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The Mottos that Landed Me a Post on Problogger.net

Posted By Guest Blogger 13th of September 2011 Miscellaneous Blog Tips 0 Comments

This guest post is by Magz Parmenter of Tangerine Turtle.

Close your eyes for a minute and think about the biggest goal you have right now. Is it becoming a full-time blogger? Would you like to speak at a conference? Maybe you want to sell advertising on your blog. Whatever it is that you’re trying to achieve, you need to take the advice in this post. It’s how I succeeded with one of my biggest goals this year: to write for problogger.net…

I was going about my business, writing a post for my blog when I got a little pop-up message in the corner of my screen. It was Darren Rowse, you know, the Darren Rowse, from Problogger. Here’s how the conversation went:

Darren: “Hi Magz, I read your blog and liked what I saw. How about doing a guest post on problogger.net?”
Magz: “Wow! I’m flattered, Darren! Of course, I’d love to!”
Darren: “Okay, that’s great. Send me something and I’ll make sure to send it through to Georgina (the Content Manager at problogger.net).”

Okay, I’ll confess. None of the above actually happened. But wouldn’t it be awesome if it did?

The truth is, if you want to guest post for anyone, particularly an A-list blogger, you have to submit your ideas to them. Let’s be honest, they get thousands of emails asking them to please, please, please consider their amazing post. Particularly if you’re a new blogger, or even if you’re not (I’ve been blogging since 2005), getting to grips with pitching the big guns with your ideas can be daunting.

I’ll be the first to admit, it took me a good six months of reading and researching, interacting with Darren on Twitter and learning as much as I possibly could from heavy-hitters like Brian Clark, Jon Morrow, Pat Flynn, and the Blog Tyrant before I got the courage to pitch my ideas to the guys at problogger.net.

I. Was. Terrified.

To make matters worse, I sent my pitch on a Friday, and because of various factors like the time difference from the UK to Australia and Georgina’s work schedule, I didn’t get an answer until 1.30am on Sunday (Monday). I was sweating it that weekend!

So, How Did I Get that Elusive ‘Yes’ to Guest Post on Problogger?

In my former life, I used to be a counsellor. I’ve always been interested in psychology and what makes people do the things they do. I’m now a Personal Coach and I love helping people find ways to be more productive and successful in their lives, whether that means organizing their homes and offices, or organizing their thoughts.

I’m also addicted to Google. (They should give me shares, really. No … really.) Finally, I love inspirational and catchy quotes. Put these things together, and it should come as no surprise that I used the marketing slogans of four major companies to help me reach my big goal of guest posting here.

1.  Impossible is nothing (Adidas)

If you’re struggling, this motto might seem as believable as a pink elephant flying. But here are a few thoughts that will help you:

  • Your thoughts are influenced by words.
  • The words you tell yourself become your reality.
  • “Impossible” is a word.
  • So is “possible.”

If you tell yourself (or someone else) something over and over, eventually they will believe it. That is why parents are warned about the things they say to their children. If you tell a child continually that they are no good or can’t do something, they will start to believe it whether it’s a fact or not.

This is just as true for adults. In January of this year I did a productivity course and it changed my life. To see what I accomplished in just six weeks after the course, click here. One thing the speaker said really stuck with me:

There is nothing you can’t do that someone has already done before you.

Read it again, and then read it again a few times. When I saw the Adidas slogan “Impossible is Nothing” it immediately reminded me of that same thought. I realized these two statements were both extremely powerful tools to help me achieve my goals and be successful. I started repeating both of them to myself whenever I could. Every time I started feeling fearful or doubtful of my abilities, I would say one or both of them over and over until the feeling passed.

Do you know what? Over time, I found that I was doing it less and less. In other words, it had become my reality. It was no longer a strange sentence that I was just repeating, I actually believed it.

Impossible really is nothing: it’s just a word. It has no hold over you.

2.  What’s the worst that can happen? (Dr. Pepper)

It’s no secret that one of the main thing that holds us back from achieving our goals and dreams is fear. It may or may not come as a surprise to you to learn that many of the biggest experts out there also struggle with fear. We’re all human. We all hate the thought of failure or rejection.

The difference between successful people and the rest of the world is that successful people don’t let the fear win. They go for it anyway.

When you’re gripped by fear, ask yourself, “what’s the worst that can happen?” The Dr Pepper people took that thought and made a joke out of it, showing outrageous scenarios of things going wrong in their ads. If it helps you to remember those ads, do it. Sometimes it’s good to visualize the “worst” and then make a joke of it in your mind. (That won’t be appropriate for every situation, of course!)

When I was preparing my pitch to Problogger, as I said before, I was terrified.

