5 minutes ago I received an email from someone.
The individual wanted to know if I could place 2 of their client links on Forbes.
I have been featured on Forbes, so people ask me this. People also ask me if I can feature them on Entrepreneur since I was featured there too.
I have been featured on Richard Branson’s Virgin blog and Fox News too.
Why?
How?
Well….I was featured on these world famous blogs because I love doing what I do and because I developed a skill through years of practice.
Delusions of Blogging Grandeur
I love Star Wars.
Especially the old school Star Wars movies I watched as a kid in the 70’s and 80’s.
Han Solo dropped a line explaining how sentient beings were having delusions of grandeur.
Many bloggers fall into this category.
Like the individuals who ask me to place links on Forbes and Entrepreneur, and, their clients also.
Here’s why: it takes years of developing your skills, through patient, persistent practice, to become skilled enough, clear enough and confident enough to land a spot on these world famous blogs.
It’d be like if I paid a sum of money to the New York Knicks and said:
“Hey Knicks General Manager; I want to join the New York Knicks. How much should I pay to get a place on the team?”
Of course this request would be seen as being ludicrous. I was a junior college basketball player 23 years ago. I have practiced little since.
Do I look like Russell Westbrook to you?
I didn’t think so.
To make the Knicks you have to practice for years on end, devoting most of your life to basketball. You have to become incredibly skilled, incredibly driven, incredibly focused, and you have to keep practicing no matter what resistance you face, for many, many years of your life, to earn the honor, the privilege, the distinction, of being in the NBA.
You cannot buy greatness.
You cannot purchase success.
That’s why most bloggers suffer from delusions of grandeur. Either they wrongly believe that they are good enough to be featured on Forbes – without practicing and honing their skills for years or even decades, to earn that right – or they figure they can pay someone to get their client’s links on Forbes, which is silly, when you think about it.
You earn the right to appear on world famous blogs. This is why it’s so difficult to do; most bloggers want short cuts, and have no interest in putting in the time to improve their skills and to build their friend networks effectively.
Other bloggers are outright greedy. Being somewhat successful is not good enough. This crowd wants even more, so they figure dropping money will bring them prestige, more profits and renown, even if they have not worked and practiced enough to earn that right, to appear on a famous blog.
I did not pay anybody to get on Forbes. I spent 7 years of my life working, practicing my skills, building my friend network, creating value through my blog posts, videos, podcasts, eBooks and courses, and patiently, persistently working my way through all types of obstacles.
The Solution
Don’t delude yourself into thinking you can buy a spot on a top blog without earning the skills to be featured there.
Spend the next 2-4 years of your blogging career:
- writing 1000 words or more daily to gain confidence and clarity in your writing
- building your friend network by generously promoting other bloggers and by commenting effectively on their blogs
- creating value through your blog
There’s a good reason only a select few bloggers appear on sites like Forbes or Entrepreneur: only a select few bloggers practice writing daily, build their friend network daily and create value through their blog, all over the course or 2, 3, 5 years or more.
You gotta earn this guys.
The journey will be tough at times – which is why so many bloggers get weeded out – but you will lose both delusions and grandeur or lack of worthiness issues to become one of the select few to be featured on world famous blogs.