3 Things I Have Learned Blogging

This month is the five year anniversary of starting this blog!  And to celebrate, I wanted to share 3 things I have learned blogging.  Of course, these things relate to the blogging and side hustle world, but I think you will also find that they relate to life overall, no matter what age or stage you may find yourself in!  Success, purpose, and investment are things all of us are trying to sort through and define.  I had no idea five years ago, when I started this blog because financially we really needed more money, that I would learn so many valuable things through blogging. 

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Lesson #1- What is Success?

When I look back over the last five years of blogging, one of the easiest lesson for me to see is what really is success?  Five years ago I started this blog with the hopes to share some of what I knew about teaching kids, but also to make some money that our family really needed.  I had dreams of replacing a full time income with what I could make from my blog.  I am a goal setting kind of girl, so I set business goals for my store each year for money I would hope to make and subscriber numbers I would hope to reach.  

In no way am I saying not to make goals.  I still do make these kinds of goals, but I have learned that I can’t really judge my success from only numbers.  Some years I have met my goals and some years I have come short.  But every year I would say my blog has been a success.  I have learned that success can also be measured in the impact something has on the world around it.   

I certainly hope this blog has had a positive impact on my subscribers, and I know that it has has a positive impact on my own heart and family.  It may not have provided a giant home or helped millions of readers, but it has given my girls a vision of how they can combine being mom and a business owner.  It has kept me accountable for teaching my own kids by using the resources I make for all you.  Maybe most importantly it has given me a new purpose that is all my own.

Lesson #2- Your Passion Matters

Before I even talk about this lesson, I want to make sure I am clear that you can find passion in anything.  God may be calling you to something totally different from me.  My goal isn’t to communicate that everyone will find passion in blogging.  But rather, knowing your passion can bring a new level of joy and peace.

I was a stay at home mom for about 5 years before I started blogging.  It was definitely a choice that was right for our family.  And yet, there are some really hard things about having your primary job be taking care of your own small children.  One of the things that was the hardest for me was that I seemed to loose anything that was “mine”.  I loved spending my days with my kids, but quickly everything I did began to revolve around them.  Even when they were sleeping it seemed I was doing chores or planning things for them. 

Blogging gave me the opportunity to find a passion for me.  It gave me something to focus on that still allowed me to be a full time mom, but also resulted in a product that I could be proud of.  It gave me opportunities to learn and grow in new ways.  And for me, having something that I could call my own made me a happier and better mom. 

Again, I don’t think that is the case for every mom, but I do thing finding a passion for yourself outside of motherhood can give your mind and body a much needed break from the hard work of parenting. Maybe you love art.  Take some time to draw or paint during your kids nap time.  I have a friend that loves to run.  She is diligent about getting her runs in each day.  Maybe you love reading.  Don’t give it up.  Find and defend your time to do something you love each day.  It will make you a better mom. 

Lesson #3- When to Invest (and when to say no)

One of the challenges of owning your own business is that there are so many different options and paths you could take.  There are courses to learn more about every subject under the sun.  Around every corner is an “expert” telling you what area of your business you should focus on.  I am not here to endorse any specific business plan, but instead I have learned the value of when to push forward and when to step away.

I tend to be more on the Type A personality side.  This means I have the capacity to get a lot of things done, but it may be because I am bulldozing through other important areas of my life.  For me checking things off my to do list can become my goal instead of fostering my relationships with the people around me.  

In the last five years, God has given me several circumstances that have forced me to step away (at least partially) from this blogging world.  When my dad died suddenly three years ago, and it was followed by a high risk pregnancy, I spent almost a year not creating any new resources.  I blogged and put a few freebies out there, but I didn’t add a single thing to my store for an entire year.  And guess what?  The world didn’t end.  I learned to take care of my own heart before I bulldozed through to get another thing on my to do list done.  

And this is a lesson I can bring into all areas of life.  Even today as I listened to the message at church, I was reminded the importance of tending to your own heart first.  This current season has been one of the busiest for our entire marriage.  And honestly there have been times that I have struggled to put tending my heart and my relationship with the Lord above my growing to do list.  But even writing this for you all, reminds me that just like my blog store survived without me adding new products, my to do list will survive and even thrive when I choose to tend my heart before the Lord first.  It is one of the only things you can count on never regretting!

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