But to conquer it, I asked myself, “what’s the worst that can happen?” The worst that could happen was that they would say “no.” Okay, the worst that could happen was that they would say no and then tell me how I had no talent whatsoever and that I should find a different job and never write again. But I was banking on them being more professional than that, and from what I knew about Darren, I thought it would be unlikely that he or any of his staff would be so soul-destroying.

As it happened, I got a “yes.” But if I had let the fear win and not even tried, I would not have achieved one of my big goals for this year, and you would not be reading this right now.

So, the next time you’re afraid to make a move that will push you towards success with your blog, or in your life, ask yourself, “what’s the worst that can happen?” The chances are, it’s not as bad as you think and even if it is, do it anyway—that’s what the big guns do!

3.  Because you’re worth it (L’Oreal)

After fear, the second biggest reason that people don’t achieve their goals and dreams is lack of self-confidence and self-worth.

They don’t believe they can do it, and more importantly they don’t believe they deserve it!

When I was younger and the L’Oreal ads would come on TV touting “because I’m worth it,” I used to smirk just a little bit. It was a catchy little slogan; I could see how women justified lots of purchases using this mantra. But really … how many of them really believed it?

Sadly, not many I would say. Research has shown over and over how low women’s opinions of themselves are. The issue isn’t confined to just women either; many men suffer from the same lack of self-belief.

As I’ve said before, what we tell ourselves becomes our reality, and unfortunately, too many of us tell ourselves that other people are better and more talented, smarter, more beautiful, and frankly, more deserving than us. To make matters worse, we tell ourselves this over and over and over, until eventually, it’s all we believe.

The fact is, none of us is more deserving than another. (I’m talking about hard-working people here; I’m not saying you can just do nothing and expect to get everything just because “you’re worth it.”) I am no less deserving of success in my life than Darren Rowse or Brian Clark or any other expert out there. I remind myself of this every day.

So the next time you think you deserve less than someone else in your niche, or in the blogosphere, tell yourself “I’m worth it.” Tell yourself over and over until you actually believe it.

4.  Just do it (Nike)

The last motto is one that really speaks for itself.

Just do it.

This is the last piece of the puzzle that will get you where you want to go.

After all the thinking and talking and preparing, you have to just go for it. You have to take the leap and take a chance. Doing nothing will get you exactly that: nothing.

When I was preparing my pitch, and indeed, this post, I went through all of the things I’ve talked about above. The hardest thing was just clicking the Send button. But that’s what you have to do.

When you’ve done everything else you can, all you have to do is:

Just Do It.

So, there you have it. Take the advice in this post and you’ll be guaranteed to achieve just about any goal you set for yourself and your blog. When you do, stop by and leave me a message, I love hearing about people’s successes!

Magz Parmenter is a Freelance Writer, Blogger, Personal Coach, Organizing Addict, and Author-in-Training. She specializes in writing about personal development, organizing for success, home and family management. She’d love to hear from you on her blog Tangerine Turtle, on Twitter: @magzparmenter or Facebook.

About Guest Blogger
This post was written by a guest contributor. Please see their details in the post above.
Comments
  1. Once upon a time, I remember my elder brother picking up a note I left on my textbook that read, ‘I am unstoppable’, and made jest of me. I felt depressed for a while, then thought to myself, ‘You has no idea’.
    Motivational quotes like the ones you shared here can change lives for the better..
    Many Thanks for sharing Magz.

    • You’re very welcome. Thank you for reminding of the phrase ‘I am unstoppable’ I will use that one today :)

  2. Awesome! Very encouraging. My favorite is #2 because if you don’t try, you have already been told no. The only part is you told yourself no by not trying at all instead of letting others possibly embrace you with a yes answer. I have had guest posts this year because unknowingly I followed your steps above. I stepped out and was told yes. Congratulations on making it to Problogger!

    • I completely agree, Wendy. We so often close our own doors by not taking that step. I’m glad to hear you’ve had success with the steps I talked about in this post. Keep it up!

  3. I have a blog with about 300 hits a day, is a little left but with a little work I can increase visits it receives. I have plans to sell advertising.

    Thanks for your advice.

  4. Hey Magz,
    I am a huge believer in the old Nike slogan, “Just Do It.” You want to know why this works for me? My mind will get in the way and over analyze situations which will cause me to freeze and not take action.

    By just doing it I don’t have time to think and all that is left is taking action and getting to my goal. Often times we think too much and end up just getting in our own way.

    • Justin, I can relate so much about the over-analyzing… The ‘just do it’ bit is often the hardest part for me, so I really have to concentrate hard and actively remind myself to stop thinking and start doing. Thanks for your comments on my post.

  5. A great combination of company Mottos to make an image of success. I agree that fear of denial is what makes people of great potential from doing anything unexplored. “Impossible is nothing” by Adidas is a great motto but I think that you would have to repeat this sentence a million times to believe in it.

