Pacific Northwest, USA (Photo by David Boozer)
David Boozer is a friend who has been the most loyal and supportive Blogging From Paradise reader.
At times, I wanted to quit blogging for a great number of reasons. My life appears to be a vacation and at most times, feels like a sweet vacary. But for whatever reason, my life has come with severe emotional trauma and physical turmoil from time to time. David’s kind words, genuine cheerleading and incredibly strong support reminded me to keep going, to keep helping and that I was not, in fact, wasting my time.
I’m placing this post because he insisted and because as a blogger, guys, you have absolutely no idea the difference you may be making in people’s lives and you will 100% need the love, support and warmth of others on this journey. You cannot do it alone.
In David’s words….
It was ten or eleven years ago when I came across Ryan Biddulph and his Blogging from Paradise blog. To this day I own all his ebooks, I follow and read at least ninety percent of his posts, and it has been a blessing for what I am about to share with you…
In this blog post of mine, I simply wanted to share with you my thoughts about Ryan and how he has helped folks like me over the years, and a bit about blogging, even as a hobby photographer.
Let’s jump right in…
I’m blogging from paradise today!
No, I do not live on some tropical island I have seen Ryan blogging over the years. I live in the beautiful and rugged Pacific Northwest. And while I have spent nearly 15 years as a website and blog designer online, I prefer hobby photography any day.
And that is why I am writing this post because if it were not for Ryan, I would have been done with it all in 2021.
2020 came, and so did everyone who decided to claim to be an expert WordPress website and blog designer and marketing guru. I know it sounds a bit much, but it is true nonetheless. While folks were stuck at home they turned to the internet.
I don’t blame them, I don’t, but that does not change the fact that it put a massive squeeze on those of us who had, up to that point, been here working hard at building, branding, and growing a successful business of website and blog design. However, when you get millions of new competitors almost overnight, well, it hurts.
It hurt me when people came claiming to be experts only to outsource the actual work to others, and mostly on the cheap keeping the rest for themselves. I would have felt worse about it, but I am a capitalist, and that is the name of the game.
So, I kept trying for a few years until I knew it was over, at least over as a full-time business.
This is when I returned to some older blog posts from Ryan about sticking with it, sticking with your dream of building, branding, and growing a successful blog, and business in general online.
So with that, I made my move in November of 2023. I decided to seek out my piece of paradise online, actually, two of them.
My two blog rule
I did not want to get rid of my WordPress design business, so I changed things a bit. Plus, I decided to go all out with a niche blog about a subject I truly love, photography.
No, Ryan, I do not blog too much on the WordPress design site, but I do with my new photography blog! I have a two-blog rule, any more than that and I would go nuts, and most likely, one would get ignored most of the time.
Pacific Northwest, USA (Photo by David Boozer)
See, in November I went back to a regular job, and guess what? Yeah, I am there for good, I like it, and I have to say I missed it a bit. I am a custodian in a school district at night, and the hours allow me to not only dive into my passion for photography, but I have time to build websites on the side, and better my photography too!
Ryan says that;
Starting over is not quitting, it is simply refocusing on what matters most.
R. Biddulph – BloggingFromParadise.Com
This was the moment, Ryan, that I realized I could continue with my dream online, yet, never worry again about bills being covered, insurance, retirement, and kids having everything they need. This one thought of yours reignited a fire for not just having a business online, but what was most important to me; helping people!
For the nearly six months I was not the owner of a business or even a blog, I felt like something was missing. It was blogging and blogging to help, not just earn money. To be honest, money is just a side effect of great blogging, just ask Ryan, and he’ll attest to this fact.
I wanted to blog, and this time, I wanted to blog about what I truly enjoy, photography, and yes, WordPress!
Thanks, Ryan!
Blogging is still one of the three best ways to build, brand, and grow any successful idea online today, period. Without a website and blog of your own, you are putting your business in jeopardy because your business is not owned by you, but by the platform you use.
You need a blog. Besides, you’ll love blogging once you learn how to use one, trust me.
Blogging is a skill, however. This skill needs to be learned and practiced because that is the only way to grow your readership and followers. A blog is a necessity today, especially in such crowded spaces like YouTube and all the social media channels out there today.
A blog will set you free of these worries, because, in the end, you own it!
Ryan has set me up in paradise with my new blog(s), both of them. How? Well, today I blog because I can, because I want to, because I love helping people, not because I have to!
That is truly paradise to me.
I know I will always keep my full-time job. I do love it, it is quiet at night, and it gives me time to learn via Ryan’s live Facebook videos, listen to the bible teaching I love, and yes, learn more about photography, WordPress, and anything else I want to know.
And, it pays the bills, so no rush with my blogs!
If you are still working a regular job and wondering when your blogging will turn into that full-time money-making business, don’t let it worry you, don’t let that mindset seep in and take over because it will, and it never seems to result in anything positive.
Enjoy where you are at, and practice what Ryan says; “blog to help. Blog to inspire. Blog to free yourself.”
I thought for a long time that the free yourself was from a job. That is not always true. Sometimes, blogging to free yourself simply means that this platform can help free you to be that creative and helpful person you are deep down inside.
God did not make man an island, he made us to create, to thrive, and to enjoy each other through good fellowship. You can blog from an island, but you and I are not one.
Thank you, Ryan, for your blog, for your words, and most importantly, for your friendship through the years.
Last, but not least…
Keep blogging, keep blogging from that paradise inside your mind and your heart. Blogging is about helping, not taking. Blogging is about others as much as it is about you and your passion.
Blogging matters, even today in a world of shortcuts and AI. Be you in your words, use the tools we have today properly, and no matter what, remember that blogging and money do go together, but not without blogging to help others comes first.
I blog today without needing the income, it just seems to happen when I blog to help. That is what I was taught and learned from Ryan… Thanks again, buddy!
