Yesterday I wrote about perseverance.  How sticking to your plan despite obstacles and time will finally yield results.  Today I have a thought about how sometimes you just have to do what you need to do.

Have you ever finished taking a shower and realized that you forgot to get a towel?  And the linen closet is across the bathroom?  And there is just a small twinkling in the back of your mind that looks at the toilet paper and weighs the option and dismisses it because it would be too messy?

I have.  I have more than once.  I did yesterday morning.  In fact the title of this post is scrawled in the margin of an Outdoor Life magazine in the bathroom.  Luckily there was a pencil in the drawer.  I wonder if I autographed that page if it would ever be worth any money????

Anyway, I forgot to grab a towel.  The first thing that ran through my head when I discovered this was the title of this post.  So what did I do?  I walked to the linen closet and got a towel, getting water on the floor that I had to clean up later.  My initial “Oh crap, I have to get the floor wet” exclamation began to take root in my head as a blog post idea about then.

Here is the metaphor: how many times do we in the blogging world encounter something that may be unpleasant or undesireable?  Whether it is backing up your blog so you don’t get hacked like my friend Heather did, or by writing that post or comment that is going to make people mad, or even just deciding to be yourself on your blog and who the hell cares what anyone else thinks.

In any of those situations you will have those “Oh Crap!” moments that you will realize there is something that may not be the best thing at the time i.e. getting the floor wet, but will be a good thing overall i.e. not standing there and waiting to air dry.  There are things you may have to do while you build your site and your brand that will make people mad.

Your spouse will be pissed off at times, “You spend more time with that damn computer….” but in the end, when the cash is rolling in, it will all have been worth it.  So as the great Naval officer David Farragut so eloquently is paraphrased, “Damn the torpedoes!  Full Speed Ahead!”  And so it shall be with my blog.  Full speed ahead and while there will be things in the way, I will run right over them.

There will be bumps in the road, axles break but can be repaired, things overheat but can be cooled down, and tires pop, so always carry a spare (hence backup your site).  You can overcome anything that is thrown at you if you

  1. Have sight of your future as a blogger and where your business should be.
  2. Never give up your dream no matter the odds
  3. Realize that you will have to make some messes and either walk away from the deposit, or clean it up later.
  4. The ends will justify those means

That is all.

Discuss freely in the comments, or kindly digg, retweet, stumbleupon, or amplify! Thank you!

-Justin