Defeat the fear of starting _Oluamara Success

…my advice is to start already. All the fears are in your mind. Starting is usually the hardest because then you find so many reasons not to but once you do, you are well on your way. You get this courage and confidence that even surprises you. All you have to worry about is how to be consistent which having a content/writing plan is the best solution

Oluamara success

Today’s blogsode is an interview with one of our Panelists at Reggiesspot Writers Fest_ Oluamara Success Nweze, creator of the widely read Successpensit blog. She share her writing journey, tips for budding writers, challenges writers face and how to overcome them. Read on!

Kalu Rejoice: We are glad to have you . Let’s get to it;

When did you realize you had the flair for writing and when was your first major attempt at it?

Oluamara Success: Writing came sort of ‘informal’ to me. I wasn’t really deliberate about it starting out (like I didn’t make the conscious decision TO BE A WRITER when I started).

I just wrote stories, shared things I felt people needed to hear. I however knew people who did that can be called writers. I can say it was paving the way to my becoming.

I can’t remember my first attempt at it. I think it started with keeping diaries. I kept diaries in junior secondary school. Coming back from a long day at school and writing on the pages of my diary felt like something. I liked the art. It felt like I was talking to another me, but is not really me. So I continued. It was also then I realized I could describe things, emotions inclusive because a day’s story usually ran into three pages and when I read it, the scenes played before my eyes, if not better. Then one morning, I decided I wanted a blog.

Kalu Rejoice: Interesting.

You definitely didn’t start out as good as you are now and I’m sure you’re still taking steps to harness your skill; so can you tell us what steps you have taken and still taking to improve your skill?

Oluamara Success : Sure. My first writing isn’t near as good as the latest. There are so many things I do to stay relevant and updated. The steps I’ve taken and still taking…. I’ll talk about this randomly.
The first step was definitely gaining clarity (very important.) Clarity is a very tricky thing. Many startups refuse to admit they don’t have it. It tricked me too; kept me busy but unproductive and unprogressive for two whole years.

I only gained reformed clarity on what it is I actually want to be known for early last year, and the growth has been rapid since then. Imagine if I had paused to seek clarity 3 years ago when I thought to be intentional about writing. Clarity is the best thing you can do for yourself because you start on the right footing.

A year ago, I admitted I didn’t know yet what exactly I wanted to stand for, sat down, and did deep self-evaluation. The questions I asked myself and answered changed everything for me.

A year ago, I admitted I didn’t know yet what exactly I wanted to stand for, sat down, and did deep self-evaluation. The questions I asked myself and answered changed everything for me.

Did I even want to write or I saw popular names making it and thought it was a nice-to-have? What was my message? Who am I writing for? What do I want to represent?

To be progressive, you must know the answers to these questions. They allow you to be able to tweak things when need be and be able to introduce yourself in ten different ways when you enter ten different rooms.

I changed my mindset. I developed a money mindset. I stopped seeing competition and started seeing collaboration.

I stopped accepting offers I shouldn’t be accepting and being in rooms I clearly shouldn’t be in no matter how juicy the discussion was.

I read content every single day, long, preferably – news, books, etc. I can’t say I am a writer but reading other people’s works is difficult for me.

Kalu Rejoice: Wow wow. Clarity
Oluamara Success : I stopped writing for fun. If you are in this room tonight and you say you write for fun, stop it or people will not take you seriously when you want them to start taking you seriously.

I still take courses relevant to my journey.

I listen to people who have gone miles ahead of me.

I have accountability coaches.

Then consistency, I show up no matter the odds.

There are numerous other things, especially things I do on a daily, but I feel these are the most important ones.

Kalu Rejoice: Wow.
How did you start and grow your widely read blog “successpensit”, (especially growing readership)?

Oluamara Success : Starting and growing my blog… It was in the bid to reach more audience, especially on a global scale. I decided my Facebook profile was not enough anymore, and that I needed something more put together. I started working towards it. I called my web developer and he built something great for me.

Then I put it out there as much as I could. It was all about the type of content I shared. I made sure to share something people wanted to hear whether about me or anything. Yes, I wrote romance/adult fiction so it wasn’t that difficult to gain traction. People like juicy stuff .

And of course consistency. People tend to take you seriously when they see you are doing something consistently. I remember I was in the middle of a 28 days writing challenge so I had content to post on the blog long after the challenge. It grew to the extent that people asked when I will make my next post.

My advice is to give yourself a consistency challenge even if no competition prompts you to.

Kalu Rejoice: Consistency!
Last year alone, you authored a number of E-books, what motivates you?
Oluamara Success : That was fun.

