Why the Day I Threw Away 3400 of My Blog Posts Was My Most Triumphant Blogging Moment

July 28, 2014 61 thoughts

when to delete a blog — Hydrating in Savusavu. Yes, my US friends, Fiji water is much less expensive here.

Rewind 3 weeks. I just arrived in Fiji. Life was good.

My blog looked awesome. Well, my old blog that is. Everything was perfect, just how I wanted it to look. My design was crisp, clean and clear, my posts were drawing in more traffic and I had made some inroads over the past few months on the blogging front.

Then, something happened. Something which led me to, for all intents and purposes, delete over 3400 posts from my old blog.

I had to shut down my old blog or do a re-direct. I chose the redirect to salvage some traffic but all those posts, or anything other than my home page, goes to a 404.

3400 posts.

And I never felt better in my blogging life.

My Most Triumphant Moment as a Blogger

3 weeks ago marked my most triumphant day as a blogger. I let go the old and worn out to make room for the new and exciting.

The conditions of the much needed change aren’t really important to delve into. Let’s just say it was time for a change. Contingent on that change was releasing 3400 posts and 4 year’s worth of work.

But here’s the deal; all of that work didn’t go “down the drain.” No way. The energetic anchor I was carrying went down the drain. Or more appropriately, I broke the chain connecting me to the energetic anchor.

The energy anchor, feeling like something tremendously heavy, holding me down, was my old blog. My most triumphant moment was letting go my old blog to start my new blog. I feel fresh, clear, excited and elated to be running Blogging From Paradise. I feel triumphant because:

It marked the moment I linked my lifestyle and brand to a tangible, targeted, clear and specific domain name and blog
I knew all great accomplishments are preceded by a massive release, or a series of massive releases….mine was 3400 blog posts
I’m able to start this blog intelligently, with 4 years of professional blogging experience under my belt
I kept my good name over the years so my friends and readers followed me over to my new blog from my old blog
I’m able to promote this blog through many more marketing channels
I feel like for the first time in my professional life that my entire blog, from the domain name, to blog title, to tagline, to sidebar, to blog posts, is perfectly aligned with my life, my brand and my vision
I’m no longer writing posts without 1 target in mind and I’m hanging where folks totally vibe with my brand, my blog, and me.

The Scary Part – or Not So Scary Part – Leading to the Exciting New Blog

I hesitated – for like a minute – before I chose to do the redirect. Did I really want to delete all of my posts? Did I want to let go my old blog? That was 4 year’s worth of blood, sweat and tears. I hated to see it go. For a moment.

The 1 minute elapsed. Then, I chose to do what the billionaires of the world do. I chose to do what enlightened beings do. I chose to do what any free person chooses to do.

I let go.

I’m no billionaire (duh, right?) nor am I enlightened but in that moment I let go what was old, worn out, and no longer fully serving me or my audience. It was scary for like a second, then I focused on the exciting new beginning of starting Blogging From Paradise and I was instantly full of faith, enthusiasm and clarity for my new project.

Letting Go Precedes Acquiring

As I listen to the jungle rain pitter patter on our roof, here in Savusavu, Fiji, I think back to how I got here.

I released:

My job; ok I was downsized, but I didn’t go running back to work part time
My apartment
My car
Much of my money
My intense fear of failure
My intense fear of criticism
My need for a steady income
Some old, worn out relationships
My need to live on a set routine
Living in my comfort zone

…yep, I released all of this and more to wind up in Savusavu, Fiji, and to have traveled the world for the past 39 months.

Letting go precedes acquiring.

Letting go is something all successful people do really well. Successful bloggers let go. Successful bloggers don’t see letting go an old blog and starting a new one as “starting from scratch.”

How could I be starting from scratch? I have 4 years of professional experience as a blogger. I have a huge network of friends and supportive readers. I have learned countless lessons, both blogging-wise, and life-wise. I have all this on my side, and in my arsenal, so how could I ever believe I was losing anything, or that I was starting from scratch?

Triumph

Every one of my triumphs was preceded by some massive release. This release – of 3400 blog posts – was easy to see. It was clear and definite, and I’d been getting nudges from the Universe for the past 2 or 3 months that I needed to let go my old blog to make room for a new blog.

