Fiji.
Bali.
Costa Rica.
Thailand.
Kelli and I have lived in each spot. For months at a time. Which feels amazing.
Imagine how sweet it would feel to circle the globe indefinitely, spending 4 months in a place like Savusavu, Fiji?
Or imagine living on the grounds of a villa in Jimbaran, Bali for 6 months, like when I did my best Higgins from Magnum PI impersonation, watching over the glam property with other house sitters? (replace his pleasant British accent with my harder NJ accent).
Life is good now. I am living the blogging high life. But….it was not always this way.
I was a blogging low-life once. Not a piece of excrement type low life. Not a dirt bag. Although my wardrobe is dirt bag chic.
Anyway, by blogging low-life I mean I was a blogger who felt much lower than successful bloggers. Like, about 40 levels down from established pro bloggers. Like, you may feel like you aren’t worthy to kiss my blogging boots after I hiked through the remote, muddy jungles of Costa Rica type, lack of worthiness, low-life issues.
This is horse crap, of course. You can pucker up at any time and kiss ’em (this is a joke). Seriously, every blogger is on the same level. Although I once put bloggers on a pedestal. When I was a blogging low-life.
I followed a few strategies though to raise my energy, to love this blogging journey, to blog primarily for fun, and to become a full time, island-hopping, pro blogger.
The blogging high life awaits for you. Fun, love, excitement, and receiving the opportunity to serve legions of adoring, rabid fans, all is hurtling toward you when you follow specific tips.
If you are super excited to live your dreams through blogging follow these tips to live the blogging high life.
1: Hug the Fear
Hug the fear, and the fear you shall clear.
No way to move up the energetic ladder unless you eat an energetic “plop plop” sandwich sometimes.
You cannot get over what’s still in you.
Grab a pillow for punching or weeping into if some strong feelings arise when you sit with your blogging struggles and failures. Or maybe the feelings will not be super intense.
Either way, feel your fears around blogging to cease being burdened by these energies.
Then blogging will feel more fun, more enjoyable, more fulfilling and over the short and long haul, more rewarding too.
2: Blog with Love for Fun
Living the high life for me means doing what you do for the love of it and then, if you choose to live a worldly life, gradually allowing in money to do it full time.
It means not working. It means getting paid to play.
Going from Survival Mode to Success Consciousness involves jumping on a bouncy, elastic springboard consisting of your love and passion of blogging for fun.
Blog mainly for fun. See money and traffic and comments as extra, or icing on the cake, or the cherry on top.
Cultivate this type of energy to steadily transition from blogging low life to the blogging high life.
3: Be a Blogging Student
I recently published a post on Janice Wald‘s rocking blog explaining how to become a blogging student.
Peep it here:
Acquire knowledge. Study. Practice putting your newfound knowledge into action. Develop skills. Rock it out.
Works with any discipline in life, including blogging.
You can’t go from feeling like a blogging sea slug (wearing a cap pointed slightly askance) to feeling like and being a superstar blogger unless you learn, practice and develop your blogging skills.
Learning is the critical first step, and this involves being a diligent blogging student.
What would a good blogging student learn?
Why the 11 Fundamentals of Successful Blogging, of course.
4: Practice Your Writing Skills Daily
I write 1,000 to 10,000 words daily to get clear on my talent especial.
I can gab at the camera until the cows come home – or until you mute me – but writing is my #1 skill, the core of my blogging success.
Think; if you practice writing, you will publish blog posts with ease, and guest posts on virtually any blog in the world. See how you’ll go from struggling blogger to successful blogger through this foreign concept known as “writing practice”?
Open a Word document. Write 1,000 words. Daily. Trash the World document to detach from your writing.
Doing so will also help you find your writing voice.
5: Learn from Successful Bloggers
Learn from the top pros how to become successful so you too can become successful and live your dreams like the pros do.
Blogging serfs cannot teach you the ropes of how to succeed.
Gotta seek out the kings and queens of blogging to learn how to rock out your blog.
For some successful bloggers, see tip #6.
6: Befriend Successful Bloggers
Successful bloggers teach you how to live the blogging high life.
I recall a few months back watching John Chow, Syed Balkhi, John Rampton and Zac Johnson grace the stage at Affiliate Summit East.
Back when I was a low-life I would have tossed rotten fish at these blogging big dawgs, being jealous as hell of their success while I counted my piddly pennies.
These days, I feast on what each blogger has to offer and have befriended Zac, who is an all around fabulous human being.
I introduced myself to John Chow too, to lay the framework for a possible blogging buddy-ship.