    I think after reading this article many of us (like myself) will get energized and think of doing what we fear the most. Conquering fear will get a person to do anything amazing (or stupid) and whatever the outcome it will surely be reality.

  6. Stunning post. First of all, congratulations on landing that opportunity to write a post for Problogger.

    Secondly, thanks for this post. I’ve had a few knock backs recently and have been very nervous about everything. I could feel the fear rise up every morning when I turn on my computer and have even thought (this very morning) of quitting altogether.

    This post has helped me to see that I have to think differently. Yes, I’ve had knock backs with my writing and blogging. But I’ve got to stick with it. I’m now going to finish off my letter to ask group to stock one of my books for their clients. I’ve been putting it off for weeks.

    Thank you.

    • Anne, thanks for your comment. I hope it will help you to take the steps you’re wanting to take right now. Sometimes, just hearing things said in a different way, or even just as a reminder is all we need.

      Please stop by my site, or grab me on Twitter, I’d love to be your cheerleader :)

  7. Hi Magz,

    I eat this stuff up, awesome post ;)

    I affirm all day long. I take 10 minute breaks each hour and visualize, or affirm. Many focus on taking action, few concentrate on honing their mental tools with affirmations, or visualization. Repeat something to yourself enough, that something becomes true for you. You choose the phrase, though, or you accept the phrases from those around you, and impress these ideas on your mind.

    Doing affirmations persistently can change your life quickly. Repeat your pet phrase. All the time. Like, thousands of times a day. The more you say it, the more you be it, meaning you begin to embody the phrase repeated to self.

    Thanks for sharing your inspiration with us!

    RB

    • Thanks Ryan. 10 minutes each hour is an awesome target! I know first-hand how powerful my own words can be to my own success and happiness, but it’s a constant process. Somehow, we get taught in our society to focus on the negative, it becomes second nature. It takes a lot of active work to un-do that!

      We’ll get there…eventually…:)

  8. I LOVE this post. It’s been a while since I listened to the meaning inside these slogans instead of viewing them as an advertising cliche. Love this. Thanks so much for the positivity.

    • Thanks so much Evgenia. I hope the next time you hear or see those slogans, you’ll remember this post and use them to get closer to your goals and dreams.

  9. Enjoyed the article very much. Every once in a while we need a kick in the butt and you provided it. I wish you luck in your blogging.

  10. Love the Adidas Quote, I remember reading it while reading “How They Started”.

    Thanks for sharing these.

  11. Very Interesting, thank for sharing your knowledge with us. You are a big help!

  12. My oh my! Do I believe in the “law of attraction”! It is very interesting that not only I am planing on writing blog posts on big blogs such as this one, but I am also a freelance writer and a life coach. Then, guess what? I just stumble upon YOUR article LOL.

    I read it all and I felt like I had written it myself. Not that I mean that I could have written it just as well as you did, NO… I mean It really hit home and I completely agree with everything you are saying.

    As a matter of fact, the title of the article that I want to write for this blog came to me as I was reading yours.

    Thank you for the inspiration and for being part of what I attracted when I needed it :) I am sure that you know what I mean :)

    Sylviane

    • Thanks so much Sylviane. Isn’t it funny how things sometimes cross our paths when we need them the most?

      I’m glad to be a part of your inspiration. Let me know how things are going with your blogging. I love seeing things unfold for the best.

  13. I guess that I live by the “Just Do It”. While it mostly work out really well for me, I sometimes wish that I could “Just Do A Little Planning” before I started kicking the ball.

    The way we behave is most of time tied to our personality, the person we are, and it can be difficult to change, so I spend a lot of mental resources each time I try to work against my default behavior and actually plan a little :). But if I doing good by “just doing it”, I keep thinking that it could be even better if I actually planned a little more…

    When that is said, most successful entrepreneurs I’ve ever talked with or read about, all share the focus on taking action.

    “Success will never be a big step in the future, success is a small step taken just now. ”
    ~ Jonatan Martensson

    • Rasmus, I have found that success comes with the balance between planning and doing. Generally, it has been my experience that I achieve less when I do one without the other.

      You’re right that we all have different personalities and strengths, so naturally, one will be easier than the other. Just keep working on the bit that comes harder for you and you will find the balance and ultimately the success you’re striving for.

      Thanks so much for your comment!

  14. Thanks, Magz. These words came right when I needed to hear them! :)

  15. I used to read popular science magazines, every one I could find. I thought it was impossible but I sold an article to one. Then another. I was getting paid to write about cool stuff. I became a science writer. If your heart wants it so much you brain gets the idea, not doing it will be a source of future regret. You owe it to yourself to just do it. Failing is better than not having tried.

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