I read two completely opposite things this week. One was Chris Guillebeau’s free manifesto titled 279 Days to Overnight Success. The other was Penelope Trunk’s blog post called Reality check: you’re not going to make money from your blog. These two bloggers could not have a more opposing viewpoint on the topic of generating income around your blog.
One stands as empowerment to those who can live up to the challenge, while the other stands as a deterrent disguised as “realistic” and “practical” advice. It’s obvious which one is which.
These have been weighing heavy on my mind as I try to grasp in the dark for what makes sense. Chris’s manifesto is simplistically practical and he shoots straight from the hip about how you can achieve a financial livelihood off of your blog. His title is ironic enough and once you dive deeper into the manifesto you realize that, damn, this guy works hard and truly is passionate about what he’s doing. And, shit, he’s happy. I mean, seriously happy. And, I want to be that happy.
I’ve never been one to really see roadblocks. I know they are there, but really, it’s like, out of sight, out of mind. I just don’t even pay attention to them. What’s the point? You end up selling yourself short and then looking back later and feeling a restlessness within you. The only cause of the restlessness is regret and the cure is long gone in the past when you settled for an easy reality, instead of a weathered dream.
And, I know I’m only 23 and I haven’t weathered the storms many other people have, but I’ve done my share of settling in the past and I’ll tell you that sometimes it’s hard to fall asleep on nights where those settlements are clear in my head. I’ve let people talk me out of things I’ve wanted to do in the past. I let a college counselor who didn’t know me from Jane tell me that I couldn’t go to my dream school, but instead had to settle for a California state school. I’ve recited in my head over and over that everything happens for a reason and it all worked out for the best, but you better believe I have a backpack full of regret that I carry around about that decision.
I could be terribly foolish in that I will take Chris’s advice, but not Penelope’s. I could fail hopelessly at reaching my dreams, but you know, I’d rather fail doing something I love than succeed doing something that was just safe or convenient. I have no patience for roadblocking advice that is masked cleverly as realistic. Truly, I don’t even have the words in my vocabulary to piece together something that would tell you that you can’t do something you want to do.
There was a comment I saw on Penelope’s blog that I needed to post here from Danilo Campos (this is just a snippet):
No one ever accomplished anything meaningful by accepting a low estimate of their own worth. I have met incredible people with truly stunning accomplishments and lives that are shockingly gratifying. Invariably, they each got there by accepting that love for their hard work would give them whatever reward they sought. Invariably, they advise others that they, too, can get there. Life is best lived without the acceptance of limitations.
We have enough critics in our head as it stands and enough limitations we impose on ourselves – why do we need more? I say, go for it. No matter what it is. Just, go for it.
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Well said Jamie! I, for one, enjoy reading your Tweets and your blog and say GO FOR IT! to you. Keep it up because you inspire many others out there with what you contribute to the ’sphere.
Jason – thank you! I will continue to GO FOR IT! I’m glad you enjoy what I’m contributing and thanks for your first comment here. Woo!
Great post. We should never accept somebody else’s limitations on what WE can do. I love proving the naysayers wrong.
I love proving the naysayers wrong, too. It makes them all fumbly. Thanks for the comment!
I personally have stopped reading Penelope about 5 different times only to pick her up again after someone links to her months later.
She seems to go through normally minded periods of time then every once in a while she will get all negative and snarky about things and that is when I can no longer take her. This post is one of those times.
I am glad you posted Chris’ manifesto to make up for the ten minutes I wasted on Penelope. Her post seems to go against the whole idea of younger people empowering themselves to make an impact on the world. I doubt this is in any way similar to Penelope’s intentions, but I took the post as a challenge instead of a deterrent.
Whoever is the naysayer, I find that it never does anyone any good to tell them they can’t do something. Well, wait, it could. Like you said, it could act as a challenge instead of a deterrent. And, I hope that other people will rise up to the challenge, instead of sink with the doubt. Thanks for the comment.
