(Today is a guest post from Kimanzi Constable! I loved hearing this story and I think you will too.)

Are You Committed To Your Dream?

There are over 900 million websites, 250 million blogs and 170,000 being added everyday. Some of these websites and blogs won’t make it past the first two months.

At first there will be the excitement of something new and the content will flow freely. As time goes by and there isn’t a ton of fame or income the excitement fades. Reality sets in that this is hard work.

That point is the make it or break it point where websites die. You go back to visit three months later and the last post was the last time you read it. I remember clearly being at that point.

I started a blog on blogger and was blogging away five days a week. When I hit the two-month mark I looked at my stats and saw I was averaging ten people a day.

I was frustrated. I poured my heart, sweat, and tears into the blog and no one even knew it was there. I even got my wife to admit that she wasn’t reading it anymore. That was adding insult to injury.

I had a decision to make at that point. Was it worth it spending time with this “hobby?” I mean I had a bread business that generated over six-figures a year. Yes it sucked waking up at midnight but this blogging stuff seemed hopeless!

I know many reading this can relate. It sucks to work so hard and not have anyone reading or sharing. It’s even worse when you want to be supported by your online endeavors.

You too will have a decision to make. Is this just a hobby or do you want to make this something more? If you want to make this something more you can. If you want to create a business online that supports your family you can.

To get here you have to decide you’re committed and that no matter how many times you fall you’re going to get back up. In the end persistence wins, hustle wins, thick skin wins. Here are the three commitment moments I faced:

Commitment #1: On January 15, 2012 I committed to blog twice a week no matter what. Rain or shine, readers or no readers I would release a new post twice a week. This really helped me develop my voice as a writer and strengthened my commitment to my dream.

When we’re starting out all of us say we’re committed. The true test comes when you don’t see results. If you’ve been there you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Maybe you have been there but you’ve decided making money on this is too hard. Erase that thinking from your mind. Determine that you can and will and then do what it takes.

Commitment #2: I committed to figuring out how to market my book even though it completely flopped. I was determined to show my wife that we could make money with this online stuff. All I focused on was that first sale, I didn’t need to sell a million copies just get that first person to buy it. After the first sale the second and so on.

Get serious, I mean really serious. Treat every relationship and interaction you make online very serious. Focus on what’s important to where you are in the process.

Use the time you have wisely and keep pushing forward. At the end of 2012 I was at this point and made that mindset shift. I determined that I was going to make this work no matter what and I was going to get really serious.

Commitment #3: Even though my dream was to show I could turn my blog and book into a business I committed to NOT to quit my day job until we had an emergency fund so large our bank would know us by name 🙂 I didn’t want to turn our dream into a nightmare!

I’m writing this post from the beach here in Maui, Hawaii loving my decision.

Sometimes dreaming feels impossible. The road is long, the obstacles many. But know this, it can be done. By people just like you. Make a commitment and stick to it. Then when it get difficult, keep sticking.

(For more great stuff from Kimanzi, check out his blog and follow him on Twitter!)