Do You Humble Yourself to Learn from Pro Bloggers?

I learn from virtually all bloggers who cross my path. Everyone teaches me something about me, about blogging and about themselves, too. But I do tend to pay particularly close attention to seasoned pros who have experienced stunning online success because big-time success leaves equally big-time clues.

Last month, I met with a relative for a few days while visiting his home. Since he began his online business career in the late ’90s, he has sold 300,000 books. Please re-read; that number is not a typo. He sold 300K books and even competed with Amazon during Jeff Bezos‘ earlier days as he founded and grew his titanic company. Dude has been around the block a few times. Toss in the fact that he sold 300,000 books – when most entrepreneurs sell like 5, 10 or 20 – and you would be a complete fool not to take notice.

I did take notice. I took notes. Even though I rely more on my intuition and he relies more on logical analysis, we both threw ideas out there to play with, concerning each of our businesses. Even though he has far more experience that I, he personally sees me as a leading blogger. I am humbled by his perception but also know anyone with 5, to 10 to 20 years or more of online experience brings something to the table.

I learn from him because I am humble enough to put my ego to the side, to be open to feedback and to learn from a guy who has a good 10 or more years of online experience than my 12 years of experience. Imagine that? Imagine an entrepreneur with 22 – or more – years of experience online? Learning from his nearly quarter of a century’s worth of experience flat out makes sense. He sees what I cannot see because he has experience I currently do not have. But I had to be humble to open up to his feedback, his experience and to the fact that he sold 300,000 books during his career online.

How about you? Do you humble yourself to listen to blogger feedback? Or do you stubbornly, foolishly and idiotically say you know the way? I have observed otherwise sane bloggers who distrust my advice but who trust advice from their husbands and wives. When I ask the blogger how much blogging experience their wife or husband boasts, each blogger says “no blogging experience”. Why would you trust someone with no blogging experience over someone with 12 years of blogging experience? Do you see how ego and its pride, vanity, arrogance and delusion influences you to self-sabotage? Do you see how pride-filled ego blind spots always guarantee your failure?

Hey; I sure as heck ain’t perfect. In incredibly rare cases, a wife who never blogged may offer better blogging advice than a pro blogger who has blogged for 12 years. But would you trust your unhealthy husband’s medical advice over the advice of a 30 year doctor? Would you trust your uncle’s stock trading advice over advice offered by a 20 year trader? Think of how much blogging damage you tend to do to yourself by ignoring pro advice because you think you know the way to becoming a successful blogger.

Humble yourself. Own how you have little to no blogging experience. Learn from bloggers with 5, 10 or 15 years of experience. Heck; I have 12 years of pro blogging experience but have enough humility to listen closely to my relative who has built an online business since the late 90’s, in a totally different niche. He does little blogging but his entrepreneurial mind and eBook selling abilities certainly raised my eyebrows. Success leaves clues. Humble yourself to learn from successful online entrepreneurs.

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