I’m with you, Alex–Penelope Trunk’s blog has become something I want to turn away from but just can’t. There is occasionally some value in her contrarian views, but she is usually way over the top with her negativity and self-importance.
Jamie, I’m interested to see that you compared PT’s piece to 279 Days to Success, because I have that queued up to read…sometime. Sometime just got a little sooner thanks to this post.
Hey Jamie – great name!
Highly recommend 279 Days… It took me about an hour to read and the takeaway was massive. No matter if you want to make a living online or not, it creates a very realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. He doesn’t claim that it’s easy; he’s realistic. But, he empowers the reader to take on the challenges, which I feel like is imperative.
Grab some coffee and jump into it. Not to mention, the design is so beautiful! Ah, such a fan.
I think its important to acknowledge the difficulties that you may encounter, and hear why other people failed, or succeeded – but the idea of letting the fear of failure stand in the way of your success is absurd.
Can’t wait to see what you will do next.
You’re right that there is value in sharing what worked and what did not work. I agree completely there. Thanks Erica for that insight.
Thanks for this, Jamie. I think I needed it as an antidote to Penelope’s post, which I read yesterday. I’m closer to Penelope’s age than to yours, and I do believe in healthy doses of realism. But Penelope’s post didn’t strike me as realism. It was just plain negativism, with a twist of mean. She basically said “You’re not special, and you’ll never be” to hundreds of bloggers. Blanket statements like that are as pointless as carrying around backpacks full of regret.
It serves no one to even blanket people like that. There really is no point to it at all, from where I’m standing. Warn, be realistic, share the difficulties that people have faced, and stop there. Let people make their own decisions based on the information you’ve presented. The only thing negativity does is either challenge someone or discourage. And I’m guessing the latter is the most common.
Great post! I wish more people would take risks and not allow others opinions to get in the way of their dreams. I would rather take a risk and fail than to live with the feeling of regret.
I personally believe regret is one of the worst emotions to live with because you constantly find yourself wondering, “How would my life be different if I did (insert desire)?” At least if you take a chance you know how it will turn out and can take comfort in the fact that you tried.
I think regret is at the core of most people’s misery and unhappiness. I’ve talked to so many people who, once they delve deeper into why they are unhappy, come to realize that they have something still unsettled in the past.
I’m with you – I’d rather try and fail, then stay safe. Thanks for the comment!
Excellent post and excellent points! I don’t understand the point of a lot of the unnecessary pessimism feel the need to load down on others. “You’ll never do X. You’ll never do Y. You can’t do this. Just give up on that.” What the heck is the point? I know it’s going to be hard, but I really don’t need Debbie Downer perched on my shoulder telling me repeatedly that I’m going to fail. And I know there’s a possibility I will fail, which is why contingency plans are important.
But what’s the point of telling someone that their dreams and efforts are pointless? Futile, even? Especially coming from someone who actually did it themselves? I hate that. It’s comes off as an exercise in “how douchey can I be?” I just don’t see the point in writing it.
“Debbie Downer perched on my shoulder…” Wow, great mental image there, Katie. I agree completely. I don’t understand the point in saying it can’t be done or the efforts are worthless. To save someone from failure? Psh, failure makes us stronger.
I love this. When I was telling everyone about who I met in Austin and how I was interviewing for the internship in Chicago, and after everything I said, one girl would say “…yeah, if you get it”.
And then when I did get it, “…you got lucky”
Seriously? Shut up already Debbie Downer. I’m so over you. Why can’t people be happy for people anymore? Why can’t your friends support you and be excited for these opportunities in your life?
And then I realized, you know what? These people aren’t friends.
Debbie Downer needs to take a chill pill and start working hard at being awesome instead of a downer. Seriously.
“I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.”- Oscar Wilde
Reading this post, and knowing that i’d agree even before reading it, i can’t help to wonder:
Should we even read other’s opinions? Don’t get me wrong, of course we should! But, where’s the limit? When do we stop “learning” and begin getting influenced? When do we start paying too much attention to what they say?