In other cases it may seem difficult to ID the release before the triumph. Most bloggers are so heavily attached to their blogs, and fear losing:

Blog posts
Content
Their readers
Money
Their reputation

…that they hold onto the worn out blogs, and struggle like hell, instead of starting a new blog from an intelligent, experienced, professional space.

You need to see the triumph instead of the ego-created, mild tragedy. Listen to your intuition. Spend more time in quiet. You’ll see. You’ll hear. You’ll act.

My old blog was the blessing of blessings. It’s where I cut my teeth. It’s where I build lasting friendships, and where I learned how to create content like a machine, churning out 5, 10 or 30 video posts daily. It’s where I learned how to create a blog post, from scratch, when I had zero blogging experience.

I see the gift in creating so much. Now, publishing 2500 to 3000 word posts to this blog is a piece of cake. Shooting 30 second videos, or 60 second videos, to accompany my posts, is a piece of cake.

My old blog prepared me for my new blog but I had to let go the old blog to reap the benefits of working my new blog, and I had to let go the old, worn out energy anchor that was my old blog, to arrive to this clear, calm, detached space of doing things.

When to Delete a Blog

You may need to step it up 1, 10, or 50 notches, blogging wise. You may need to ramp it up 100 notches for all that I know. You see, I don’t know. Only your intuition knows, and your intuition will lead you in the right direction if you listen to it, in quiet, and if you let go energy anchors that are holding you back.

Some energy anchors:

Your current, failing blog, which has no real direction, no target market, and a poor domain name
Low energy relationships
Income streams you’ve outgrown
The ill-informed opinions of others
Social networks you have no interest in working

I don’t like Pinterest. I’m a social guy. I like commenting and engaging. Pinterest has little engagement. Even though my travel pictures could do well there, I hate working Pinterest, so I don’t work it.

It’s easy; I let go the Pinterest energy anchor, to devote my creative energies to stuff I love, like publishing more in depth posts to my blog, or working Triberr, or working Twitter.

I let go the old, worn out energy anchors, to make room for the fun, high energy activities I really vibe with.

Why This Day Was the Breakthrough Day

Other than the day I was released from my job and the day I invested 500 clams to start working online, the day I trashed 3400 posts from my old blog to start this blog marked my most critical day as a blogger.

This was the breakthrough day.

This was the day I took things to the next level.

Why?

This was the day where I established full clarity in how I could meld my life, my brand and my blog into a Holy Trinity like trio, to best serve the people whose lives I touch.

It all comes down to clarity.

When I started the online gig thingee I wanted to make money. Then I wanted to help people. Then I wanted to help people while opening a bunch of income streams. Then I wanted to travel the world while working online.

Then I wanted to write inspirational quotes, then I wanted to do this, and to do that. Then I wanted to inspire people to live the internet lifestyle.

I had no real clarity around these decisions.

Then, 3 weeks ago, when I was faced with a business-changing choice, I chose to delete 3400 posts from my old blog, for all intents and purposes, to open up an exciting new blog, resonant with my lifestyle and brand.

I made this decision with clarity. I knew it was the right choice for me because I knew I was being fully true to me, and my audience, and that I’d be able to publish content from an authentic space by starting Blogging From Paradise.

My breakthrough was a massive breakthrough because I felt fully clear on the decision I made.

That’s the why; I was clear.

I heard the word “clarity” tossed around in blogging circles, and I never knew what it really meant.

Now I know exactly how it feels, so I know perfectly what it means.

Does that make sense?

When you’re clear, you’ll know why you’re here.

Recounting My Life

3 years ago I started traveling the world. I blogged and did some other online stuff too. As I progressed both online, and with my travels, I realized a few things:

I chose to retire from the 9-5
I was publishing blog posts or commenting on relevant blogs much of the time
I began writing more and more for my freelance writing clients
A bunch of bloggers envied my lifestyle and wanted to do the same

Light bulb moment.

Blogging From Paradise: Retire to a Life of Island Hopping through Smart Blogging

Bingo. That’s it. That’s my life. I did these things, and I know others want to do these things, so I bought the bloggingfromparadise.com domain, and I’m building my blog and brand around this domain name, to serve bloggers who want to become professional bloggers, so they can retire to a life of island hopping.

