This space, this blog is a project that I have left work thinking about every day for almost the past year. It follows me around like a loyal puppy, whether I’m ecstatic about my career and full of hope for the future, or I’m frustrated to the point of nausea and have started to doubt every minuscule decision I ever made.
Occasionally, I would surprise myself and actually sit down to write. A rush of ambition ran through me whenever I opened Google Drive and clicked the colorful “+ New” oval. THIS IS IT, AMANDA. YOU ARE TOTALLY GOING TO WRITE THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF THIS NIGHT.
Cue the clichéd montage of a so-called writer hunched over her laptop, knuckles against cheek, eyes zombified. One hour and twenty minutes have passed and what have I to show for it?
I’ve paid one or two bills. Bye, paycheck.
I’ve marked myself as Interested in several upcoming wine-related Facebook events. I probably won’t be going to any of them!
I even tweeted out a very relatable and hilarious tweet about the challenges of the writing process. Zero retweets and likes…sad face
The most dangerous distraction, however, is what I’m calling the Inspiration Vacuum. I get sucked up into this vortex of motivational anecdotes, link round-ups, and advice from my favorite writing and marketing personalities.
I love Seth Godin, and Ann Handley, and Jay Acunzo, and a number of other leaders in the field. They have acted as surrogate career coaches for me, providing feel-good reminders of the virtues of creative work. They understand the hurdles I face in the workplace. They speak my language. They know how to tell impactful stories. They just get me.
But in consuming all of their newsletters, blog posts, and tweets, I never quite got around to writing the living daylights out of it last year.
Ironically, I know that all of these guys and gals I admire would consider this the biggest faux pas of all it. It turns out it is 100 percent possible to feel like you disappointed people that have no clue you exist.
I am not blaming them, of course. This is totally on me.
And it was actually this insanely well-timed post from Seth that finally zapped me out of my fear of failing.
“The power to publish, but click instead.”
What was I even doing? I was shying away from my responsibility to help others by doing what I love — what I have the power to do — which is tell stories, and empower others to tell their stories.
Not anymore! 2018 was the year I dove into this world of content marketing in earnest. My goal is to make 2019 the year I contribute to it. It’s time to actually DO what I love, and not just read about it.
So stick around! Like any new project, I have an idea of where it is going, but knowing how much I love to edit, there will be tweaks and twists along the way.
Marketing is Like... 