7: Guest Post to Establish Your Presence
Guest post on lower profile, then medium profile, then top blogs in your niche.
Go from blogging unknown to blogging big dawg through the leveraging principle.
How it works; I have 60,000 BFPers here but when I guest post on other blogs I expose myself, my blog and my brand to hundreds of thousands of individuals, if not more, the way I guest post.
Align with top bloggers.
Readers see you in a different light.
A more powerful, authority light.
The High Life type o’ light.
8: Adopt a Power Half Hour
Or 40 minutes.
As of this writing I do 20 minutes of yoga and 20 minutes of meditating on waking. Think Pretzel-Biddulph meets Buddha-Biddulph. Or Stretch Armstrong meets Sai Baba. Or Plastic Man meets Pema Chodron (who has received multiple mentions on Blogging From Paradise this week).
I went from blogging loser to blogger winner not by screaming chicken dinner but by doing the energetic legwork on waking that helped me face and purge my fears so I did more from an energy of love, blogging-wise and life-wise.
Example; at 9:40 PM on a Saturday night I’d have been involved in some form of Hedonism many years ago. Probably watching Cops, binge-eating Little Debbies like they were being discontinued soon.
But at 9:40 PM on this night I am writing a blog post, prepping it for this week. Life changes when you commit 100% to your power half hour – or 40 minutes – on waking.
Toss in an icy cold shower and 30 miles of running weekly, and some meditating on lines from A Course in Miracles, and you are good to go.
9: Buy Premium Products
Pay up to play up.
Buying premium products helps you think, feel and be the role of a blogging big dawg.
Successful bloggers pay money to get the best products and services.
Struggling bloggers freebie their way to blogging failure, trying to scrum the piss out of their niche, gobbling up freebies like I gobble up Thai sweet snacks, expecting to become a successful, full time blogger despite paying no online tuition.
Imagine if I tried to learn physics for free? Through free blog posts?
Then, imagine if I tried to learn how to build a full time, pro blogging career, from soup to nuts, learning the intricacies of networking, content creation, practice, monetizating, mindset work and about 50 other things, through blog posts alone?
You are a loon whose doom is on the horizon if you dare try to freebie your way to blogging success. Pay up. To play up.
Pay money for premium courses, eBooks, audio books and coaching. Cut years off of your learning curve. Do as blogging pros do. Invest in your skills. Invest in your business.
10: Create Premium Products
People saw me differently the moment I created blogging courses.
Ditto after I wrote and self-published my first eBook.
After 4 blogging courses and 126 eBooks people see me in an even more positive light.
I felt like a bottom feeder during my early blogging days. A pleco. Sucking up scum from the riverbed.
But creating my own premium products helped me feel better about myself and also inspired my readers to see me more as an authority.
Get busy creating:
- eBooks
- courses
- audio books (or co-creating audio books with producers)
- services
Send off an expert air. Inspire folks to see you as a blogging big dawg.
Most anybody can blog. But ya gotta know your stuff to be a product creator and service provider.
Your Turn
How are positioning yourself as an authority?
How are you transitioning toward living the blogging high life? Or are you living your version of the blogging high life now?
Recommended Reading and Listening
If you enjoy my posts I hand-picked a few eBooks and audio books for you related to this topic:
Ryan Biddulph
Latest posts by Ryan Biddulph (see all)
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- Why Does Staying on Topic Make You a Successful Blogger? - October 18, 2018
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38 Comments
Awesome Greg. Yes I was going by the Thai book 😉 I recall the kop khun kap phrase for saying thanks, although I have seen different spellings. That is awesome. Definitely dive into a longer stay, as I know options exist for a long term visa. I believe the 6 month is still in effect. Thanks much and thanks for the Thai 411 too.
I have been going to Thailand once a year for the past 7 years. I only stay 1 month at a time, but am ready for a longer stay.
I love Thailand too. I have a Thai girlfriend who is pushing for marriage, but I don’t know if I am ready for that.
My name is Greg by the way, “Khun” is a Thai word that means Mr. / Mrs. it is gender neutral.
Hi Khun, We visited in 2015 for 6 months on the double entry but things have changed since the coup and visa crackdown.
We stayed in Chiang Mai earlier this year – March-May – for 2 months, so just a visa on arrival and renewal at immigration by the mall.
How about yourself? How long have you been in Thailand? I love it there!
I would love to travel around Thailand for a yeat or more and earn a living online while doing so.
I was curious, when were you last in Thailand, and what is the longest you have stayed there? What kind of visa did you have.
Susan go for it. The power half hour is cleansing and with your following I know your eBook would sell like hotcakes. Just releasing another one in a few minutes; they are a good way to help folks and to develop a sweet passive income stream.
