When trying to build a skill, I look for examples to guide my development. Blog writing is one of those skills. I’ve tried to find other bloggers who have established an online identity and have produced quality content. There are tons of example out there. When you look for something online, you’ll always find someone who is better and more experienced.
I find myself admiring those people. In my eyes, they’re successful. I never want to completely copy their work, but their paths to success are filled with valuable information. After all, these people have put their work online. It’s easy to dig through the archives of the internet see the development over time.
The important thing to remember, these people were not instantaneously successful. Just like you, their success was a journey and they’ve evolved over time.
I also see this on YouTube. Many of the successful channels have quality cameras, great transitions, and appear to be professionally edited. I’m not a video editor, but I can tell the difference between a polished video and one made by an amateur. When I see a YouTuber whose videos are impressive, I sometimes click back to their earliest videos. Usually, they’re way worse. The personality of the creator typically remains in tact, but there have been many improvements over the years.
I often have to remind myself that people do not become successful over night. People build skills over time and once they’ve mastered skill, they continue to develop more skills in the same field.
For me, the goal should be to continuously build skills and allow myself to incorporate more skills into my work. When I look at an established blogger’s final products, I am honestly a little jealous. They seem to have a sense of direction and the ability to optimize their content for the internet.
I often need this reminder, the people you admire are a product of years of trial and error. These people have made mistakes over time and learned from their mistakes. Most importantly, they didn’t let any missteps stop them. They continued to refine skills and improve their content over time.
I also need to remind myself that I should never feel too comfortable. When I am confident in my abilities to perform as certain task, I should find a way to improve. Even if I am don’t find myself improving, my prior skills will remain in tact. This allows me to work toward becoming better while using the skills I am confident in.
