time round should be pretty easy. So why worry!
Darren, I believe that you have found your vocation at life, that’s why you are so good at what you’re doing. During the good old days when no one even thought about making a living out of blogging, you said you will be blogging full time- that time it really created a stir. Even that time to me, it seemed almost unachievable. Years later, many people have followed your footsteps :)
I have hated school but forced myself to finish it because I don’t want to be poor. Got myself a job with the industry leader earned good money but I just hated my life. After 9 years, I just left. I realised that we can be good at what we are doing even though we hate the job- but the effects will show up in our health and after some years, we will be completely burned out.
But if we are doing something in accordance to our true talents (usually also involving helping/motivating others to succeed), not only we will be good at it, but we will be exceptional and will stand out from the rest of the crowd. You are one of them.
Thanks for writing this blog, like many others, I’ve learned a lot from your blog.
One reason for your success is that you are an incredibly generous blogger. Congratulations on staying with the job for 7 1/2 years!
congratulation
i hope i will be posting a story like this 2 years on the future :-)
This gives me the courage to continue on, to just keep learning my craft. I’m hoping that one day I can share that same “pinch me” experience.
I have been blogging for about 7 months now and I know my niche I blog about appeals to certain people and traffic may never get where I want it but I love doing it. It’s almost a part of me and thought about quitting at points but I can’t see myself doing that. It would break my heart.
Just the other day, I felt like giving up on my new blog. I kind of felt that I’m not cut out to be a blogger especially after looking at some other big blogs and successful bloggers.
Then I read your blog post. If someone like you can feel that way after blogging for so many year, I guess I will just have to get use to it and put those feelings aside and carry on.
Thank you for being very honest about it and sharing it with us.
Thanks for sharing that side of you with us. Sometimes I feel that way, too. But what I’m glad for is the opportunity to have a voice and use it. I’m also very thankful that a lot of people read what I write, and that it helps them in little ways I never could’ve imagined.
Thanks Darren, it is always a pleasure to hear the real story, and a great reminder that everyone has to start somewhere.
Having example such as yourself be so forthright and honest is really helpful.
It took me 7 years to graduate with a degree in journalism, I thought I was doomed.
Great post and worth reflective upon for any blogger. I go through the same and feel perhaps I am not made for this or maybe I am not doing it right, I have no clue and i just keep blogging on a bad day. But I guess it is natural –
From where I am coming from, the issue is simply Bloggers don’t have recognition as yet in my country and its more of an Individual think.
I can relate to this one quite a lot. Thanks
Great Post , I often feel like I am living a dream. When I first started blogging I didn’t realize the impact it would have on other people. Thanks for sharing this
Thanks for sharing, Darren. It takes courage, and is so important.
I am soooo happy to have found you!!
I find your advice to be beyond helpful, just love your writing and your “every man” persona……
I know just how you feel, I have those days myself, and it’s good to know it’s normal. Not so great to know that one could get to your level and still feel that way LOL. Thanks, this post really put a lot of my thoughts of self-doubt into perspective. I’ve hit the six month mark, and I have read on here what is said about that stage, and sadly for me, it’s been true. But I think I’m just cutting through it. So I needed this post quite a lot today
I really believe that the more qualifications you have, the higher the potential for your content to feel pitched – I think the bloggers that become the most successful *socially* are the ones with a unique and genuine voice. When you write from a place of honesty and delight, the rest will follow.
Hi Darren,
Your reflections are deep and real.When you write from the heart I feel your thoughts. As a fellow blogger I often wonder what make me special. I read you everyday more than anyone and ponder why?
Most hesitate to show us who they really are, yet you do not and that is very refreshing in this day and age.
You are my hero as a blogger because you reflect so many feelings we all share.
Keep up the great work of keeping us all motivated.We are all on a crusade together.
Pierre William Trudel
Thee Quest
Oh fearless leader, I love that you were incapable of making text BOLD for 3 months into my first blog. I thought the ony thing wrong with you was that you’re a bit of a geek. Great to learn you’re not really:)
I like what you said in the end.. ‘we all belong and have as much right to the space as each other’.
My education an career background is on the same path, as was yours. I hope I ll be a success like you too, some day. :)
Thanks for sharing,
Raja
Darren
I feel the total opposite. Most of the time I feel blogging is my niche. When I met people they ask me what I do, I tell them I am a blogger.
Even through I do not make a living at blogging, my goal is to start making more money at blogging and less money at my night job. Then at some point in time blogging is my full time job.
Darren, this post is most timely. I was actually thinking about you in the shower this morning – honest…. it’s where I do a lot of my planning for the day… and I was thinking that if I ever wanted to do a guest post on your blog (I noticed you’ve had a few of them lately) that the subject would be how to blog about your passion, when you think you are totally unqualified!
I’m a golfer, and I love the game, play most of the year. I’m not very good, but I keep trying to improve all the time. In May of 2009 I began a blog targeted at the crowd I know well – women golfers….and have been posting 2 or 3 times a week since. Slowly building readership.
But I have this interior conflict that I am continuing to resolve…. I’m no expert at golf, but I am passionate about it… I can interview experts and post product reviews on stuff I have tried, but my best posts are telling my own story… not pretending to be what I am not. Acknowledging and using my own voice (Yaro Starak is my mentor – I am in his Elite Membership class – he wrote about this recently in his bog, etrepreneurs-journey.com) is the best way to move forward.
So I understand your ambivalence! Thanks for your insights. Always appreciated.
