Since I started this blog in 2012 (almost 7 years to the day!), I had to teach myself a lot of things!
When I started this website *almost* seven years ago (October 16th to be exact!), I knew absolutely NOTHING about the space. Granted, there was not much that was going on. There were only a handful of people who had established themselves on the Internet already, no “crash courses” on getting followers, not many platforms to worry about, and not a focus on the business end of things.
So what did I do? I just created.
And then I realized there was A LOT I needed to learn. So…I started to learn while I was creating. Surprisingly, it’s been fun to learn things on your own. I remember teaching myself basic back end coding for my website (once I moved to WordPress), and being
STOKED
when things
WORKED
. So after seven years, I think it’s super important to be self-taught.
Fueling the fire for your passion
In pretty much ANY industry, it’s important to be constantly learning. Everything is super fast paced, and things are always changing. When you think about the influencer industry, there’s always something new to think about or something different to do. Whether you read about it in an article, or see your favorite influencer doing something consistently. It’s A LOT.
As this influencer industry grows with technology, there’s more “training” that needs to be done. That’s why self-teaching is so important if you want to keep up with your passion. And if you want to stay on the same playing field as your “competitors”. (I say that lightly because I do believe there’s room for everyone in this industry if we’re referring to influencers.)
If you’re a good self-teacher, I think you’re automatically ahead of the game. So often, we’re waiting to be taught something – whether that’s at the office, or through a new online course, etc. If you’re self-taught, you’re able to apply the knowledge you’ve gained on your own to new, emerging challenges! If you’re genuinely passionate about something, then it’s almost second nature to want to learn everything. When you’re self-teaching, you can focus on things you’re specifically interested in and do it all on your own time.
Time is everything
Time is precious when you’re self-taught.
It’s pretty much like you have a huge responsibility to yourself. If you’re learning something, then you must hold yourself accountable to follow through. When I was updating my website, it took me a while to figure out how to upload my theme and do some back end work. Sure, I wanted to give up at times, but I knew it would be beneficial to follow through on this responsibility. Throughout the process of making these updates, I effectively studied what I was good and not so good at. This allowed me to realize what I should potentially outsource or continue to learn. By learning what I needed to outsource (transitioning hosts, additional coding, etc.), I was able to spend my time wisely.
Patience, patience, patience
While teaching yourself something, you’re going to run into frustrating moments. It’s important to remember that being patient is very important. Especially when you don’t see an end in sight. It’s always important to know that a result will come when you least expect it…and you’ll be better for it
Overall, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished on my own over the last 7 years. I think being able to teach yourself in a field that you’re interested in is a great skill to have!
What’s something you learned on your own?