I like the idea of a power half hour. I’ve been toying with the idea of an e-book so this could well be the motivation that I need to get on with it!
Katie that is awesome. Dive into that power half hour. So much awesomeness flows out of energy work.
Thank you so much for this post Ryan! Definitely feeling like blogging low life over here, but your post has inspired me to reach further! I love the idea of the power half-hour, this is exactly what I need. Thank you!
Thanks Md. Glad you dug it.
Hi Ryan Sir,
You have written a great blog post. Learned a lot from this. We should blog for fun. Learning from experts is a valuable thing. Thank you for the post.
Yep Ahmad, the more we enjoy the blogging ride the more consistent we are.
Hi Ryan,
these tips are more than important. <3
Blogging is all about enjoying to blog with consistency. We need to make relations with our readers, help them and with readership, we get more power! 🙂
Thanks for sharing these amazing tips.
~ Ahmad
Really cool Suhail. I have many Indian readers. Thanks for sharing and keep on practicing buddy.
Hey Ryan Sir, I am from India.
The way you explain its really very nice. Practice on writing skills and learn from blogger like you are more valuable points. As we know Practice makes everything perfect, you are really important example for new blogger.
Thanks
Hi Sarah, I see how much fun you have over there. Good deal. Our passion shines through and the added bonus is, more fun flows in when we are doing what we do for the love of it, versus, for profits solely. Thanks a bunch.
I agree about blogging for fun! That’s why I started my blog. I actually started to do too much sponsored content, which killed my joy for blogging so I backed off. Also, paying for premium products are so helpful. In the end, it’s worth it!
You have the perfect name to embody your spirit Ravi. Awesome choice of a domain. How authentic. Thanks for sharing bro.
Hey Ryan,
It takes years to build a successful blogging career and people are really digging this down. But most of them give up after a few months.
They need to blog for fun. I totally agree with this point of yours. I love blogging and that’s the reason I choose BloggingLove as my domain name.
Glad to read.
~Ravi
Excellent point about engaging early followers a bunch. One of the biggest mistakes I made online was NOT doing this. Big boo boo. When I did connect with folks who dug my blog, regularly, and cyber wined and dined them, by helping them in as many ways as possible, things grew quickly for me. Like, where your attention and energy goes, grows. Awesome comment Chris, thanks for sharing and good to see you back.
Great tips!
I feel that practicing is not enough. You need to show up where your readers and fans expect you to be! You got to ship, consistently. Which you definitely do! (I am still working on this one).
It’s not scalable, but I always tell people to REALLY engage with the early followers. Reach out to them, engage, follow them back, comment on their blog, and maybe even buy them coffee. Find out what they expect from you. Doing these things and then continuing to show up will make them fans for life!
I disappeared for a bit, but am back online. I sometimes take a break from reading other peoples stuff so I can focus on creating! Whenever I do that I always end back up here!
Hope you are doing well,
Chris
Thanks Shantanu. It was a new look for me 😉 True true on being a learner, or student, in life. We get to live a fun, dream life if we open up to learning from people who have walked a similar path, before we did. Which is why I noted following guys like Zac and John Chow. They are legends, so I am soaking up their knowledge like a cyber sponge.
Hello Ryan,
Great shout as always over here 🙂
You look great in that out fit 😉
Indeed blogging is something a low life for every one who starts in this field, things do go under change and with regular
practice and putting our hard work in we can be in the high life through blogging.
Its always good to be a blogging student, the nature of adapting things at any phase would be beneficial. Its always to
be a student and learn from other people.
Practicing our writing skills is one of the key to get our self on the high life. The more better we write the more traffic
would get on to us.
Thanks for the share.
Shantanu.
Night coffee indeed Prince. Seeing when you left this comment I know you are up super duper late in your country. All you are doing is reaping you sweet rewards; keep at it, and you will continue to see even greater and greater success. Thanks as always for sharing and see you soon.
I have noticed more clarity in your writing Vishwajeet. Awesome dude. Keep on working at it and keep on doing what you are doing. Practicing is the surest way to see success in the online world.
Hello Ryan,
Very refreshing post. You nailed the everything. Practicing makes everything perfect. Writing 1000 words have helped me to improve my writing skills. I always try to learn from successful bloggers like you, Zac,John, Harsh etc and try to follow their tips and suggestion. Thanks for writing this informative post.
Have a great day 🙂
Vishwajeet
Going from blogging low life to blogging high life is like rising from zero to hero, Ryan. Having a blog is truly imperative. It is very vital and one of the ways to express ourselves as individuals, share our uniqueness with the world.