Hi Darren,
You and I go way back to the good old ESA camping days in Marysville but I will have to leave that conversation for another day!
For now I just want to say thanks for all your work in sharing blogging with us! You really have been blessed!
But the truth is I have been reading your posts for so long my head and many a sticky note of helpful ideas are full to the point I don’t know what to do next. I wrote my first blog a few weeks ago using blogger but don’t even know if anyone else has seen it yet? I have the passion to share my craft with others but not the skills or knowledge how to do it.
Please let me know if you ever want to take a very new newbie apprentice on. Could make a good read for other newbies!
Thanks for an honest look back. This is something I struggle with all the time, so it is great to hear I am not alone and there is hope!
Thanks for the inspiring blog post! My hubby is from Melbourne, by the way! My blog just celebrated its one year anniversary yesterday and I am so excited to see what year 2 will bring. Year 1 has been a lot of work, but am getting some traction finally and some very loyal readers. Thanks for giving me a vision for the future!
Thanks for sharing Darren. Sometimes I felt like blogging is just not my thing, becaose I soock at writing..Im not good at it and i hate it.
its interesting. something that can motivate myself. i had been blogging for 6 months ago. video blog and content blog. and hopefully can be succes not same as darren rowse, but more than others. perhaps :)
I listened to a fascinating audio recording years ago in which a famous talk show host discussed exactly this phenomenon. She called it the Imposter Theory. And practically every successful person feels it. When you’re on a stage, or you’re interviewing a head of state, or whatever your gig – it’s not uncommon to think, “if they only knew who I REALLY am.” Excellent post. Thank you again.
Great post, Darren. What I like most about this site is the straightforward, honest approach your incorporate. It is true that no prerequisites exist to be a successful blogger, other than a great work ethic and passion for your niche.
Success does not always come overnight. I have been blogging at my current site for a little over 2 years. However, it wasn’t until 6 months ago that it really started to take off.
My success can be attributed to focused dedication to my site, and deciding to post on a regular basis (daily). While I do not boast the number of visitors you have achieved, I believe ‘success’ is a relative term based on the realistic goals one sets.
I am now in the process of crafting an e-book, another moderate milestone, which will hopefully take my site in another direction.
Thanks again for continuing this site, in view of the other successes you have had. Problogger is a great resource for all blogger looking to progress based on lessons you have already learned.
I know you’re saying this just to uplift bloggers who are being snubbed Darren. How can you feel you don’t belong when you might be the most popular blogging guru?
So here’s my suggestion to downtrodden bloggers:
If you think you’re being snubbed, avoid networking with those who care about their PR. Thanks.
Read PROBLOGGER and all your blogs, plus Copyblogger’s and tons of other good advice; settled down on a good niche for my expertise and actually bought a domain.
Woke up this morning wondering what in heck I was doing? What could I say five days a week ad infinitum that anybody would want to read? And then, I read your honest feelings about your own experience.
Thank you, Darren, for sharing! Maybe I can make it work, too.
Darren- Wow! you said…
“I feel like I’ve been living in a dream”
This is EXACTLY what to world needs more of!
Keep pressing, Keep Sharing, but most importantly be the VERY best Husband and Father you can be! (Happy Wife is a HAPPY home!)
Blessings, Brian-
Yeah, I think that 10 years ago, if you would have asked and found people aspiring to be FT bloggers, earning a living from their loving, there probably weren’t too many. (or maybe they wanted to, but the “volume” wasn’t their to support most)
It’s kind of funny, because of the competition, it has also bred into it the ability to profit more. As blogging became more profitable, more ventured into it, and lo and behold, now the number of folks who make profits blogging is quite mind blowing and I’ll bet nobody can really guess how big that number may be.
BrandonBurgh
As someone that is relatively new to blogging and feels slightly over-whelmed and under-qualified, I am glad to hear this kind of talk. It helps to reassure us newbies that there is enough space on the web for all of our voices and there are people who want to hear what we have to say.
Thank you.
As someone who just sent out a link to some friends for a blog I just started, this is an amazingly encouraging post. Thank you for being so transparent and honest.
While I know that not everyone who starts a blog ends up in this dream you describe, it’s nice to know some have.
Thank you.
Thanks for this, Darren, it’s exactly what I needed to read lately. :) (The big bloggers still intimidate the crap out of me, and I seriously wonder if I’ll ever make it too.)
Darren, thanks for sharing your story–I purchased your book today and I can’t wait to sit down and read it. I’ve got a small blog I’m growing to love more and more each day and I’m currently working on a guest posting position on another blog I really enjoy reading. I’m not making any money from my blog and, honestly, there are days I wonder if people ever visit it besides me and my husband. I’m hoping that your book will give me some ideas I can implement to gain readership and, one day, monetize it. I’m also working on writing fiction, a big part of why I decided to blog to begin with.
It’s nice to know that you have your insecure and incredulous moments as well. :)
As someone new to the blogging community, I am very inspired by your post.
I believe that as long as we stay true to our niche and have a genuine passion for it, we would be able to deal with the feeling that we don’t belong, and we’d keep in mind that we have a right and that we deserve our space on the Net.
On a daily basis, I feel like I don’t fit. Not to worry, because I’ve always felt like that. My sweetheart says it is because I am a Pisces – I fit in everywhere, but don’t really fit anywhere.
I have all of the misgivings – to old, not smart enough, not original enough, not enough balls, not the right brains, what is people found out who I really am.
All of it.