SUCCESSFUL BLOGS - THE GREAT INTANGIBLE

Ah yes...we all dream of one day being the "King of the Hill". Come on, admit it. As Bloggers, we are all in this unending pursuit of the secret ingredients to a running a successful Blog. 

In my own research, I have seen a plethora of useful websites with great tips on how to reach the "promised land" and read them all with keen interest.

Over the past couple weeks, I have also done a few pieces on successful Blogging  - not that I know much about the subject, but given my "success" in other spheres  and significant hardening from other tough life experiences, why not?

My last post here on JollyJo - The Second Coming, spoke about an unmentioned ingredient...an ingredient, that in many instances in life, including Blogging, renders the assertions of the greatest experts...the "Monday morning quarterbacks", meaningless...or, so it seems. That ingredient that I have not mentioned so far is luck...plain luck! 

I found this famous quote by Aaron Alston recently: "Luck consists of largely hanging on by your fingernails until things start to go your way". Whoa...wait a minute...is that it? Are you telling me that all I need to is to hang on and simply wait, wait for the lottery to come calling. Hmmm...my "pocket change" colleague should really not be too perturbed then about the $10 a month he is making from his Blog...the "hallelujah train" is just around the corner...just hang on some more my friend. Yeah...right!

Mr. Alston must have taken a dose of naivety before he wrote this quote.  Or, wait...maybe he is right. After all, there are a few very lucky persons who reside in misery all their lives, only to awake one morning to find that the the lottery has made them Millionaires. Whoopee! Then comes the lifestyle change...and a visit from "cousin Fred"...then it's back to square one.

My gut tells me that these are the people I read about all the time...people who could not care less about hard work but with the wave of a "magic wand" became rich overnight, but in a few years, were flat broke. Hmmm...I wonder what Mr. Alston was thinking.

As I dug further, I found another famous quote with the common thread, in my opinion, that is key to good luck. According to Darrell Royal: "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity". Not bad!

Here is another one by James Russell Lowell: "Good luck is the willing handmaid of an upright and energetic character, and conscientious observance of duty". Great, now we are getting somewhere. I can more identify with these quotes and am sure you can too.

Rob Leatham, arguably the greatest pistol shooter ever, has from time to time reminded us of another quote by Samuel Goldwyn: "The harder I work, the luckier I get".  These are all quotes we should heed, and my "pocket change" friend would also be advised to do the same. In every sphere of life, including Blogging - luck, undeniably, is a key ingredient of success...it's all about "being in the right place at the right time".

However, I disagree with Mr Alston. Good luck is not about hanging on until something comes your way...in the case of Blogging, it's about a good plan, a well-defined market niche, unwavering passion and dedication to sound principles, thorough research of the subject area, quality of content and excellent presentation aesthetics, well-targeted marketing, extensive networking, sources of inspiration (as in my discussion about stimulus and response) and much, much more.

It's only when these elements are present that "father luck" smiles and smiles often, and opens the door to a "world of opportunities". With the gates open, then comes inevitable success...success, that we have toiled for and will be in a much better state of mind to appreciate and cherish for a very long time.