Going from the “bloody broke guy” to the “rich blogger guy” is a cool stuff to enjoy. Everyone who ever existed in the world today could own a blog but not exactly everyone can manage the enjoyment it brings. This is especially because we all run from different perspectives and angle of thinking.
I’m happy to read your story today, again. You own your own ground, I do the same. You dance at a quite different music so it is with me. As we differ, so we own different feet of success in blogging. Blogging has been a great tool to boost business sales and earning. Thanks for this night coffee with me and others, Ryan.
I love your energy and your shining example Donna. I have learned so much from you not only through your advice, but more importantly, putting your advice into action daily over years has inspired me to be who I am being today.
You let your intuition pull you which is a beautiful thing. It drew you into this online blogging world, which has opened you up to amazing opportunities and awesome folks, which enhances our experience, right?
Thanks for sharing your wisdom, for your empowered example, and for all of the business joint ventures you are coming up with. I know you have helped prosper many folks in the past and will continue to do in the future 😉
I love that analogy Sue. Goodness knows I catch meself chasing little small woodland creatures sometimes, by straying just a wee bit. My love of freedom and fun does draw me back, away from distractions, but I do need to keep YouTube and Netflix time to a minimum, especially when blogging duties aka play, calls. Thanks much Sue.
Be in the blogging game for the right reasons, and learn like a sponge. I am with you on both deals, Patrick. When you have fun blogging, the work really is the reward and you will persist until you reach your dreams through blogging. Thanks much bro.
Awesome Richard, glad you are digging the content. Bali rocks, right? We loved it there, every single trip.
Those are 2 of the fundamental blogging skills we want to develop. Write like the dickens and soak up knowledge from pro bloggers, like a cyber sponge. Thanks much.
practice writing skills and learn from successful bloggers these two points are more valuable.. we always should try to improve our writing skills and shouldn’t stop learning.Thanks for sharing such an amazing piece of work.. keep it up..
Excellent post Ryan. Lots of great information to implement. Glad to have found your blog. Looking forward to reading more. By the way, I love Bali, hope you had a blast!!
Numbers 1-3 are the 3 I agree with the most. Hug the fear, allow it to become a friend and no longer a stopping force in your progress. With a lot of hobbies, start off not with money in mind, but fun and love. Make sure it’s something that you enjoy and not just something you believe will make you all the money in the world after 1 month of blogging. This is a recipe for disaster. Also make sure you are constantly learning about different blogging strategies and approaches to better craft your own and keep your audience guessing. Thanks for the post, Ryan!!
Ryan you forever have this fabulous balance of great humor and gem like advice. Focus is the word that keeps coming to my mind when I read your articles. I tend to be like a puppy who lives in a forest full of squirrels. Running around chasing squirrels up trees over branches and into a pond. Now where was I again? You are inspiring me to blog with fun intent but stop with the squirrel chasing already. I appreciate the encouragement.
Sue
Hey Ryan,
I just love the way you incorporate your life with a message for us. It is a powerful! Who I was before blogging? Well had my own business but got tired of showing up each and every day for 7 days a week running it. I wanted to be mobile..to do what I wanted when I wanted. It was kinda sorta that way with my offline business, but if I wasn’t there, I would loose money.
This is why it is imperative to do what you love. Don’t get me wrong…I loved my offline business, but had to phase out of it because my online business became a stronger energy to follow. If I gave this a conscious thought, I would never be here. I do things more intuitively and it never lets me down.
I love what I’m doing and yes, a professional student I am. I will pay a higher price to learn something that I can apply to my business. It saves time, thereby saving dollars.
Befriending successful bloggers is the name of the game. But we do have to visit them, leave a wonderful comment and share the information all over the place. Reciprocity will kick in eventually. Who knows….I have had wonderful joint ventures with many amazing people.
Awesome advice as usual,
-Donna
My pleasure Jane. You are doing great; keep up the good work. Being open and a student of blogging is key in making this journey easier. I am always learning from rocking bloggers; why not study the pros, and follow proven tips?
I look forward to meeting on the road. I am sure we will.
Happy Blogging Jane 🙂
Hi Ryan
They are great tips for all bloggers. I totally agree with Guest Posting and also what you always tell us – comment on blogs! This really helps. We are working away on our blog and as travel is a passion it does not seem to be work to us. Do we mine working 24/7 on the blog – no – we are developing it. When I am not writing every day I am reading your blogs and many other travel bloggers blogs and researching on all things blogging.
Hopefully, we will run into one another on the road sometime! For me just to say thanks personally, for putting it out there for all of us to learn.