Five years. Five years of daily blogging. Five years since I decided to never give up, no matter what. To keep writing, to keep blogging, to just keep at it for as long as it took. Today, I own http://www.victormatara.com , one of the most read websites in Kenya.
And what a ride it has been. Around the world, indeed. 20 or so countries. Lots and lots of people, lots and lots of stories…
I had tried my hand at blogging once before, but gave up after 4 blogs posts and no comments whatsoever. That was the time I also quit writing for the longest period in my life (six months).
But this blog? This thing?
I just kept at it. No matter what.
April 2012. I got close to no response. May 2012? I got a grand total of 500 views. It felt like writing by myself, for myself, but I was enjoying myself quite a lot actually. I was unstoppable for the remainder of the year. I was Freshly Pressed twice, if I recall correctly.
And, frankly, all I did was write. I wrote about what I felt strongly about, I wrote whether I felt like it or not.
Because, this is one of the things I learned along the way: inspiration is going to break up with you at some point. It may not seem like it right now, but if you do this for as long as I have, there are going to be entire months when you just feel like you’re repeating yourself. I suppose it’s got to do with how much of life you experience. If you don’t expand your consciousness, you’ll run out of things to write about.
Another thing I learned? That it takes a lot more time and a lot more effort than you can imagine. You can read all the success stories you want, you can do all the research in the world, you can prepare yourself, invest in your blog, in advertising, it’s not going to be that easy…
I remember when I started making YouTube videos last year. You know, I used to watch a lot of videos, and I thought it wouldn’t be that difficult. I was so, so wrong. You end up acting differently in front of a camera than you imagine inside your head. The same goes for writing, for blogging, for almost anything worth doing in life.
Take time. Give time time to do it’s work.
I don’t consider myself to be naturally talented in any area of life, but I know with absolute certainty one thing: that if you put in the time and the effort, you can become at least somewhat good at anything; anything at all.
That’s the great secret of success, in any endeavor whatsoever.
If you invest the time, you’ll get the results. And you’ll get better.
Obviously, English is not my native language. It didn’t matter.
What I am trying to say is, you’ll be amazed at the things you can do if only you take the time to properly learn them.
Most people, they get disappointed by the lack of results in the beginning and quit. No, no. Perseverance is key.
Was I disappointed by my first months of blogging?
Why, yes, of course.
Did I give up?
You wouldn’t be reading this post if I had.
Success if failing over and over again. In fact, you only fail if you quit.
It’s that simple.
I never bothered with any rules.
I don’t know if it’s good advice or not. I just don’t give a damn if anyone likes my posts or not. I write what I want, when I want, as often as I want. This is my blog. My space. My blank page. And I can create anything I like and do anything I please. That is, after all, one of the reasons I became a writer in the first place. No boundaries other than the ones I choose to create.
Freedom is a scary thing, I suppose. No one to tell you what to do, no work schedule, no boss…
It’s just up to you.
You can have all the time in the world, all the resources, the technology, the people around you to support you, but if you don’t have the mental fortitude to be resilient in the face of disappointment, it will all be worthless. And you will give up.
I spent months blogging from a smartphone. I wrote on paper and went to a friend and copied that and posted it.
No one ever bothered to encourage me. To support me.
People often told me to quit. To get a proper job. To keep this whole writing thing as a hobby, as a pastime.
What they were telling was that it was impossible. A scrawny Kenyan kid couldn’t become a writer.
I just didn’t listen.
Didn’t want to.
I’d get angry, and I’d just keep doing my thing.
That’s it, guys. It’s been one hell of a journey so far. And I am sure it’s only going to get better.
Thank you all sticking with me.
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