“You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus and the support.”  Sabrina Bryan.

This week’s blog is a very special one for me as it’s the 650th one that I have written since the first one was written over 12 years ago on 21st January 2014. I have posted a blog to the Be First class website every Monday since then. I haven’t missed a week!

My first blog was titled “Small and incremental steps do make a difference.” (You can read it here)

By writing this blog every week, I’ve actually followed my own advice about small incremental steps being consistently applied. I am glad that I did as it has yielded some very positive results. As well as developing my writing ability and confidence, putting the blog together every week has enabled me produce enough material to write and publish two books.

The first book “Be First Class” was published in May 2016 and a follow up “Just Be” was published a few years later. Doing this helped me to fulfil a long-held ambition to publish a book. I have to be honest and say that for many years I believed this was an unobtainable goal. I was very happy to prove myself wrong!

I was asked recently about my process for writing blogs and the secret to me publishing them consistently every week for over 12 years.

Here are a few thoughts and insights on what I’ve learned along the way: –

Get out of your own way.

When you embark on a new chapter or project, I learned that you need to “get out of your own.” What I mean by this is that you need to overcome your own inner criticism and the mental obstacles that you create in your mind. I had thought about writing a blog for some time before I started but I procrastinated. I thought I wouldn’t be able write something every week. I wondered if anyone would actually be interested in reading it. Eventually, I took the plunge and proved all those negative thoughts wrong. If you take the first step, the path will reveal itself as the journey unfolds.

Have a clear purpose and intention.

Once I got out of my own way and started writing the blog, I had a very clear purpose. Firstly, I wanted to share knowledge to help others. It was my small contribution to seek to make the world a better place. I had no idea if anybody would read the blog and I wasn’t too attached to an outcome. However, I had an image in my mind that one day, someone would do a web search and as a result would come across my blog. I visualised that the blog would help them in some way. I imagined they may gain an insight that would generate a new idea, inspire change or solve a challenge that they had. It gave me the motivation to write each week.

Secondly, I wanted to develop my writing ability and confidence and generate enough material for a book.

Be committed.

In my view, you have to be 100% committed to something in order to make it happen. As soon as I started writing the blogs, I have left no room for excuses; I determined that I would produce a blog each week come rain or shine and that’s what I have done.  At the outset, I decided that if at any time in the future, I felt that I wasn’t totally committed, I would stop writing them and use my energy elsewhere.

Be self-disciplined.

The importance of self-discipline can’t be overstated. I have a specific time in my diary where I write the blog. It has become a habit, part of my routine and just something I do every week. I plan the subject of the blog beforehand but I don’t know what the content will be until I sit down to write. The subject is inspired by current world events or something that has happened in my life. I plan for holidays and absences by writing two or three blogs in a week. This means that the blog can continue to be published while I’m away.

Shut out distractions.

In order to ensure I have sufficient time for writing, I have eradicated things that eroded and drained my energy. Some practical examples of this are turning off email and social media notifications and indeed spending limited time on social media. I reduced the amount of time that I watched television or browsed the web. I unsubscribed from some mailing lists and cut down the time I spent dealing with emails.

Be prepared for unexpected outcomes.

In December 2021 I was contacted by a teacher who taught English in Ukraine. She wanted to use some of the material in one of my blogs in her lessons and sought my permission to do so. It was titled “what would you do if you were fearless?” I was glad that I said yes to her request and never envisaged when I did that Ukraine would be at war just two months later and still are over four years on. I remember reflecting at the start of the war about how the teacher’s life and that of her students had changed forever in a short space of time.

We do best what we enjoy doing.

Life is very precious and we have limited time and energy. Therefore, it is imperative that we focus some of our time on things that we enjoy and are passionate about. I enjoy writing and helping people develop and grow. This has helped to sustain my commitment to writing the blogs each week.

The importance of support.

I could not have achieved this milestone without the help of my good friend Paul Albertson. He maintains my website and posts the blog to the site every week. He is also an extremely talented actor (you may have seen him on shows like Coronation Street, Casualty, Holby City, Doctors and The Gold). He is currently in the touring production of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Thanks Paul, I couldn’t have achieved it without you!

This week why not take a few moments to reflect and think if there is a goal that you would really like to achieve. You may have one that you haven’t taken action on recently. What one step could you take to ignite and energise this goal?

Remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk