What 1 Tough Skill Must You Master to Blog Professionally?

I wrote this eBook:

How to Retire to a Life of Island Hopping (Part 2)

from an energy of release. I had to surrender the eBook. The thing is, I spent a good chunk of time writing this eBook years prior but never felt clear on the sucker. I was in Bali during the first draft, I believe. Fast forward a few years. Put yourself in a time machine. Before another trip around the world, I scanned this eBook and trashed the sucker and then rewrote the 15,000 words.

Why?

The quality and clarity of my writing changed quantum leap style, over the time expired. I cringed like listening to someone scraping their fingernails across a chalkboard, when reading the first draft words. Ouch. Rough.

So I trashed that sucker and at JFK airport in NYC, began writing the new and improved, clear, latest version of the read. Cool. Wrapped it up as I spent a day circling the globe. In air, and, in airports.

Why?

I used the skill all pro bloggers need to master: release.

Release

Releasing is a tough skill. We all love clinging to ideas, thoughts and things like a baby clutches its rattle. But like the baby needs to eventually give up its rattle, we need to give up that which we cling to. I loved my old eBook text many years ago. But on reading the draft, I’d have been a completely deluded idiot to actually self-publish the words.

I had to trash 15,000 words, an entire eBook and some serious work time to make room for a new, improved, clear eBook that would accelerate my success. Either I could sell crap and fail or release the crap, sell quality content and succeed. My decision. My choice. I chose to release low quality stuff for a high quality option. Good move. Helped accelerate my success.

Evolve

Every amateur blogger needs to evolve into a pro blogger by releasing what needs to be released, in order to grow into a pro. Aha! I am a poet, and did not know it.

I had to release an old blog, 3400 blog posts and brand to make room for Blogging From Paradise. Thank goodness I let go the old blog. Because you would never know the Blogging From Paradise Guy if I clung to that old, worn out, anchor-like blog, sapping me of my energy, my creativity, and my moderately entertaining writing style.

How are you evolving? What did you release? Recently? Of have you been de-volving aka regressing by refusing to release what needs to go?

Do you need to release that cheap-looking, amateur-hour theme? Trash it. Invest in a premium theme. Feel clear. Emit a pro image. Move higher in blogging circles.

eBook Release

Perhaps you need to release the idea that no one would buy your eBooks, if you wrote and self-published eBooks.

Once you let go that idea, you open up to actually writing and self-publishing eBooks. I felt terrified to write eBooks as of 2013. One dear blogging buddy of mine goaded me to begin self-publishing eBooks when I visited India, right near his very village.

He tried to nudge me into the eBook game for a minute. I resisted. But during that fateful meeting, he finally pushed me over the top.

Sure I began self-publishing on a now defunct platform. But I got my writing and eBook momentum going. I never looked back.

Everything changed when I released the idea I could not write and self-publish eBooks.

Let Go to Grow

Letting go limiting ideas positions you to be a pro blogger because you release fear-driven, failure-promoting ideas and strategies that need to go for you to succeed to the full time level.

10 years ago, I copied and pasted my latest blog post to 300 Facebook Groups, like a blogging dolt. Imagine how much time I wasted? Yikes!

I had to let go this failing strategy to make room for genuine guest posting, genuine blog commenting and generous networking, to lay the foundation for my professional blogging career.

What do you need to let go? Be honest with yourself. Evolve. Release. Accelerate your growth as you position yourself to become a professional blogger.