Like Lady Bracknell said in Wilde’s play, maybe ignorance is something to leave untouched. Because once we dip it into “the real world”, doing what this post suggests might be harder than it seems.
Great post Jamie, for real.
But, where’s the limit? When do we stop “learning” and begin getting influenced? When do we start paying too much attention to what they say?
Wow, I have been thinking on this for the past week or so. And, I think that we all need to find our own limits. And pull away when we feel like we are getting too influenced. At least, that’s what I do.
Great comment. Gave me lots to think about.
Great post, Jamie, as always. I completely agree with you. I just read Penelope’s article, and sure she has a lot of important things to say. But I feel like she often just oozes negativity instead of inspiring people to do better and follow their dreams. And that’s what Chris is doing, which is what we need more of in this world. We really don’t need more negativity, or more people telling us we shouldn’t try because we’re going to fail. We need more inspiration and we need people to go for their dreams.
At the same time, people need to take all the advice they can get. It’s great to be idealistic, but you also don’t want to have false hopes. Sometimes it is also good to critically assess your skills and your knowledge, comparing that to the dreams you want to achieve. And it is well worth it to assess all the obstacles you might encounter. Idealism is great but if it is applied in the wrong way, that’s not going to be helpful either.
Do you think that people do need to take all the advice they can get? I don’t know if I necessarily agree with you there. Sometimes we can become so influenced by other people’s failures that we won’t take a chance.
Sometimes advice can hinder the creative process – not allow for unique thought. What do you think?
Like when I waltzed into the diner in Austin and sat down, all confident that I was going to rock this conference and come home with jobs. The first guy I talked to told me “You don’t deserve shit, Sydney” and I was like, holy crap. And he told me I was intellectually behind. So I cried myself to sleep, woke up and said, okay, I’m here to learn.
And I did. Taking in everything, even the bad, is what makes me who I am. Obviously people have their opinions for a reason, some just, some not, but taking all sides of the story is what it’s all about. It keeps you grounded and makes you well rounded.
And I’m a poet on the side.
Amen sister-friend!!!!!! I always say: Who needs enemies? I have myself! Thanks for sure a great post!!! I too know the regret, the what if, the long nights of replaying it over and over in your heading thinking “I should have done this. There was the opportunity. Left was correct, not right!” Even now, still battling with it, but we are not alone. Sometimes all we need is someone like you to give us a verbal kick in the pants telling us to Go For It!!!
I guess you can rely on me to always give you a verbal kick in the pants! I’m pretty good at that. Thanks for your great comment. It made me smile!
Awesome post Jamie. When I worked for P, she sometimes had the mentality that only “she” could do something right. She also gave me career advice that didn’t make any sense for me but did serve the company’s purpose.
Not to diss P – I think everyone is guilty of giving self-serving advice at times. I guess my point is actually that when people give you advice that doesn’t make sense you always have to look at their motivations. You can learn a lot about someone based on the advice they give and the way they give it.
Great insight. That’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about: what are the motivations behind advice? I seem to get a lot of advice thrown at me and sometimes I feel like some of it is self-serving. The motivations issue is always in my head – I seem to feel the need to pick and choose who’s advice I seek.
Thanks for your comment. Gave me some clarity!
Dude, so is this your blog or is shatterboxx? I can’t keep up!
I love this post, obviously, because we’ve talked on several occasions how I’m totally fine with bull-dozing my way through critics. But I have learned in the past few months that the critics do make me work harder.
So while I encourage kind words and praise – I wish more people would tell me I can’t, so I have more people to prove wrong. Because I’m pretty sure proving people wrong is one of the best feelings in the world.
Right now, where I’m at in my life and how things are progressing, I feel like putting my hands to my ears and shouting “NEENER NEENER NEEEENER!”
I am so proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished (sorry for sounding like your mom) but you know how much I love people with drive, and every post you write screams how driven you are.
