Ego Blogging and the Money Idol.

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Something about the blogosphere lately has been bugging me. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what it is because it’s not a black and white problem and I’m an active participant and proponent of at least part of what I see as the issue.

Blogging as we know it today evolved from online journal writing, a very reflective and personal thing to do centered around one individual’s life. Back then it was expected that a “weblog” would focus mostly on the person writing it and consequently, unless the person led a very interesting life or had a gift for writing, only a small handful of people would read it - perhaps friends, family and coworkers.

Today blogs have become much more than journals, yet many of the blogs we idolize are very ego-centric. Often popular blogs are driven by the personality of the author. While most blogs are not necessarily talking about a person’s personal life, often “life” is the muse for topics, even if they are skewed for relevancy to a certain group of people, a target market.

For example, my blog here is about Internet business and blogging and many of the posts I publish draw on my own experience in these areas. This article you are reading right now is exactly that - I’m writing this as a result of my recent experience reading other blogs.

The blogosphere is personality driven, so it’s natural to expect that the people with the biggest personalities, the most interesting stories, unique talents and/or some form of celebrity, are at the top of the A-List of blogs. There’s nothing wrong with that on the surface, but what I do see as a potential problem is what we value and what concepts we raise to ideals to emulate.

Money As Motivation

I remember the first time Darren Rowse published how much he was earning from his blogs and the subsequent buzz that spread online about the potential for income from blogging. Since then many bloggers have revealed their earnings and continue to do so. I did exactly that for my March 2007 blog earnings.

With the obvious interest in the topic “making money online” many bloggers have launched blogs focused on it, some make money, some chronicle their journey of making money and may not make any yet. The focus is squarely on how to earn more and how to get more traffic so you can earn more. Again, there is nothing wrong with that per se, the problem as I see it, is how much energy we give to the topic and how we idolize certain people who have achieved something we want to achieve.

Will Money Make You Happy?

There’s a very old question that most people feel they know the answer to - Will money make you happy?

I don’t think money specifically can make you happy, but certainly it can buy freedoms that contribute to happiness.

The problem I believe is better defined in the reverse - does a lack of money make you unhappy?

I think for many people that last statement is true and we thus wake up each day with money as a key motivator, not the only motivator of course, but certainly a major one given society’s current structure.

If you have read my previous article - The Key To Happiness - you know that my belief is that happiness is simply a choice, but for the sake of this article I’ll assume that you may conceptually understand that, but have difficulty putting it into practice 100% of the time, which sums up my experience too.

Where’s The Value?

If you presently read blogs that talk about making money, or any blog where the author spends a lot of time focused on their own life, make sure you stop and ask yourself whether reading the blog contributes to a goal you currently have and whether you leave that blog having gained an insight or something you can actually action and benefit from.

What it is you admire about the blog and blogger and why have you have decided to offer them a portion of your life - a fraction of the time you have available in a given lifetime? That’s a hefty price to pay so you better be clear on why you are there and what you want from the relationship.

Many blogs offer very little value beyond entertainment, essentially a distraction from what you really need to get done. Entertainment is great, but often times entertainment is procrastination. This is an especially important point for all you workers out there surfing the web in an attempt to get through yet another “boring day”. Something needs to change.

At some point you have to consider how long you are prepared to read about how successful someone else is, how much money they make or the ramblings of X number of mini-me bloggers also attempting to replicate the success of A-List profit bloggers. What exactly is in it for you or are you there to simply help that blogger make more money by being yet one more visitor adding to their traffic count?

Focus On What’s In It For You

Watching others achieve what you want to achieve will not help you unless you actually take away a lesson and apply it. If you currently read bloggers that spend most of their time rambling on about how good they are, or how much money they make or what they last had for dinner, or how amazing their traffic growth rate is, and you walk away feeling feeling depressed because you can’t seem to make any money or you are simply “passing the time” you are not moving forward.

As you are about to finish reading this article you can ask yourself - What did I learn? How can I change my behaviors for the better as a result of this article from Yaro?

My hope is that you will start to make better use of your time and challenge every blogger you read to benefit YOUR life.

I may end up losing some readers as a result of this article as they realize that Entrepreneurs-Journey.com doesn’t specifically offer them any value given their current situation and goals. That’s fine, what’s important is that you read this article, have an insight and take a step that leads to enhancing your life and making you happier.

Remember, money as a purpose in life is a false idol, as is worshiping people who are fixated on making money. Monitor your feelings and gravitate towards what works for you and what feels right. There’s nothing wrong with making money and being motivated by it, just remember that it’s not the only reason to do something, there should be a deeper motivation and purpose - a reason why that makes sense to you, a way it can help you and a way you can use it to help others.

[Via - Yaro Starak]

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