Category: motivation

[Blogging Mindset] Persistence

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 11 Comments

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” — Abraham Lincoln

Odds are that every new endeavor you are thinking of trying, all the shoulds, all the things you wish you could do, all of those are clouded in fear. You do not know what’s going to happen, whether or not you’re going to be successful, or how long will it take to become successful.

Maybe you’re trying to justify that fear by researching the best strategy. Maybe you’re telling yourself it’s not worth it, you’re not good enough, or that there’s too much competition. Continue reading “[Blogging Mindset] Persistence” →

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Blogging for Busy People: How to Blog Despite Having a Full-Time Job

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 75 Comments

Finding time to blog is something we all struggle with. Whether you are just starting out, whether blogging is just a hobby, or your blog is a part time job – finding time to write is a challenge.

Even though a lot of people compliment me on how productive I am, the truth is that I struggle with the challenges of being productive in limited time-frames.

Over the last 6 years of blogging, I guess I’ve settled into something of a workflow and routine. What follows is a collection of reflections on what I’m learning. Continue reading “Blogging for Busy People: How to Blog Despite Having a Full-Time Job” →

How Long Should Your Blog Posts Be?

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 37 Comments

Ever since blogging became mainstream people have been debating about a blog post’s perfect length. A lot of bloggers may read one or two articles about this, and try to follow the rules – never revisiting the issue for as long as they blog. This can be a mistake.

For a definitive answer, the following are three things to consider when you’re trying to decide how long your blog posts should be. Continue reading “How Long Should Your Blog Posts Be?” →

How to Become a More Productive Blogger

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 11 Comments

I often get asked this question, “How do you find the time to do all that you do?”

My daily focus includes: writing on three different blogs (an average of 7-9 posts per day, sometimes even more), moderate comments and interact with readers on those blogs, manage a handful of other blogging related tasks, write short stories and novels, work with a lot of other bloggers as part of my one-on-one blogging programs, have a social life, be a boyfriend – plus read, listen to, and watch as much information as possible in order to feed my brain.

All in all I have a pretty full and busy life. Some days I manage to work for “only”  10 or 12 hours while other days it’s more like 14 (although I do have days when I just schedule already written content, and spend the rest of the day reading).

I keep working even while on vacation, even though those are quite rare (one in four years or so).

So how do I do it? Am I super disciplined? Motivated? Angry? Scared?

To be honest – no. Far from being the most disciplined or motivated person in the blogging world, I tend to be more impulsive in the way I tackle goals and projects.

Having said that – here are some of the things that I do to be as productive as possible. Continue reading “How to Become a More Productive Blogger” →

What’s Your Blog Really About?

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 35 Comments

When I was six years old I decided that I wanted to become the richest man in the history of the world. I kept imagining what it would be like: to be powerful, to acquire such vast wealth that I could do anything I wanted. How I’d own houses and apartments in the most interesting of cities, how I’d conquer the world one business deal at a time.

As I grew older I realized that I did not want it. I mean, I did want it, but I wasn’t willing to pay the price. It did not want the journey. I just wanted to be teleported to the destination.

The same goes for blogging. Some people think it’s cool to blog. To write some words on a computer or smartphone, and then have a bunch of other people read and cherish said words.

But they do not want to pay the price. To enjoy the journey. The long and lonely walk towards their destination.

They do not know what to blog about, they do not know what their blog is all about. Quite frankly, most of them do not know what they’re all about. Continue reading “What’s Your Blog Really About?” →

Zen and the Art of Blogging

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 30 Comments

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

It seems to me that, thanks to the Internet, there are quite a lot of teachers, but not that many people who know how to learn.

Yes, there’s an art to learning. To know what information is best suited to your own needs, motives, principles, and goals.

While this post is not going to teach you much about Zen Buddhism, it is going to offer you a different perspective on the art of blogging.

Curios?

Read on. Continue reading “Zen and the Art of Blogging” →

Feel Like Giving Up? Read This.

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 115 Comments

I launched my first blog in January 2011. I had released my first self-published novel on Amazon. I was very excited, and I was sure that I’d soon conquer the world…

I quit after three posts, no views, no comments, no nothing.

Five days into my career as a blogger, I grew bitter and remorseful, felt invisible, decided it was all for nothing, and deleted my blog.

I was so disappointed that I did not give blogging another try for a solid year. And then, it happened again: I spend the first month posting on a daily basis only to get around 500 views total, and almost no comments at all. I gained about 30-40 followers during that month.

This makes you ask yourself questions. You try to find reasons. Your mind plays tricks on you, the same way it would if you would find yourself stranded on a deserted island.

Maybe you are just now starting your blog, maybe you’re thinking about it, or maybe it’s been a while and you’re ready to call it quits.

You thought about it and thought about it and… there’s something holding you back. In fact, a lot of things: you lack the time, the confidence, or the money…

You’re tired, stressed, busy, sick.

Maybe this isn’t for you. Maybe it’s best to wait for some future day, when things won’t be so difficult. I’m sorry to break it to you, but ideal circumstances will never occur.

You will always have to face the demons of no time, no support, no money, no confidence, no ideas, or ill health.

And when you realize that almost everyone faces these same problems, your reasons start to look a lot like excuses.

So let’s call them out, one by one. Continue reading “Feel Like Giving Up? Read This.” →

[Blogging Mindset] Do You Want Your Words to Change The World?

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 12 Comments

No matter what some might say, words have power. Words can influence, inform, and inspire.

Words can persuade your fellow humans to do some amazing things.

Maybe you don’t believe it when you write your blog posts, but your words can change the world.

If your words can change the world, it might be best to write with that goal in mind, right? Continue reading “[Blogging Mindset] Do You Want Your Words to Change The World?” →

This is YOUR Wake-Up Call

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 54 Comments

Stop lying. To yourself. To others. In the comments section of your blog. On other people’s blogs. In your about page. Stop lying.

“I don’t care if people read my stuff or not.”

“I blog for me, myself, and I.”

Lies.

If that were true, you’d be writing in a notepad. Or several. Hiding them away under your bed or in a closet. But you’re on the world wide web for a reason, and that reason is to be read.

But no one reads your blogs, so you have to lie. And I’d use that terrible, terrible cliche that the road to hell is paved with lies and good intentions and adverbs, but the truth is that lies are the bricks that help build hell here on earth. A kind of hell that you have to live with for the rest of your life.

So, yeah, stop lying to yourself.

The first step in solving any problem is recognizing you have one.

You have no readers. So what? I didn’t have any readers when I first started blogging.

But you have to admit that you are writing in the hopes of someone reading your words.

We all do.

And it’s okay.

Continue reading “This is YOUR Wake-Up Call” →

How to Be a Boss at Blogging When You Have 0 Followers

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 225 Comments

Sometimes I like to pretend I’m a photographer. Mostly with other people’s cameras. And the results are oftentimes… not as bad as you’d expect.

I do not research the subject, I do not take classes, I do not read about photography, I do not actively aim to become better.

Yet, somehow, I am becoming better with each photograph I take.

And I wondered why.

Wouldn’t you? Continue reading “How to Be a Boss at Blogging When You Have 0 Followers” →