Keep it up. Er, wait. You should really stop posting this crap and start writing real posts?
I can’t. I am not a critic of yours. I’m a big, fat, sign-waving supporter.
I know, I’m very confusing these days. Shatterboxx has basically become my business website and intersected is my blog. Sorry for the confusion, Sydney. =)
Talk about proud – look at you Miss Chicago! Woo!
I agree that optimism is great and all, but i think Penelope’s point is that her blog is a huge upside case for a blogger (i.e. very few people are going to be anywhere near as successful as she is with her blog), and she doesn’t make money from it.
Whereas in acting the upside case is you’re a famous multi-millionaire, in blogging the upside case is a lot of work and not much money.
It reminds me of my friend who is in an 80s metal band. He knows the upside case for him is unlikely to be worth much (who listens to 80s metal anymore?), but he does it for his love of the music, not the money he could make from it. I think blogging needs to be based on a similar personal assessement.
I don’t believe that you should limit your capabilities by the amount of opportunities there are. You make your own opportunities. And, in the grand scheme of things, something like 90% of bloggers don’t even last a month. Of the 10% that keep up with it and actually care about it, they could be presented with opportunities.
For people who want to pursue their art, there’s no talking them out of it. And, seriously, I really want to go to a concert of your friend’s.
I agree with you on this post, and felt the same way when I read Penelope’s “Reality Check” – and I want to preface this by saying I enjoy following your blog and your story – however…
I must confess that it strikes me as painfully ironic that you criticize Penelope Trunk so loudly here (and in the comments to the “Reality Check” post on her blog, but only after someone referred to you there as her “mini-me”), when the title and premise of your blog is such a blatant mirroring of hers:
Your (rather new) blog – “Intersected: the place where work, life, and love all meet…”
VS.
Her (long established) blog – “Advice at the intersection of work and life.”
I’m sure it’s not intentional, but it reeks of irony, in a rather uncomfortable way … and of course, I’m sure your response to this will be to “Ignore the critics and do whatever the hell you need to do.” I get that, but just wanted to share how this particular post comes across to me.
I don’t get how that has anything to do with the subject matter of this post. There are tons of people writing about work, love, and life that are saying very different things on it.
I’m hardly original in my tagline and neither is Penelope.
Still, though, how does this have anything to do with this post or how I write? I can’t disagree with someone who has the same tagline as I do?
That doesn’t exactly make sense.
it amazes me that penelope trunk has become this 20-something blog writers’ icon. she’s lives in my hometown and has been publishing a career column there for a million years, and my coworkers and i used to read it and make fun of how curmudgeonly she was for someone that’s . . . not a senior citizen. her columns ran on thursday, and the coworkers and i had a standing thursday morning ritual that the first thing we always did was read penelope trunk’s career advice and snark on it. (i feel bad about admitting this! i’m sure she’s a nice person.)
that said, i don’t think she’s lying. most people will never make their living from blogging. but!
a) obviously some people do. if you don’t try, you have a zero percent chance of succeeding; if you try, you at least have that one in a million chance.
b) running a successful blog, even if it’s not making you much money, can open up other career/money-making options that you might not have been offered or exposed to.
c) even a medium-popular blog can make some kind of money, and some kind of money is better than no money, even if it’s not enough to live off of.
d) online publishing and writing and journalism are all changing so much, so quickly. just because blogging is not profitable for most people now doesn’t mean that will always be the case.
so go for it. as long as you like blogging, you’re never going to lose anything by doing it . . . and if you find it’s not profitable, you can take the lessons you learned and apply them elsewhere.
Thanks for your comment. Was a really interesting and different perspective.
Seems the most common thing is – you’ll never know unless you try!
I didn’t interpret Penelope’s post quite as negatively as a lot of people did, but…I also think it’s important to LEARN from your critics rather than ignoring them entirely.
