My mother doesn’t own a blog. She doesn’t even read blogs. In fact, she thinks the Internet is a big waste of time. I’m not sure that Mum would be able to turn a computer on. My guess is that she would press the right button, but probably wouldn’t know what to do next.

So you ask me: “What the heck is this post about then? If your mother is a computer illiterate, how can she teach anything about being a successful blogger?”

Your question makes sense. But read on.

Mum knows her daughter very well, like any good mother should. She is aware of my online projects. She knows I hope to succeed as a writer, and that I’ve been using blogs as auxiliary tools to reach my aim. She may not be particularly interested in the blogging world, but she certainly is very interested in my progress and in my happiness, for obvious reasons. Therefore, when she noticed that I was spending more and more time blogging and less and less time resting, she started to complain about it.

I didn’t listen to her (you know, I’m an adult woman, I can take care of myself, I know what I’m doing etc.) and went on sacrificing several hours of sleep. I thought my time would be much better spent on blog posts, blog promotion, blog reading, blog commenting, blog networking… you get the idea. My body and my mind would send me some opposing signals, which I tried to ignore. Nevertheless, my increasing health issues wouldn’t go unnoticed by Mum. And one day she decided that “the adult woman who could take care of herself and knew what she was doing” would have to listen to her.

This was her reasoning:

1. You can’t be a full-time writer/blogger because you also have a day job, which you just can’t quit for the time being.

2. You can only write and blog in your spare time.

3. Writing and blogging are not the only things one should do in her spare time. Human beings usually have other needs.

4. Sleeping certainly is among those other needs — and it’s very, very near the top of the list.

5. Lack of sleep has a negative impact on your health, and at last will make you fall ill.

6. When you fall ill, you won’t be able to do any blog-related activities until you recover.

7. Wouldn’t it be wiser to rest a bit more and write a bit less, thus keeping yourself healthy enough to continue your projects and eventually succeed in them?

Bingo!

But it all could have been summarized in this sentence: “No health, no success.” And yes, she made me listen to it too.

There you have it. Although I’m still an adult woman, and I still can take care of myself, maybe I don’t always know what I’m doing. An outsider’s perspective just might be what I needed at this point in my online endeavors. Because I’ve read all sorts of tips on how to be a successful writer, blogger or Internet marketer, but I’ve rarely found any advice regarding some basic aspects of my life that might also have an impact on my online activities.

Karen Zara

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Filed under: Blogging, Guest Blogging