The potential to solve people’s problems using those digital products.

The burning desire to grow. Getting reviews makes me think of something to develop further.
Kalu Rejoice: Interesting. Problem solving. Contact her to get your copy!

Kalu Rejoice: Besides being a writer, you double as a content expert and a Clarity and accountability coach, while pursuing a law degree, that’s incredible! How did you rise to this height and how have you being able to joggle the responsibilities?

Oluamara Success : They say reformed clarity comes from doing. The expansion ideas came as I ‘did’. As I developed myself, I discovered many areas I could help people with and found the answers to the questions people threw at me.

There is more work to be done, though not clear year, but I believe the works I do today are still paving way for the new discoveries of tomorrow.

On how I joggle responsibilities, it’s SCHEDULING! Then discipline.

The truth is I don’t play with my schedules because I know there is so much to do. I have a strong why. When discipline seems to get hard, I get pushed back to work knowing that many look up to me, for instance, my students. I especially refuse to ‘dull’ because of them. Leadership demands strength and responsibilities.

There are also my productivity apps like Apphi, mojo, notion, otter, plann that make things easy.

Then prioritizing. I prioritize which is most important at any point in time, draw a plan then work accordingly. On content creation, I don’t create my content in one sitting, and I don’t advise anyone to. I have a content bank and plan. There’s also my infinity content logbook where I created 1 year of content ideas.

Kalu Rejoice: Wow wow.

Being a coach, you have helped many of your proteges rise to their full potentials, I presume you have had budding writers among them. What have you observed as the most common challenge they deal with and what advice would you give them in that light?

Oluamara Success : The fear of starting. The feeling of not being good enough or ‘someone better is already doing it so who would listen to me?’ Most worry about not getting likes and comments on their posts. Visibility issues. How to monetize. Not being consistent

My advice is to start already. All the fears are in your mind. Starting is usually the hardest because then you find so many reasons not to but once you do, you are well on your way. You get this courage and confidence that even surprises you. All you have to worry about is how to be consistent which having a content/writing plan is the best solution.

Someone might be doing it because no idea is new to the earth, but no one can EVER do it better than you and you know it. You just dey disguise . You know that once you start and put your mind to it, you will climb to the top. So start. So many other destinies are tied to your start.

On likes and comments, even blog visits, just do your thing. I see those as vanity metrics. It shouldn’t bother you.

You create content for the future. I’ve made applications online and they asked for links to my social media profiles. Your mind is telling you right that it is for them to check me out. What if I haven’t made enough content to get accepted? What if I had not been serious about creating good quality posts because I got 2 likes and zero comments? Even with them not liking your posts, they see you hunnay so keep being in their faces (laughs). 7 out of the 10 persons who paid NGN5000 to be in my membership for this month did not like or even comment on the post announcing it.

Your visibility is equal to the level of SMART work you put in and how consistent you are. Be consistent even when you feel nothing is happening. You don’t know the things happening in the background for you. For each action you take towards your journey, you are planting seeds and they will grow.

Kalu Rejoice: So much insight!

Let’s talk money; did you start making money immediately? If not, how how long and what process did it take before monetization?

Oluamara Success: On monetization, I think I had that part kind of easy in the sense that the first book I wrote – a drama – got approved by the Abia State Ministry of education. That was a plus in that aspect. That was in 2017 or ’18, pardon me with the dates.

Besides that, I started monetizing through content marketing the same early last year after I clearly defined my purpose. I had built some level of expertise and credibility for myself all those years so monetizing was immediate for me after I defined my target audience and talked only to them.

I won some writing competitions but that’s by the way. I organized paid classes and workshops, sold my ebooks, sold my worksheets and workbooks, my blog is also monetized. Now I run a monthly, paid membership.

For the process – clarity of purpose and who needs your offers, developing a money mindset, showing up, growing your expertise & credibility. People buy from who they know, like and trust (KLT

Kalu Rejoice: Interesting. Lastly;
What challenges have you faced in the course of your journey as a writer and how did you overcome them

Oluamara Success: In the course of my journey, I have faced all the challenges I mentioned here today. That is why when people applaud me or when I charge, I own it, because it didn’t come easy.

I once had the consistency challenge, the visibility challenge, the ‘many others are doing it’ challenge, even the showing up challenge, but I overcame by eventually taking the leap.

I am glad everything happened the way it did because in it, I gained the needed experience to teach.
Finally, set your standards high then take the leap. It’s all in that leap. There’s no limit to how far you can run. Your needed brand expansion insights will come as you go.

Kalu Rejoice: Wow, thank you so ma’am, this was insightful in every sense of the word!