When Life Has Other Plans For You

Its been a few months since I last wrote a blog post and I’ll explain why later in the post/update.

Last year was my best year online yet and at Christmas I told my family that this year was going to be even better, little did I know then….

I started the year really well and launched From Passion To Products, a step by step guide showing people how to follow their passions and start creating their own products.

I then held the Video Blog Challenge to encourage people to start creating videos for themselves as well getting experienced video creators to show off their skills and pass their knowledge on to others.

I was blog hopping like crazy to generate interest in the challenge and offered prizes as an incentive for people to take part. The challenge was a success, we had some fantastic tutorials submitted, my traffic increased dramatically and my Alexa Ranking improved to 95K :)

I then released the Interview with Adrienne Smith, in both audio and eBook, and everything was going smoothly.

WOW what a great start to the year, I was on target to making this one better than last when suddenly life decided to throw a spanner in the works.

I’ve been having an health issue for the past year, which has laid me up from time to time but I’ve been able to manage it. That was until May when “BANG” it hit me hard and fast, leaving me with no choice but to go to bed.

Now my wife, who’s able bodied, had been waiting on an operation to correct her collapsed vertebra’s which meant that once she had the operation she’d be on bed rest and I’d be looking after her for a change, so it was imperative that I got myself sorted before her operation.

I put myself on bed rest and started treating the issue with medication, days turned into weeks and weeks have now turned into months…. I’m now waiting on the hospital to come to my aid and until they do my recovery can’t even begin ARGH!! :cry:

My wife has had her operation, which went well, and is now recovering so we’re kind of alternating and getting the household duties completed between us.

Due to my long absence Mandy Allen kindly sent me 2 blog posts and said that I could publish them so as to have some fresh content on my blog. I asked if I could use them as guest posts as I was unable to get to the PC to reply to comments, Mandy agreed and also wrote a post on Guest Posting as well.

Mandy’s posts are:

Guest Posting – What’s In It For You?

Niche Blogging

How To Choose The Right Topic

Mandy is a great friend and as you can see she’s both willing and able to help. If you don’t know Mandy you can find her at Learn to Blog With Mandy Allen where you’ll find more of her excellent posts and a free Learn To Blog eBook. Mandy also shares her wisdom on her Facebook Fan Page :cool: Be sure to click the Like button.

Daniel Sumner then got in touch and offered to write a guest post for me: 6 Killer Post Endings To Rock Your Audience’s Socks Off. You can find Dan at Dan Sumners Blog, which is full of great posts that help us all. Be sure to check out Dan’s free eBooks, they’re top notch. Dan also shares his wisdom on his Facebook Fan Page :cool: Be sure to click the Like button.

Jay Mueller got in touch offering his help and wrote an excellent post, on a subject we all need to know about: Protect Yourself from Legal Claims. Jay also gave us all a free copy of his latest eBook on the same subject and that is not to be missed. You can find Jay at Making Money On The Inter.net where he shares his wisdom. Jay also shares his wisdom on his Facebook Fan Page :cool: Be sure to click the Like button.

Sylviane Nuccio got in touch saying how she was impressed by the way people had been reaching out to help me and wrote How Important Is It To You To Build A Blogging Community? Which hit the nail on the head as it is so important to be a part of a community, as my recent issue highlights. You can find Sylviane at Sylviane Nuccio.com where she again shares her wisdom.

Robert Corrigan got in touch and offered his help by way of a guest post and wrote about Amazon and the platforms they offer us smaller businesses: Do You Want An 800lb Gorilla On Your Side? And seeing as how Rob has been making money on Amazon for some time now he’s the man to listen to. You can find Rob on his blog at Robert Corrigan.com

Pat Graham got in touch and sent me a ghost post that she wrote for my blog to keep the content fresh. Don’t Follow Your Passions to Internet Death where Pat share her experiences of choosing the wrong niche and tips for how to choose the right one. Pat’s a ghost writer, who has written ebooks for some big names online so if you’ve ever thought of using a ghost writer give Pat a shout via this link, or visit her blog at Kitchen Blogging.com

Huge Thanks To…

Huge Thanks to everyone mentioned above for reaching out and helping me, writing the guest posts and making time to reply to the comments. I know that you all have things to do with your own lives and work loads and really do appreciate your help, “thank you”.

Huge Thanks to everyone that has sent me emails, tweets and got in touch via Facebook and Google Plus with your messages of get well soon, “thank you”.

Huge Thanks to you, my readers, that have come back time and again to leave comments and share the content via the Social Networks so as to keep my traffic flowing. Even though I haven’t been able to return the visits you’ve kept coming back and I really do appreciate that, “thank you”.

“It’s having friends like you that make these difficult times bearable, thank you.”

I’m still waiting to resolve my health issue but once I have I’ll continue with my plans for this year and pick up where I left off. I’ll also spend some time catching up with you all on your blogs and sharing your content.

The Moral Of The Story Is…

The moral of the story is: You never know what’s around the corner or what hurdles life’s going to throw your way so its hard to make plans for the difficult times. BUT one lesson I’ve learnt is to have a few blog posts in reserve so if/when life throws a spanner in your works at least you’ll have something to fall back on, which is what I’ll be working on as soon as I’m in a position to do so.

Value the connections you make with people online, treat them with the respect they deserve and spend time getting to know them properly. If you see someone needs help or advice and you’re able to assist them, do so.

In the blogging world I feel it’s not about me, it’s about us and looking at the help that other bloggers have given me it’s clear to see that many of us think the same way.

So the next time you visit someone’s blog and read a post that you enjoy be sure to leave them a comment and start getting to know the person behind the post. Just look at where it can lead :)

I Feel Cheeky Asking…

I feel cheeky asking you to leave a comment as I may not been able to reply to them straight away and as I said above I haven’t been able to return any visits to your blogs. I would however appreciate your comments and will reply to them all as and when I can.

Sharing Is Caring…

I’d really appreciate your help with getting the word out about this post, so please use the tools available to share the post so everyone knows how much I appreciate their input, thanks.

Until next time, plan ahead.

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