“When you are following your true destiny, then the universe will conspire to help you…” – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
The Inception of My Blogging Journey
I have been thinking about beginning a blog for several years now. I felt that I had something to share and thought that I was ready and brave enough to put it out to the world and have the world react. I spent time talking about it and thinking about it. I downloaded information and software; Copyblogger became my companion, sending me emails every day to help improve my blog. I was not going to begin this without adequate research and knowledge of how to do it properly. And as you know, research takes a lot of time and diligence.
I opened a file in my Outlook and each day I filed away what Copyblogger had sent me, keeping it all until I would have the time to sift through it all and make sense of it, learn, and begin my blog. Of course, I never did open that folder, but I did not terminate the service from Copyblogger because it would mean that I was defeated and was abandoning my blog idea.
The Paralysis of Fear and Procrastination
What do we call this? Fear, procrastination, and whatever label we give it, can be crippling. It is even more dangerous than outrightly saying that something has defeated us, and we are giving up. Why? Well, if we give up and articulate that, it at least gives us a chance to look around at something else we could do, start again in a new direction. But if we hold on to the original idea, paralyzed into inaction because of our fears, yet unwilling to articulate and come to terms with that fear, then we end up frozen, not moving forwards or backwards, just frozen in time. That is more dangerous and debilitating!
Embracing Social Media
I have had a secret fascination for social media for a while. However, I relegated it to the “youth,” a dot com thing, not for us older, more traditional people. We cannot get involved in this stuff, lest we look like teenagers. People will start wondering if we are going through a midlife crisis. Let the kids run around tweeting and Facebooking and wasting time because they would rather not live in present reality and have real human interactions; machines and virtual reality are more interesting to them. Besides, in my line of work, what has social media got to do with it?
One day, a man came up to me at my place of work and told me that he had started a Facebook page for my hotel. He said that he would get it up and running, and then he would hand it to me to administrate. Okay, fine, how hard would that be? Needless to say, when he finally gave it to me to administrate, it was so busy I had to relinquish responsibility to my company’s marketing department to manage it.
The Power of Social Media
People reacted so positively to this Facebook page. They shared information, pictures, and tips on local knowledge, giving other guests pertinent information that a new visitor to a destination would find comforting. It came from another guest’s perspective, not a marketing gimmick—real guests, real experiences. Further, they shared opinions about the facility, services, food, etc. The only difference between this and TripAdvisor is that the people on this Facebook page were fans of the hotel; they loved the place and marketed it for free with a zeal that ten marketing teams could not accomplish. People out there, especially those who had never been to the hotel, used this as a conduit for information. I was amazed and overwhelmed! Social media: how everyone embraced it and relied on it as a source of information and sharing of experiences.
My Transformation
Luckily, my company was more enlightened than I was on social media and its benefits; they embraced it fully. Currently, they have a Facebook page for every one of the properties, each as successful as the next. Guests have found a forum to share information and share their travels and great experiences. Social media marketing at its best!
A New Beginning
So, I am now convinced, and with my very recent encounter with inspiration in Kipungani, where I came face to face with my destiny, I embark on this journey and hope you will come along with me. Enjoy it with me, cry with me, and be still with me, as the mood requires. Life is ever-changing, and we must embrace that change to move forward. This is my journey. Please join me, share with me, teach me. Let us begin a dance, a romance, one so profound that we will be forever changed by knowing each other!
Want to see more? Watch my video on the same topic on my Youtube channel https:youtube.com/@thandishaven