Knowledge
I recall Seth Godin’s quote that every day is a great day to start your own blog. By the time you’re thinking about it, yesterday was already late. Not having enough time to publish is just an excuse, we all know it. You need to find the time for those things which you believe they may help your business in some way.
Myself, I have been pushing the idea of starting a personal blog away for the last 3 years and always for the same reason. At any given time, it’s almost granted that you do not possess as much knowledge as someone else interested in the same field of art. There’s always someone who knows better, so why being pathetic with sharing your knowledge?
Blogging usually involves presenting one’s personal opinions, often based on one’s previous experiences in a particular field. People talk about what interest them. It’s widely known that many smart people also became rich just by blogging about their interests.
But enterpreneurs, hackers, investors, founders and nerds mostly blog to continuously produce a self-promotion, which concludes making money indirectly. By creating an array of people which are interested in the same art as you, it’s highly probable that you’re increasing your business opportunities for you or your company. You’ll eventually meet interesting people.
To be effective in approaching that business goal, you need to gain trust of your readers. But how do you gain trust? Obviously it’s not the best idea to start advising on proper drifting on a race track if you haven’t even driven a car yet. People will very soon find out, your opinions will be challenged and your efforts ignored. You need to publish your true skills, whatever skill it is. Providing advices, advices on examples from your own mistakes, or other valuable information, are all efficient tools in gaining trust. In the end, your readers can too become better in the art discussed. It’s a free lecture.
The thesis above suggests that you can always teach or make an impression only to people who are more stupid (or less educated, if you prefer) than you at any given time. Ironically, the problem is that people more educated than you are usually the ones you want to make your friends and the ones you’d like to do a hypothetical future business with. Those who feel they know more than you don’t have the time to read your opinions or advices. It’s natural that people tend to listen to those more informed and educated, not less. We constantly learn more from the environment. I bet you’ve already found yourself making fun of your own personal and professional opinions from the recent past either on your own blog or just in your mind.
So how could one possibly also teach and interest people more skilled than himself? Ironically, the answer is the same infinite loop theory which kept me from going for it sooner: at any given time, a person does not possess as much knowledge as someone else skilled in the same art. A business method which seemed very obvious to you for months or even years can be completely disproved by your colleague in ten seconds. We all keep studying forever.
