The Journey and the Lessons

 I'm not going to act like I have not been off this space for 3 months. Its been a tensed year. Notwithstanding in the coming days, I hope to share some of the things that clogged my feet and seemingly wanted to draw me back.

It's my blog anniversary today. Two years! I decided to share my lessons with you. All these lessons were birthed from the struggles that I've had to go through in these two years. I hope it helps and inspires you.

The creation                                             

I remember that fateful Sunday. Angola Hall, Block I, room 5 of the Obafemi Awolowo University. I opened a blog right in the comfort of my friend's room with my Infinix Hot 5. 

It was a big decision for me, I'm glad I took it. I shared my first blog post on the 1st of November 2018 with the title YOUR DREAMS ARE VALID. A lot happened in the space of two years. I've given in to doubt, fear, and laziness.  Also shared poorly written articles that I look at now with a cheeky smile on the development that has followed. But it's been a beautiful journey. 

"The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better." -Stephen King

Let's get right into the lessons.

Your Lifeline 

You are first a child of God before a writer/creative/blogger. That's your identity. We must prioritize spending time with Jesus over anything else. If this suffers, it would affect the rest. Don't get carried away by all the appreciation, the shares, and the retweets, that you forget the place of fellowship with God. 

Avoid getting to a place where you are more concerned about dishing out contents and your relationship with God suffers. 

Similarly, we should get to a climb where God could ask us to put a pause on whatever we are doing, and we'll obey in total surrender. God can ask us to drop all. He could ask me to stop blogging and move to another phase; do I have the strength to do that? I'm not sure, but we must get there. 

We must get to the level where God vetoes our decisions and we won't budge. 

Therefore, we mustn't attach our identity or worth to these things. They are ephemeral. God can require them from us. And if we get carried away, we need to acknowledge our weakness and ask God for strength.

Why do you want to start a blog?                     I started blogging because I wanted to put my thoughts on wheels for the world to drive. I was tired of thinking great thoughts in my head without being able to share. I was holding back, thinking who would want to read my write-ups and how would I even get people to do that? But finally, I did. 

At the start, I didn't know what I wanted to focus on, but along the line everything took shape. As much as I would advise that you have a clear “why” before you start, I also understand that sometimes clarity doesn't come until you start. Clarity comes from doing, not thinking. Despite that, you need a strong “why” to guide you and also keep you standing when you no longer feel you can go on. 

I drew back a lot of times in this journey, and one reason was, my why wasn't strong enough. Now, I don't have it all figured out yet, but my why is stronger. Find a why. It would go a long way. 

However, as you go on, it gets clearer. 

"Clarity is progressive. When you get more clarity, it doesn't mean you started wrong. You got this clarity because you started." -Tolu Michaels

Beyond the Words

It is about obeying God to share even things and experiences which, to us, might not be so spectacular. I shared an article a few months ago and the comments that came in after -- had me asking myself, 'What's so special about this; it's not that deep now'. It is not in the deep things. God's word is not ordinary. 

There is always that person out there that needs the word no matter how basic it may seem to you. We just need to follow the spirit and share it leads. 

Value Attracts                                                        I read an article recently and there's a part of it that covers this so I would just share it here.

"We live in a fantasy that we are entitled to getting reads and clicks because of the work we put into the process of creation. Forgetting that no one saw that and even if they did, pity is one of the last reasons anyone reads anything. People will read what they feel they need to read. What they feel is relevant to them and will help them. It is now up to us as writers to give them a reason to desire to consume our creation. It is more on us, not them.”

Not everyone would share your links, engage your works, or buy your stuff. And they are not wicked for doing that. Also, some might not relate to what you do, but one thing to put in mind is that your tribe will always find you. 

Most times, they come from strangers you don't even expect, but they would help you. Just keep creating value; it always attracts.

Growth as against the culture of perfection.                   

  I read through my first blog post recently and I cringed at how it was poorly written. I might not be an adroit writer yet, but I'm not where I used to be when I started. One thing you would notice if you check through your archives for your old articles and stories is that, if you had to rewrite them, you would write them better. That there is growth, celebrate it. 

Growth is not always easy, it comes with pain, feelings, and emotions that sometimes try to trick us into giving up, but growth won't come that way. If we keep waiting till we can write perfectly before we start; you might never start. 

Write, make mistakes, and learn from them. If you weren't afraid, what and what would you have done? How many articles would you have published? Start from there. 

Prolific writers that we celebrate or ring their alarms all over the places also started from somewhere. Its in the baby steps. Two different times I wanted to drop an article here but after writing the article I got frustrated because it wasn't perfect. I kept trying to make it look flawless in the way I've seen others write but it just wasn't up to my taste. 

That was me being unkind to myself and my growth journey. It can cause self-sabotage. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to grow. Stick to your style. 

Writers can relate to how stretching the editing process can be, but we need to give our best into every work we put out.

 You must also be patient to see your blog grow and not judge the value of your write-ups with the views or shares it gets at the start. It won't happen overnight and it would take a lot of dedication and commitment from us; making deliberate efforts to show up even when we don't feel like. 

Even when the feeling comes, it's not the primary thing. It's the value it brings to you and your readers that tops it all. Also, great writers are avid readers. One thing have noticed over time is the more I read the better I write. If you want to write better you have to make reading a practice. 

"At each stage of your growth journey, there are people who need what you have to offer. You owe your audience authentic and valuable content, not perfect content." -Precious Gaza

Vulnerability                                                       

 This is perhaps the hardest thing I struggled with as a blogger. With my mistakes and flaws, I often feel unqualified to share my story. The devil constantly tries to remind me of my imperfections and flaws, and this stopped me from going all out. I kept holding back because I thought I needed to be perfect to do all that God called me to do. 

The devil kept coming at me with whispers of my weaknesses and frailties as humans.

 However, I'm confident that God has a way of using my story, even though imperfect and filled with flaws, for his glory and making it a channel of blessing to those who read it.

 More so, how else do you connect with your readers if you aren't vulnerable to them? VULNERABILITY is how we connect.

Community                                                         

Not everyone would relate to the struggles you have to go through as a creative. Quite Multiple days you doubt yourself or your abilities and days you still have to show up even when you don't feel like. So, you need a community of people who can also relate to the things you do. 

Recently I attended an online conference for Christian bloggers and we were asked to share our struggles and what we hope to take away from the conference. Right in that room, I felt a sense of belonging. I could relate to every single struggle everyone had to deal with it because I struggle with them too. 

We rendered support to each other in the way we could. Being creative isn't a simple thing really, so you need all the support you can get from your community.

 Find a community of people that do what you do and join them. Build a community for yourself. 

Additionally, take time to thank every single person who reads, shares, and engages your work. They had the choice not to, but they did otherwise. Stop at intervals to appreciate them.

It's been two years already and I'm awed at how far have come in this journey. This is a process through which God has broken me and now, rebuilding. Thanks for sticking with me and for being part of the journey. I'm grateful to every single reader. Thank you.

In this spirit of the blog anniversary let's do this;

How long have you been following here? Has this blog been a blessing to you in any way?. I'll be glad to have your feedback in the comment section.

Please share this with anyone who needs it and doesn't forget to hit the subscribe button to know when another article drops. 

Love.