Is it not everyone’s dream to spend a good amount of their day doing something that they thoroughly enjoy? Wouldn’t the best job to have in the whole, wide world be the one that involves something that you absolutely love or one that makes you excited to wake up in the morning? Maybe even one where you can sleep into the afternoon! Okay, not everyone is so interested in that last part, but you agree with the other parts, don’t you? What a coincidence! Me, too!
It isn’t always easy to find something like that, but it is definitely possibly to find it. So, how do you find it? The first step is to figure out what you’re passionate about. Again, that is something that you are PASSIONATE about, not merely something that you’re interested in.
Stick with it because this process can take a while, but you’ll be glad you did.
Don’t Kill Your Blog
The easiest and fastest way for you to kill your blog is for you to write about something that you’re only “just” interested in. This might sound dumb, but it’s true. You might think that one of your interests will bring in a lot of money, but if it is only an interest, the odds are high that you will lose steam and your blog will merely fade into nonexistence.
Keeping a blog going is not easy, just ask any blogger. You have to come up with topics continuously, and writing compelling content is no small task. Remember writing papers in school on topics you weren’t all too interested in? Imagine having to commit yourself to doing that every day. If you don’t completely love the topics that you are writing about, coming up with a steady stream of fresh content becomes more and more difficult as time goes on, which, frankly, might not be for very long.
Another problem that you will face is that your readers are far more likely to pick up on the fact that you have become disinterested in your topic, and that will cause them to become disinterested as well. Reading content that was written by someone who has lost interest in the topic can be as hard on the readers as it is on the writer. Once your readers lose interest, it is far more likely that they are going to stop reading, and what is blog without readers?
As a side note, if you are hoping that your blog or website will become a ticket that will get you out of your current job which might not be exciting either, is there really any point in trading one boring job for another?
Of course, do not think that this is always absolutely mandatory to be successful in the world of blogging, but you will significantly increase your odds of finding success with your blog if you choose a topic that is more than an interest. Try to find something to write about that goes beyond interest and touches on passion.
Interest Or Passion…
Now lets take a look at the distinction between an interest and a passion? We have all seen people who have started blogs that have been focused on one of their interests. More often than not, their blog doesn’t go anywhere. It can happen to anyone. It might even happen to you at some point, but don’t get discouraged from trying again.
Let’s take a look at a fictional example blogger named Sheila. You see, Sheila is interested in many different things. She is interested in saving money, homeschooling, making up new recipes that involve chocolate, and living a life without debt. Sheila is interested in all of these things, but none of those interests are things that she spends a significant amount of her free time pursuing. They are simply not things that she eats, sleeps, and breathes (Okay, so she eats the food that she makes with the chocolate, but you know what that saying really means.). Sheila has tried to start blogs about all of those topics, but all of those blogs have failed.
In the process, though, Sheila spent hours learning how to create her own websites for those blogs and had even read about the topic before she had ever considered starting her first blog. Sheila was fascinated by that subject; it turned out to be something that she truly enjoyed and loved doing. Sheila began to spend every spare moment she had on the computer, trying to figure out how different features worked on websites. It became her go-to pastime, and she even started helping her friends develop websites for their various projects or blogs. Whenever Sheila was researching web development and learning how to do new things, she felt as though she was in her element.
Can you see the difference there? Sheila likes her interests, but she lives and loves her passion. If it is at all possible, focus on what you live and love.
Brainstorming
The goal here is not necessarily finding the final topic for your blog. Instead you should try to come up with a short list of things that we fully enjoy. Hopefully, when you throw that list into the machine that picks blog topics for you later, that list will provide you with one amazing final choice.
The main assignment for now is fairly simple: Let yourself dream.
To help yourself feel the creative juices flowing, try asking yourself a few of these questions. Here is where you might want to grab a piece of paper or open a Word document and take down some notes. Some of these questions are similar but written a bit differently. This is brainstorming, though, so let yourself go. When you’re done, try to make a list of a few topics that you really and truly love.
- Is there an activity that you get so involved with that you often lose track of time?
- Assume all your responsibilities are taken care of. What would you do if you had a week to spend however you felt like spending it?
- If you were asked to teach a class on any subject, what would your class be about?
- What is your favorite hobby?
- Generally speaking, what makes you incredibly emotional?
- If you were guaranteed a great salary, what would your dream job be?
- Is there anything that you regularly do in your free time just because you really enjoy it?
- If you were given a check for $3000 and you had to do something fun for yourself with it, what would you spend that money on?
- When you’re with your friends, what do you talk to them about?
- What kind of books do you read?
- Are there any TV shows you love to watch or blogs and websites that you visit frequently?
- Is there anything that you talk to your friends about so much that they are incredibly tired of hearing about it?
Take as much time as you need to find the answers to those questions. Once you have your answers ready, analyze the information and make your list.
