Why Commitment is worth Twice as Much as Skill

In today's world it can be really disheartening to turn on our computers, open our newspapers and read our emails.

We're constantly bombarded by the idea that we should be really great at something, or not do it at all. 

We should have an inherent skill for design, writing, making money, living well and the list goes on and on. It is really hard not to feel inferior when you see the best parts of everybody online.

On Facebook we see school friends totally owning being a stay-at-home mom of four with what seems like no worries, on Instagram we see designers doing work that we could only DREAM of doing, and on Twitter we see people getting endless retweets on mediocre content.  

The thing that we forget is that the reason it seems like those people are more successful than you is that we're seeing where they are at right now, not where they have been. Behind that Facebook post is many nights of tears for the winning stay-at-home mom. The instagram photo took painfully long to set up and the client dictated countless revisions. That person that is so Twitter famous spends way too many hours on the site.

We see snippets. We don't see all the behind the scenes stuff. Ask anyone that 'seems' successful and they'll tell you that hard work is what got them there... [ unless of course they're trying to sell you something - then they might brag about how easy their life is because of it ]

It can feel like a struggle, especially in the freelance world, but in life in general - but the most important thing is commitment.

Committing to what you really love to do is so much more valuable than being automatically great at something, whether that be blogging, your dream job, your hobby, side hustle or whatever else. 

However much you commit, you'll see the results come back to you.

"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor" - Vince Lombardi *click to tweet*

It's commitment and not skill that will get you through those rough patches where the money's hardly enough to live on, or the hours you are working are atrocious. You can develop skill if you're committed and you'll have some damn good experience along the way.

Tell me in the comments what you're committed to, or if you've gotten lost along the way what will YOU recommit to after this post?

A Guide to Using Fiverr

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For those of you who don't know,.. Fiverr is a site where you can buy and sell all kinds of services starting at just $5 US. I don't generally buy from Fiverr, but I do some writing work over there. Here are my top tips for how to make the most of Fiverr.

• Share your gigs everywhere, linked in , Twitter, Google +, Facebook. You never know where you might get a sale from. Also there's even a LinkedIn specifically for Fiverr sellers
• Check out the buyer's request page a lot;  Although there are so many things I'd change about this page, it can provide some good gigs sometimes. This is where buyers specify what they want and sellers can send their gig for them to review. While not every person you send an order to will say yes ( most requests have 50+ bids) this is where I found a few of my regular clients.
• Add a variety of gigs, make sure you're clear on what you're offering; to avoid confusion between you and potential buyers, put down all the info, not just a basic description. Also listing past experience etc can be helpful.
• Make sure what you're doing is worth what you're getting paid. 
• You can get an idea of what people are willing to pay for by looking at the popular gigs in the area which you want to work in. 
• However, some people will take you for a ride in terms of what they can get for 5 bucks.
•  At first when you're building experience and gaining clients it's not that bad to do a little extra for the $5 but over time, realize what your value is and increase your prices accordingly.
• For example, when I first started I'd write up to 1000 words for $5. If you work it out, that's about 200 words a buck, and 0.005c per word. It also sucks if you have to do research etc for your $5. I'd say about 300 words is reasonable, because it's not time consuming and it's worth around 5 bucks. You decide what you want to work for though.
• The amount of income you make is relative to gig extras: At first you can't get gig extras. After you do a bit of work and become a level one, or a level two seller you can offer extras up to $500 bucks, plus the five dollar sale ( minus the Fiverr tax obviously ).You can make good money if you put the time and effort in, and it's a great place for beginners and those who freelance as a 'side hustle'.
• Take the time to correspond a lot: The number one thing you don't want to do is waste time. Make sure once a buyer has ordered to clarify anything you're unsure about. You don't want to go and write a whole article, eBook or whatever else and then you were totally off-course from what the buyer wanted, and have to do it again all before the order is due. [ there is a ticking clock which starts once the client's ordered your service]. Delivering late content or content that the client wasn't satisfied can get you bad recommendations. Recommendations affect your overall percentage of customer satisfaction, which in turn affects your seller status and your ability to make money.
• Make sure your profile is complete: Adding a picture, and taking the time to input your qualifications is a no brainer. It gets you more sales. I must say that the site doesn't have a 'portfolio' spot though, and it's not as complicated as others. It's both a blessing and a curse in terms of being able to showcase your skills or lack thereof.
• Don't rush the brush and expect a billion sales in 2 days. It takes 30 days and 10 good sales for you to become a level one seller. Before that, you're a sheep. You're officially the newbies and it can take a bit of time to get a reputation.

What are your opinions on using sites like Fiverr to make extra income?