It’s Personal: 6 Things Blogging Taught Me

Blogging has taught me a lot in 1 year and I’m so excited to reflect on all of those things. I’m most excited that today as I write this and look back, I am who I have dreamed of becoming. My confidence, my faith, the people I have connected with, the opportunities that have come. A year came and went and God isn’t even done yet. I’m so glad I decided to go for it; I’m so glad that I acted on that tug that I felt this time a year ago. I’m so glad that my prayers were answered regarding so many things, but most of all that all of this led me closer to God. Let’s get into 6 things blogging taught me.

Make Room for God in my Life

You’re probably like, you’re a Christian, isn’t God already in your life? Yes He is, but you can be a Christian and not really connect and build that relationship with God. I cannot even begin to tell ya’ll how important God has been on my blogging journey. The feeling that I felt in my heart and soul this time last year to go forward with blogging was SO STRONG. So strong that it actually took a toll on my well being for a bit. I felt God nudging me to just go on and do it and leave the rest up to him and that is what I did.

As a result of that, one thing led to another, which led to another and for those of you that have been on this journey with me, you have seen the fruit of what He has done in my life. All of that led me to seek Him more and really use His word to guide me on this journey. From devotionals, journaling, breaking down scripture, making the effort to go to Bible Study, I just really wanted and needed to put in that work. Blogging has been so much fun all because I let Him in and let Him do what He already had planned. If you feel like you need a breakthrough, more clarity, guidance, anything, seek Him and you will find what you’re looking for.

Own It and Be Authentic

I truly believe my confidence and ability to fully walk in my authenticity as far as blogging came from me letting God in. I allowed myself to be molded and started to do things that helped me become the person I wanted to become and that started with me learning to love who I was FULLY. I reflected on my life, good and bad, revisited moments that align with certain things happening today, watched and looked at other bloggers and realized that I had to OWN who I was. The difference between myself and someone I had looked up to was that they were being true to who they were.

I wanted that experience and that feeling and that level of confidence AND that included blogging about it. I stopped caring what other people thought of me; it no longer mattered because I needed to get started and I wasn’t about to let anyone stop me. I was ready to find out what owning who I was could do for me. On top of all of that, there was no point in faking who I was or trying to minimize what I was up to. It’s way too much work to try to be who you’re not. It’s okay that I want this life, it’s okay that I want to brunch all the time and go to events, it’s okay that I want to be VIP and attend curated experiences, those are the things that make me, ME.

Go Hard or Go Home

The moment I decided to commit to blogging was also the same moment that I decided I wanted to make this good. I wanted to really put the work in to create what I had been dreaming of. There was no half-stepping. From the moment I cleaned out my feed until this very day, I have carefully and thoughtfully chosen every single picture, the placement of it and the order. I have only worked with brands and attended events that made sense not only to me, but to my audience and brand message as well.

I spent enough time watching others, I spent enough time envisioning my website and dream feed etc., so when it was finally my turn, it was SO important for me to really go hard with this. I wanted people to treat me how I felt and it wasn’t just something I could hope for, I had to show up and really do something. I’ve mentioned this in previous blog posts, some people find it hard to spend this much time on social media, “perfecting” their feed, people think it’s fake, calculated etc., but if it was anything else I would be doing the same thing. I’m not being fake, yes I intentionally pick and choose pictures I want you to see, but this is my life and if I’m going to put it all out there, I might as well make it match what I’m trying to attract AND make it bomb. Always go hard for what’s yours.

Failure Isn’t Failure

This was probably the first lesson I learned after I started blogging. I felt like completely scraping a brand that my followers, family and friends had known was a failure. I felt like I was letting them down, but the reality of it is I was letting myself down. I wasn’t happy and while I felt like a failure to others, I was really being taught to let go and move into something bigger and greater than myself. If I had never experienced what I thought was failure, I wouldn’t even be in this position writing this post.

There are things that happen in our lives and things that come up and while it feels or looks like failure, it’s often times the very thing we need to level up. I mean something as simple as blogging on WIX instead of WP could have been seen as a failure. Instead I used it as a reminder that it’s okay to try new things; now I know where I belong and I know where I can thrive. Failure isn’t failure it is an opportunity to do better.

Never Stop Learning

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in you must keep learning no matter how much you think you know. This isn’t my first blogging rodeo, but this is my first experience turning my blog and blogging into what it is. I could have easily been like “I know it all, I’ve done this,” but the reality of it is I needed help. I wanted help. I wanted someone to help me make it better, something as simple as changing the type of titles I use for my blog posts made such a difference.

I’ve attended masterminds/bootcamps, I’ve joined influencer academies, paid for courses and all kinds of things because I wanted and needed that information. The Bible reminds us in Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge…” and at some point if you’re not willing to get that knowledge you’ll never do better. When you know better you do better and I was ready to do better. I’m about to take blogging and everything that I have for you all to the next level so I hope you’re ready.

I’ve also learned you don’t have to pay for knowledge, sometimes just following the right people, watching how they move and communicate speaks VOLUMES. I’ve learned a lot from following the right people.

Sharing is Caring

My favorite thing about blogging is being able to share with people. Share God, share my life, share my thoughts, insight, frustrations and everything I have going on. As a young black woman, there is a lot that we are doing in our respective spaces, but we still fall way under in comparison to our counterparts.

Blogging was my way of having a space to share. I didn’t want to be a stingy girl, I didn’t want to be the girl who “looks friendly” on the gram’ but has nothing to share that helps someone else. I learned really quickly that I didn’t want my blog to be just about me sharing my life. I wanted to help people.

Some people may think “you’re giving away your secrets and tricks,” but at the end of the day I’m me and you’re you. No one can do what I do the way I do it and the same goes for you. I want women that I encounter, especially those that look like me, to understand that there is a space for them. That they have a voice and something unique and it needs to be heard.

Out of all of the things that I’ve shared with you all including my yummy man and cute pup, my favorite series has been my Blogging series. I share a ton of tips and tricks about Instagram, tools I use and so much more. That is what really fired me up. The response to those posts reminded me that I’m not blogging just for myself, I’m blogging for you too.

If you haven’t already make sure you subscribe to my newsletter which will be re-launching at the top of the year. I plan to share EVEN MORE with you, I’ll have free printables, I’ll be sharing the exact resources I use, why I stand behind them and the rest you’ll have to subscribe to see.

I’m SO thankful for you guys following me and supporting me on this journey. It has truly been an experience of a lifetime and I’m only one year in. I can’t wait to grow with each of you, celebrate each other and take over the world doing what we love.