I’m of the mind that walls and roadblocks are important — because they show who cares enough to tear them down (or climb over them). (I’m sort of paraphrasing an old PostSecret.) If you’re one of those people, then obstacles will reveal your determination. If you’re not one of those people…well, then you’ll get weeded out anyway.
Another useful thing that the post does (other than just giving you a reason to get fired up and say “oh yes I can”) is that it points out some _flawed_ approaches to earning money through your blog. An important lesson here is to get creative with your business model if you’re serious about earning money from blogging.
Another good take-home message? It’s going to be hard. Not deterred? Great! If you’re the kind of person who gets fired up by this kind of warning, then it’s useful information.
Finally…Penelope is taking her own advice to a certain extent with this post. She’s being controversial again (without necessarily being confrontational), which is getting people to talk about her…again. Another lesson?
Thanks for your insight, Julia. You’re right – her post actually did get me pretty fired up. That’s a good thing, except I worry about people who don’t get fired up by a deterrent, but actually do get deterred. There are less people like me (headstrong, stubborn, & forging my own path) than there are people who will give up their dreams if the road proves too difficult.
Oh, seriously, the woman has a talent for getting people to talk about her – and how could we not? Some of the things she writes about are downright OUTRAGEOUS.
PS – The link to your 2009 goals is broken, FYI. http://www.intersectedblog.com/2009-goals/
Got it. Thanks. =)
Amen.
Thanks for kicking me in the backside, Jamie! Love the post.
hi jamie,
love the post…as always…here’s a thought. how much does success look like? to some its a million dollars with a rolls royce in the garage and a butler waiting to massage your feet. to others, its the freedom of taking your backpack and setting up camp in thailand for a month. the best part of success is that its so personal, we can all have it. what if we all had the same dream!?!
Yo, it looks like we are more alike than i thought!
1) i just finished reading 279 days 2 weeks ago (around the time this was posted actually)
and 2) i’m also a graphic designer
Long live the two of us.
“Nothing worth doing is easy”
or
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” — Theodore Roosevelt
I’m a big believer of this, no-one can argue against this (well).
You CAN make money with a blog or other site. NO, it does not happen overnight. YES, you have to be passionate about it and there is so much to learn. I recommend taking the fast track: learn from those with experience in what works and what doesn’t. Blogging is no different than any other activity whether business, sport, acting, writing….
Only the top two percent are wildly successful. The top ten percent are making a good go of it. All the rest will struggle to make ends meet. What this tells you is if you want to be successful you must aim to be in the top ten percent. My philosophy is if you’re aiming for that you may as well aim for the very top.
There may be 1000 individual enhancements any blog can make. Each one will increase your results. The more you implement the better the results. It is not rocket science but it does take intelligence, time, and persistence. If anyone has ever done it that proves it can be done – and if no one has that does NOT prove it can NOT be done!
I’ve been systematically researching, testing, and applying what works for years now and posting what I learn in my blog. I’ve linked the most relevant recent post about what I’ve learned to this comment. Anyone interested in learning more or having specific questions answered is invited to visit.
For a blog to make money it needs a clearly defined niche. It must provide a specific benefit to visitors and encourage their participation. Then it can make clear recommendations of products and services that are truly valuable to those specific readers.
Filling a blog with ads and clutter, recommending bad products, or failing to properly pre-sell what you recommend will not work. By explaining why you recommend something: how it BENEFITS your readers – what is in it FOR THEM – you provide a valuable service and can start generating an income.
Blogs can offer specific products one at a time or use the great new technology available like Datafeedr and affiliate management programs to create entire niche-specific stores. Be selective in what you offer and especially selective about what you personally recommend. Your trustworthiness will make or break your long-term success.
100% agree! Why would anyone want to sit you down and start telling you how you can not do this and that? Some articles are just meant to get you down and question your ability. It is now up to us to use our good judgement and believe in ourselves.
Hi Jamie,
landed in your site searching about thesis. I really like the personal and frank tone of your blog very much. Will keep reading.