Once upon a time, I was a relatively well-known blogger in a particular niche, but never really found the large audience or success I wanted. I worked at writing posts, tweeting about them, sharing them all around social media, and participated in discussions on other blogs all in the hopes of building my tribe. But no matter what I did, my blog just never took off.
I remember one time complaining that I might as well quit tweeting stuff about my blog because the return-on-investment (meaning my time) was so low. My disappointment soared as I watched other blogs in my niche grow exponentially. Some of these bloggers found new and “better” jobs as a result. As usual, comparison became the thief of joy and I sunk deeper and deeper into verdant envy. I was stuck doing the same old job, wondering why no one was reading my awesome blog and giving me the recognition I truly deserved.
What a jerk.
I read a quote recently from Patrick Lencioni where he said, “Most people don’t really want to change the world, they only want to be known as the person who changed the world.”
Ouch…talk about getting it right between the eyes.
Back when my wife and I attended financial counselor training, I have a vivid memory of Dave Ramsey stating, “If you focus on helping people, you don’t have to worry about where the money is going to come from.” He was referencing the great success he and his organization have experienced over the last 20+ years of teaching his financial principles.
That’s why my sole focus on this blog has been to always think about how to serve someone with each post I write. It’s my prayer that people will stumble across these words and find something that will help them take the steps necessary to make their lives better.
Do I want my blog to get huge? Absolutely! But I hope to stay humble and always do everything from a position of service.
Do I hope to make money from all this? Honestly, yes, I do. I’m running ads, searching for paid speaking gigs, and creating products to sell. Why? Because it’s my hope to be able to earn enough money from this venture that I’ll be able to do it full time and give all my vocational time and attention to helping whoever I can.
Do I want to change the world? Yes, but I’m no longer all that concerned about being known as the one who initiated the change. This story is about the people whose lives are made better, not about me.
That’s my hope.
Thanks for reading.
Also published on Medium.
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