I had a few thoughts I thought I would share. 

They were on the similarities between gardening and IM, most specifically using WP blog mini-sites. 

In both it takes extensive preparation before hand, and during the process. 

Preparing the ground, researching, what is the best seeds for your area, what keywords have the best searches with the least amount of competition, which ones will bring you the best return on investment. 

Then, you cannot just let either one of them just sit after you plant them. No, you must care for it, by weeding, building on it, getting quality backlinks, fertilizer, watering, articles...lots of work and sweat. 

Then, just like not every seed will sprout, neither will every blog mini-site take off. I have had to replant entire rows before, and still have had some rows not even come up. I I have ad some sprout and grow but not bear fruit. 

Mini-sites are the same way, no matter how hard you work. Some just will not do anything at all. 

Then, with some veggies, it may take as long as 120 days to get anything (if they bear). Yes, 4 months...guess what...From what I hear and read all over from the "big guns" that is about how long it takes for you to find out ...IF... your site will rank well or bad.Then, it takes more patience because with our sites depending on the position they are ranked at that time, we can get them higher with hard work.

I have lost entire crops to severe storms, animals, drought, and disease. 

If Google grows a wild hair up its ass your site can get booted down into the the caverns of  ranking hell.

Like I have said before...pain shows growth, the hard times make us strong, as do the hills, hardwork builds character. Do not quit just because something is hard, that makes you a puss, those hard times make you tough. 

Fight hard to keep these dreams, fight even harder to go get them. Do not quit, you can always go "one more round." 

Here is a quote I got from college...sorry I do not have the author...

"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing..." 

This fits us and our pursuits in here and in life. 

Put your dukes up, keep your chin down, and keep on swinging my friends. 

Kevin