How To Be Successful In Blogging & In Life

Over the last couple of months, I have been in my basement working night and day towards the success of this blog. I have been so obsessed that I have rarely paid visit to my good friend the sun. However, in the past two weeks, my motivation has drastically begun to wane.

Worried over my lack of determination, I couldn’t sleep last night. As I laid awake until 6 am, I tried to figure out why this was happening. And in my drowsy deliberations, I came to realize a few truths that I had always known.

The first being, people need the sun and socialization. But more than this, life requires balance. If you think about it, everything in this world is constantly oscillating to obtain equilibrium. The physical laws and equations that govern the universe directly reflect this. And so we too must recognize the need for balance in our lives.

The second truth I realized is that it is not the fear of failure that inhibits our success but the fear of change and success it’s self. Failure is easy. It takes no effort. And most of all, it is comfortable.

It is so comfortable that we continually utilize distractions or make excuses in order to prevent change. For me, I use tobacco, play video games and watch anime. And when I do think about working on the blog or my future, I tell myself that I will figure it out later. Ironically, while this technique allows me to forget about the future and feel relatively comfortable, it keeps me rather depressed.

The reason why I have been doing this lately is because I feel like I don’t deserve success. I feel as though many foster a similar tragic flaw. And unfortunately, the longer we hold on to this mindset, the more comfortable and life defining it becomes. The more change and success appear not only frightening but unachievable. And the more we continue to actively prevent ourselves from becoming happy and successful people.

How do we stop fearing change and achieve success?

The first step in breaking the cycle is to recognize the cycle. We really need to pin point exactly why we are afraid of change. When we come to realize that there is actually nothing to fear and that we deserve success, we need to be active, vigilant and determined about making that change occur. Most of all, we can’t keep making excuses and we need to realize that everything depends on ourselves.

A few years ago, I watched the movie “The Secret.” While I found it’s overall message to be a positive one, I was disturbed by it’s primary mechanism for success. That being, in order to become successful one merely has to ask the universe. The problem with this is that it furthers the conception that success is predicated not upon your own efforts but rather on some kind of higher power. Unfortunately, it is this kind of thinking that makes people unaccountable for their own failures. The kind of thinking that makes realizing success implausible.

Epitomizing this distressing yet growing trend in our society is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. Curiously, as soon as ADHD was conceived, the pharmaceutical companies had developed a cure. More curious, the cure was a highly addictive amphetamine known as Ritalin.  And even more curious, the symptoms of ADHD were very broad. Meaning everyone could potentially be diagnosed with this new disease. If you ask me, it seems just a little too convenient and lucrative for the “compassionate” CEO’s of these pharmaceutical companies.

In the result, millions of Americans are now convinced that the reason they can’t concentrate is because they have a “disease.” More, due to the addictive nature of the drug, many remain in denial, and become reliant on it. However, improving your concentration takes will, discipline and practice. And the longer one relies on a drug to do this for them, the harder it will be to learn to concentrate for ones self.

One of the reasons why I love Hinduism is because it recognizes the power of the self and its potential for success. It posits that within each of us, there exists an Atman or god. When Hindu’s greet each other, instead of saying hello, they say “Namaste” or I honor the god within you. And so, in order to obtain success, we must look towards the “god” within each of us.

Overcoming your fear of change and achieving success is no easy undertaking. It requires that you recognize your flaws and stop making excuses. More, it requires that you make a constant effort to change. You need to envision yourself in a future where you are surrounded by and worthy of the success you desire and deserve.

I know none of this is new stuff. We all know of these truths yet, like the hangover, we so easily forget. We experience these moments of enlightenment, and can see the path to success, but all too often fall back into our old routines. However, life is too short, and if we don’t make change now, it will only get harder and harder.

Good luck,
Leif
P.s. If you want to get in touch, you can contact me through Facebook.