One of the best things happening this week is the finale of Survivor: Blood Vs. Water.
This season, 10 pairs of loved ones were pitted against each other to vie for the one million dollar prize. And that made it much harder for former Survivor players. All throughout the season, the question “will you betray a loved one for $1 million?” is all we can think about.
Survivor: Blood Vs. Water has shown us people making impossible decisions…
For the last 12 weeks, we’ve seen amazing TV stuff from the show–daughter taking out her mom, mom eliminating her daughter, cheap shots on a brother, last-minute betrayals and a lot more.
Fans don’t just have great moments to get out Survivor: Blood Vs. Water. There’s a lot more especially for bloggers.
Blogging lessons from Survivor: Blood Vs. Water
Be ready for changes that you don’t see coming
At first, the players thought they were playing with they’re loved ones but were shocked to find out they’ll be on opposing tribes. That brought a whole new dimension in their voting strategies.
They didn’t want to but had no choice.
As bloggers, you’ll be faced with so many changes that can jolt you out of your comfort zone. Your expectations will be shattered and plans turned upside down. It’s your ability to face changes and adapt that’ll help you succeed.
- A major client suddenly decides he doesn’t need your service anymore (or can’t pay you a certain amount anymore)
- Fixed project becomes hourly (which is bad if you’ve got other projects)
- Revisions–the most common change bloggers need to face
You can’t quit even when your back is against the wall
Colton Cumbie is infamous for his mean ways and quitting the game twice. He’s a potentially great player because he has a strategy albeit one that doesn’t sit well with others but a strategy nonetheless. But when things didn’t go his way, he raised the white flag and walked out of the game.
Things will not always be favorable to you. You won’t get the writing job you want. Your blog traffic and income may not be what you expected. Or your blog posts don’t get liked, shared or commented on as much as you’d like. Worse, your editor may be giving you a tough time because your posts aren’t stellar.
Things like these can be so overwhelming all you want to do is give up to avoid stress. But that won’t do you any good.
Stick around longer because good news can be just right around the corner.
Keep calm and just do what you have to do
Ciera has never won a challenge and she’s in danger of going home because she’s in the minority. At the last immunity challenge, she was dead last. Others would have panicked but she didn’t.
She kept calm and did what she needed to do. Eventually she caught up in the puzzle stage which everyone has already been doing for the past few minutes. She didn’t hurry but focused–then she figured it out and won immunity.
Many times you’ll find yourself trying to meet deadlines or fighting to get a certain project and the pressure to get results can be too much that you end up making bad moves because you’re too stressed out.
That’s the quickest way to fail.
Stay calm and just do what you need to do. If you’re stuck and can’t write anything and there’s only a few hours left ’til deadline, don’t panic. That will only make you write incoherently. It’ll riddle your work with errors that will make you look bad to editors and readers.
Stay calm, focus and write.
Have a backup plan and be ready to make huge moves to stay alive
In Survivor, a backup plan is crucial because there’s no way you can be sure of anything. People get crazy and flip on their word. An injury could knock out an ally. The only way to guarantee you can last longer than the others is to have a contingency plan.
And to win, these people need to make a HUGE move at least once. Huge moves have been known to influence who wins the game.
Caleb made a huge move when he decided to vote out Brad at the last minute. Ciera made a bold move last week when she flipped on her alliance and drew rocks. Caleb is out now and Ciera just might make it to the finals. If she does, her plead to win could be solidified by her big move.
Right now you have several blogging projects but are you guaranteed they’ll last? They could be gone tomorrow or the next day. The best way to avoid a famine phase is to create a backup plan.
Continue marketing even as you’re writing for blogs. Better yet, start your own blog, which you can monetize. It might not make you money in the first few months but by the time you’re no longer blogging for others, yours would have enough content and followers to help you make an income.
Give it all you’ve got even when it hurts
In Survivor: Blood Vs. Water, the mental aspect is harder than winning challenges. However, injuries can ruin your game. In an earlier challenge, Tyson hurt his shoulder that’s why we’ve seen him using just his left arm in challenges. It’s easy to give up when you’ve got a dislocated shoulder but if you want something so bad, you’ll keep on going.
In previous seasons, people have continued playing the game even with three broken toes, dislocated shoulder, dislocated knee and infected wounds. They continued on because they want to win.
This must be your mindset too.
Give it all even when:
- Your editor is giving you a really hard time
- You feel you can’t write anything anymore
- You feel you’re not being compensated well
- You no longer fully enjoy what you’re writing
- It’s difficult to find blogging projects
- Research is proving to be very difficult
- You’re encountering technical difficulties
- You’re getting negative feedback from readers
- You don’t physically feel well
The bottom line here is your passion for blogging. All things can go wrong but your passion will keep blogging anyway. That’s one powerful force. It’s the same with the players in Survivor: Blood Vs. Water. Their love for the game has propelled them to make hard decisions and give it their all.
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