BIRTHDAY EDITION: Why I Started blogging, the journey….

….the journey.

Fam! Its my birthday! I’m usually very happy when my birthday is approaching, its not like anything special takes place, the excitement is just there. Now, I mentioned in my previous post that I’d be sharing a part of my story with you, which is “how and why I started blogging“.

Unlike most people, I did not always DREAM of being a blogger, in fact I didn’t want to be one, because I thought of how stressful it is, and this was my major issue, THE STRESS! But my dear nothing good comes easy, I was always reminded of that statement by a dear friend. I always thought to myself that being a makeup artist is enough work to put up with, now to couple it with blogging?! But with God all things are possible.

A seed was first planted in my heart, the time someone made a statement that I’d make a good blogger was when I wrote a short fiction, although when I heard that statement, I was like nahh, blogging is stress. But here I am.  The passion rose in me, and I could no longer neglect it. But I didn’t act on the passion immediately, in fact, I procrastinated A LOT. Let’s just say it took me over 5 months before I started acting towards the passion.

 

Now, the passion wasn’t just there because someone told me that I could make a great blogger, it’s more of the passion to share with people what I have encountered, what I have learnt and read overtime. So whenever I’m reading a book, I just think of how much I want to share this insight with others. Even before I started this blog, I was already doing that on twitter, using threads.

And I also wouldn’t say I started because I wanted to, its majorly because God led me to. Most especially to inspire people on different topics. If I can remember well, this started while I was reading the book titled; 31 days of wisdom by Mike Murdock. 

 

“If you do not get inspired, you would soon expire – Sam Adeyemi” 

 

It took me three months to open the blog after I began the planning (so that means it took me 8 months to start the blog in total), I honestly thought to myself sometimes, that it wasn’t going to see the light of the day. Because I was always so discouraged at one point or the other.

Read the constraints I had below:

So my major constraints were finances, I had this picture of a perfect blog in my head, and it was going to take money to execute the plans, some said why not start using a free blogging platform and the rest. But when I set out to do something, I like to get the best done out of it, and I try to make it reflect in everything I do, even as a makeup artist. Although the blog did not exactly come out the way I had it in my head, your comments and kind words have been encouraging.

One of the major reasons why I was always procrastinating was because I felt like I needed to have the money ready before I can start a blog, because when I searched online for the prices of domain names, and themes, they were always too much in my opinion, even though there were cheaper themes, my eyes just always went for the expensive once, lol.

At this point, I was a corper serving my nation Nigeria (which I have a strong passion for),  so I would try and save a particular percentage of my allowance given to me by the government ₦19,800, of which as at that time was my major source of income. More like the only income I get in the not-so-good months. But then I’ll end up using the money I’ve saved up for something more urgent at the time, and it went on that way for a very long time. It was like the money I had with me was never gonna be enough to start a blog.

The light bulb moment came when I asked a web-designer how much it will cost to get everything running just so I can set an amount to it and plan towards it. And it just so happened that I had the exact money to buy a domain name, at least that’s a start! , so I thought to myself..

“YOU NEED TO START SMALL TO GROW BIG” 

Another constraint I had was internet! Yes, I needed a network source to be able to make my blogging live on the internet, I really needed a modem or some sought of WiFi, but I already had a lot on my plate to think of in terms of what to use money for. I then used my phone’s hotspot as WiFi, and whenever I got free WiFi, I used it to the fullest.

I then  felt the need to get a camera to take good pictures for my blog, this was because I wanted a “perfect blog”. But then I leveraged on the pictures from my iPhone and a few I get from other sites, I also have a friend that supports me with that sometimes. If you have noticed, I give her photo-credits on some of the posts..

Now, I would love to say that everything was okay after that got sorted out, and the rest was history, but no, like I said before, nothing good comes easy. I have had sleepless nightsssss creating contents for the blog, creating graphic designs, and editing my blog’s template! And whatnots.. (I still have sleepless nights till today though).

“Excellence comes from continuous effort and hard work” 

Another thing is I often get asked who designed my blog, and people are usually surprised when I tell them.

Yep! I designed my blog myself… well I wouldn’t really say  “designed” because I’m no programmer, even though the whole thing was a learning process which made me feel like one. I had a template to work with, and I edited it to my taste, although I still look forward to constant improvement.

I opened the blog 26^th of December 2016 which was BOXING DAY, and the journey has been refreshing!

I have been blessed with supportive friends and family, and I truly appreciate them, so here’s to everyone that contributed to the success of this blog!(You know, if you know! haha..)  Thank you, God Bless You Truly!

And like Rotimi said, my story is not yet complete, I continually pray for greater heights!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

Click here to learn how to start a blog or click here for the travel blogging masterclass.

Check out my today’s selfies… 🙂

 

“Nothing good comes easy- Anonymous”