You Don't Know What You Have Until It's Gone
Last Update: May 30, 2012
*Rant mode on* :)

I really hate not being able to get on Live Chat during the day..I miss the people I grew accustomed to seeing on a daily basis! I've been trying to think of ways around it, but I guess as long as I have to keep my day job, I have to live under their internet rules. LOL

*Rant mode off*

**Pre-edit - ok, this sort of turned into a motivational rant. LOL

The moral(?) of my rant is to tell you to not take for granted all the tools and people that are available to you here or anywhere for that matter. Don't assume because something or someone is there one day that it/they always will be.

Take action!

Do you have a question? Don't be afraid to ask. The person that can best answer your question may be sitting in chat at that very moment. If you wait until tomorrow, they may not be there.

Do you see someone ASKING a question? Don't be afraid to answer them. Teaching someone else how to do something can sometimes be the best way to learn it better yourself. I am by no means an expert, but if I can answer a question for someone I will. Now I may add 'at least I THINK so' if I'm not sure, but I'll take a stab at it anyway! :)

Along with the previous...Don't be afraid to be wrong. This was my biggest hurdle starting out. I started LOTS of sites but hardly published any of them. I was so afraid of having something set up wrong or someone not liking my ideas. If I wasn't sure everything was perfect and correct, I didn't want to put it and myself 'out there'.

For the longest time, I was a quiet lurker in chat. I was afraid of being wrong, so I wouldn't even TRY to help other people that were having problems. I found that once I started speaking up, things started clicking for me. Sure I was wrong sometimes, but when I was there would be someone around that could correct me. Not only helping the other person, but helping me learn as well. I found after awhile that I started being right more and more...I was learning! :)

Ok, so looking back at this blog it's a little scattered, but hopefully you will be able to glean the important information out it...I'll try to sum it up though:
  • Take Action!
  • Don't be afraid to ask questions
  • Don't be afraid to ANSWER questions
  • Don't be afraid to be wrong
  • Did I mention Take Action? ;)

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Sielke Premium
Solution: Proxy through SSH Tunnel ;)
kyle Premium
A brilliant post. Taking action and asking questions, the two components of success. Truly, in order to succeed you need to take action on what you learn. However, if you get stuck in the learning process, you need to ask questions!

Both are critical components and I think you are spot on with your 5 bullet points! :)
veronica.l Premium
Taking Action is the key, that is truly the only way we learn. We will make mistakes we all do but that is the best lesson. Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. Great post!
fisheagle Premium
Great Post! Too true so much of the time. We are afraid to make mistakes, or that everything is not "just right" well life as we all know is not perfect, so as long as we give it our best shot it is Good Enough. And if it is out there you can still improve it and work on it as time and knowledge/skills improve!
Deezdz Premium
I'm slowly getting over my discomfort of asking questions and SO looking forward to being able to answer other peoples questions.

I realize at this time I may not have answers to specific IM questions, but I do have the ability to support and encourage others. I think you make such a great point not to take this community for granted. Personally, I feel extremely grateful to have the support of you and all the other members here at WA!
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