There’s an endless ebbing, flowing ocean of content to navigate. It’s always raining and pouring more ones and zeroes, a downright deluge of data that never relents.

I know what it’s like to feel overcome by the flood of it all.

The streams and memes, the passwords and profiles, the alphas and betas, the announcements and contests and promotions.

Deadlines, deadlines.

Expectations and writer’s block and stat tracking and following the latest news from anywhere and everywhere all at once.

It’s miserable unless you force yourself to just calm down.

Oh, the unspeakable power of calm. Oh, the unspeakable power of it.

Can you do something for me? Just for a second?

Stop, please. Just stop.

Shh. Listen.

Okay, hold it right there. You’re not holding still enough.

CALM DOWN.

The Internet’s not going anywhere. Just trust me on this one.

Forget about Twitter. Forget about Facebook. Forget about your inbox.

Let’s take a minute, one full minute, and just remain calm and quiet and breathe.

Only by letting your eyes rest can you set your sights on a higher purpose.

Let go of the idea that you’re on some kind of treadmill with no off switch.

Let go of the worry that you’re always missing out on something that’s happening on the social Web.

Let go and take some time each day to calm down. You’ll be much more successful in whatever you’re doing with blogs and social media. It’s so worth the time.

What makes you frazzled online? What calms you down?

photo by B-art-Man

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So, if you blog for professional reasons, I invite you to practice giving selflessly in your blogging.

It’s counterintuitive.  It’s paradoxical.  But it’s also paramount.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I want you to remember this truth: As you sow, so shall you reap.

Yes, others may take of the same seed and do differently – and they will reap according to what they sow, just as you will.

As you sow selfishness, so shall you reap emptiness.

As you sow selflessness – thoughtful blog posts, appreciative comments, helpful suggestions, innovative ideas, personal invitations, high business standards and generous acts – so shall you reap friendships, lessons, experiences and habits that will benefit you and others far more than you can yet imagine.

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This is part 6 of a 24-part series on good and bad business blogging attributes. Subscribe now to get updates for free. Thank you for supporting Visionary Blogging!

Do you ever lose hope regarding your business blog? Ever worry that business blogging may be wasting your time and money? Terrified of blog failure?

If so, you’re not alone. Many business bloggers experience despair to some degree. I sure have.

Here are some tips on how to develop hope in your professional blogging efforts and boost your blogging success.

What is hope?

Hope is a feeling that you can achieve your goals. It’s waiting with excitement and confidence for the future.

3 Ways Hope Can Help Your Business Blog

1. Business Blog Content – Your personality comes through naturally in your writing. So does your hope (or lack of it). If you’re a hopeful person, your blog will become more interesting and appealing.

2. Business Blog Community Building – The more hope you instill in your blog community of readers, commenters, subscribers and participants, the easier it will be to make that community grow.

3. Business Blog Monetization – People do business with people. And it’s much easier to want to do business with a person who’s positive and full of hope than with one of these.

7 Ways to Develop Hope in Your Business Blogging

1. Hopeful Learning – See Awareness. Approach each blogging day with a positive outlook. Thirst for knowledge and wisdom and resolve to use it to benefit your blog visitors. Set aside a few minutes each day to learn things that will make you feel more hopeful about your blog’s future. Read some good quotations about hope.

2. Hopeful Planning – See Focus and Discernment. Always have something to look forward to. Have a publishing calendar and stick to it. Spend a few minutes per day and/or per week to plan enjoyable and rewarding blog-related activities.

3. Hopeful Social Networking – Every day or week, take a little time to network with other bloggers in an uplifting way. Approach it not like it’s a chore, but like it’s a great opportunity to grow and connect.

4. Hopeful Music – See Imagination. Listen to encouraging music while you’re blogging. Maybe it will help you come up with excellent blog post ideas.

5. Hopeful Humor – Again, see Imagination. Nothin’ like a little laughter to spice up a blog (or its blogger). Get out there and get some laughs in you. Then get back to your blogging with a smile on your face. You’ll work harder.

6. Hopeful Content Promotion – Believe in your ability to promote your awesome blog content. Trust that people will enjoy it and talk about it and want more of it.

7. Hopeful Sales/Marketing – Make sure your calls to action for product/service purchases, or your blog advertising on display, are hope-compatible. Anything monetary ought to involve a touch of hope – that human spark that draws customers like bees to honey. So keep your language positive and confident when asking people to buy from you.

Why I Personally Care About Hope in My Pro Blogging

Visionary Blogging is all about working with hope. Without hope, you may as well blog with your eyes and ears closed. So it is with life.

Halfway through my senior year of high school, I almost gave up on life.

I almost lost hope.

Without good friends, I never would have recovered.

I am here right now because of hope.

What 3 Business Bloggers Say About Hope

Deb Ng: “Hope is watching my son care for nature and all living things and passing on the values passed to me gives me hope for the future.”

Kristen King: “My faith in God’s Kingdom gives me hope. Prayer, personal Bible study, and regular attendance at Christian meetings strengthen it.”

Robert Hruzek: “Hope is the anchor for the soul.” (see Hebrews 6:19)

Thanks to these fine folks for answering my Twitter request for thoughts on hope.

3 Exemplary Hopeful Business Bloggers

1. Terry Starbucker – Mr. Glass Half Full himself.

2. Liz Strauss – Liz is hope.

3. Wendy Piersall – Wendy’s story is amazing.

Watch This Video About Hope

I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. – Red

You don’t have to consider yourself religious in order to have hope.

But you do need to have faith in order to have hope.

Ya gotta have a twinkle of hope, a flicker, at least. Let it grow into a flame.

You need to believe that somehow, things can get better. That somehow, you can get better.

That somehow, your professional blog can get better.

And make things better for others.

Thank you for visiting and for adding to my hope for this blog. I hope that this article helps you succeed as a professional blogger.

What helps you develop hope as a blogger? Got any advice to share?

photo credit: Unhindered by Talent

photo credit: *L*u*z*a*

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