This was the most triumphant day I had as a blogger because I let go the old and worn out, even though it appeared to be a painful decision, and I moved forward with a clear and definite decision to be fully authentic.

I mean, I’ve always been authentic but my new blog brings an even higher level of authenticity and clarity to my brand, because this is my life, literally, this blogging from paradise gig.

This is the great victory, the great triumph; I established such a degree of clarity that I couldn’t give 2 hoots about putting 3400 posts of mine directly into the cyber trash can.

Blogging from Paradise

OK, life isn’t always paradise, in paradise. I am in love with Fiji yet for some reason, my allergies have really kicked in here, like the terrible bouts I went through with allergies when I was a kid.

I’ve tried holistic approaches and am starting self hypnosis too.

I believe it will work.

Anyway, I am beyond grateful to be here, at 4:00 AM in the morning typing away as I struggle with insomnia due to some wicked allergies. Hey I appreciate the flowers around the crib. Even if they keep me up at night, my sneezing and coughing self.

The point is this; with greater clarity, and a greater sense of purpose, and with more success, and a targeted reader in mind, I can work around any situation. I can enjoy paradise.

I can work until 6 AM and go to sleep until I recover, whether it’s 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I can go for a run after that, or jog into town to pick up a few necessities. Sunday’s the Lord’s Day here. Almost everything closes.

Why can I set my own schedule? Because I’m running a successful blog. I’m super clear on my target market and naturally my target market has responded to me and I’ve prospered.

What led to this level of clarity?

Tossing 3400 blog posts into the trash can. I didn’t fear trashing the posts. I had faith that my new, renewed level of clarity and purpose would proper me mightily. It has.

I feel as good as I ever have blogging-wise and life-wise, well, I’m about there too. I feel grateful. I’m living my dream. But more than anything, the point I want to make is that if you’re not living your dream you need to let go of something big or small to make room for your dream.

You need to let go of something to form a vacuum. The vacuum will fill itself with whatever you allow in to the void. I let go my old blog with 3400 posts and within 1 week my new blog was up and running. Blogging From Paradise filled the vacuum.

You Can Succeed as a Pro Blogger

Or, you can become a pro blogger in the first place. I’m not special. I do however have a talent for letting go when I know it’s time to let go. I can stop on a dime, let go, and move forward because I know that releasing precedes acquiring.

You can succeed as a pro blogger, taking your game to the next level, or you can retire to become a pro blogger.

Another gorgeous day from the front deck in Savusavu, Fiji.

You’ll need to do a few things to advance your cause.

Look at your blog. Right now. Are you targeting 1 market? Are you writing for a specific, detailed, focused reader? Get super specific. If you’re answering “No” for any of these questions consider your domain name. Can you get specific with it?

If not….well…..you know the drill. You may want to think about starting a new blog instead of holding on to your failing attachment.

If you do have a great domain name, totally relevant to your niche, do you stay on topic? I mean, for EVERY post? If not, turn it around now. You may consider deleting older posts that aren’t on topic, to get clear with both Google and your target audience.

More than anything, taking your blogging game to the next level requires that you let go of something. That something may be your blog, or 3400 posts, or some older posts on your current blog.

It may be a worn out relationship.

It may be something else offline.

Whatever it is, when you do let go, this moment will likely mark the most triumphant day of your blogging career.

You’ll have made the quantum leap from unclear, to clear, blogger, which is a jump few bloggers have made during their careers.

Your Turn

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Also, stay tuned for a super exciting announcement I have to share with you within a week or so.

I know you’re gonna love it!

So, what do you think about me trashing 3400 blog posts in a split second?

Could you have done the same?

What makes you hold on? Or what inspires you to let go of old posts, or blogs, or anything in life?

What was your most triumphant day as a blogger?

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Ryan Biddulph

Ryan Biddulph is a blogger, author and world traveler who's been featured on Richard Branson's Virgin Blog, Forbes, Fox News, Entrepreneur, Positively Positive, Life Hack, John Chow Dot Com and Neil Patel Dot Com. He has written and self-published 126 bite-sized eBooks on Amazon. Ryan can help you build a successful blog with the 11 Fundamentals of Successful Blogging Audio Course.