I once sat in a cage with three, 400 pound tigers.
I felt terrified to do so not 10 seconds before I forced myself into the cage. My wife Kelli all but dove into the cage. She loves big cats. No problems.
I on the other hand was mocked, laughed at and teased by the Thai tiger staff. Each smiled widely the moment I stepped toward the cage because these dudes saw tiger terror in my eyes.
A few seconds after my initial fear I crossed the barrier, boldly walking into the cage as I heard the door lock behind me.
I have applied the same mindset to my blogging career. Especially when I was a nobody from nowhere. I had no blogging rep. I was not established online. I was just a broke, fired security guard who heard blogging was a good way to make a living online.
How did I make an impact in the blogging world despite having no name? Or despite having no connections? The same way that I stepped into a cage with three, 400 pound tigers.
Bursts of bravery.
Look at that image up top. This is me and my wife Kelli sitting with a tiger.
I deliberately picked a picture where I was staring to the side. In that moment I was thinking, “What in God’s name am I doing in this cage?”
I was terrified. I felt like at any moment the tiger could turn around and snap me like a twig. His head was wider than my upper body. His teeth looked like steak knives.
But in between these periods of intense fears I injected short, quick bursts of bravery like:
- walking into the cage
- sitting next to the tiger
- petting the tiger
- staying in the cage for longer than a minute
- standing my ground when the tiger made eye contact with me (and of course looking away so as not to challenge him)
The reward? I faced a massive fear and effectively conquered this fear.
All through little bursts of bravery.
On the blogging side of things you may feel like a nobody from nowhere. But by injecting little bursts of bravery into your day by:
- writing and publishing your first post
- writing and submitting your first guest post
- writing and publishing your first comment on a top blog
- recording your first Facebook Live video
- recording your first podcast episode
you will establish a positive rep. You will become a known commodity. You will be well on your way to becoming a successful blogger.
All because you injected little bursts of bravery into your blogging day.
You become a blogging somebody and build up your blog through little bursts of courage.
No need to be fearless all day long.
I was not some fearless, bold, confident, assured guy in the tiger cage. Little moments of bravery. Then very human moments of fear and terror.
No need for you to be terrified all blogging day. You are dealing with bloggers, not tigers.
1080 p Video of Tiger Cubs
I filmed this video of the tiger cubs – not the big boys and big boys we sat with – from a while back.
If you do feel terrified to start guest posting maybe you can submit your first blog comment. Like sitting with 100 pound tiger cubs versus sitting with the 400 pound adults.
Your Turn
Are you engaging in little bursts of blogging courage? How are you diving into your blogging fears for seconds at a time? What can you do today for just a few seconds to be bold, to show courage and to dive deeply into your fears?