Boy oh boy! Another rejection from Google AdSense; the ninth one, to be exact. Does it stings? Yes!!!!! It does but it’s also part of the story, my story and I’m still grinding.
It began with a friend, my very good friend, Jeff, he was and is a blogger; he was doing well writing, publishing, and making good money from it. He made it look so easy, too. At the time, I thought, “If he can do it, I can do it.” So I jumped in.
I launched my blog with high hopes and a whole lot of ambition, predictOdd, Lol, thinking about the name now makes me laugh hard, and I’m sure if he sees this he would burst into laughter too, and by the way, that was a failed project, Lol, but most importantly, I learnt a lot.
I had no idea what I was really signing up for; I thought it was just about writing a few posts, slapping on some ads, and watching the money come in. Oh! Boy oh Boy how wrong I was.
The Reality Check hit me hard and fast, blogging like other other creative craft is work. A lot of it! Writing, writing, and a lot of writing especially at the early phase when obviously no one, I mean NO one, NOT a single person was reading, not even my family, friends, and people on my contact list that I was personally sending my links too, but looking back now, I get it, in fact those articles were not just poor but were horrible, after publishing I don’t even go back to read my own articles, Lol, but don’t get me wrong I was learning too, but honestly at a very very slow pace. Learning, learning, and learning about SEO, formatting, engagement, content structure, analytics, and more.
Tweaking, fixing, improving themes, layouts, responsiveness, page speed, and on and on. What my friend had made to look easy from the outside was actually a non-stop hustle behind the scenes and sleepless nights. In fact, there were actually countless nights where he brought his PC, chair and table, literally, he brought these things just to work with little comfort in my hostel. Where he mostly stayed up late, not just writing, but also rewriting articles, researching keywords, trying to figure out what he was doing wrong, and how he could do better and for me I was just writing, learning but it did not feel like I was building something.
That blog did NOT last I got frustrated, from rushing into it, choosing the wrong niche, so wrong that I could not even cultivate any passion for the niche at all. Then I created and started to build ReelNat Blog.
My ReelNat Blog Experience
After the whole fortunate experience from PredictOdd as I would like to describe it, I came to understand that blogging is more than just words on a screen, and for me, starting up ReelNat Blog became a journey of growth, patience, introspection, and personal development.
On my first blog, PredictOdd, and like many beginners, I had only one thing on my mind: make money online. I rushed into it, chasing trends without really building a foundation. I didn’t take time to study the niche or understand the value I could bring. I was focused more on money than purpose and interestingly, Lol, I did NOT get any, both the money I was looking forward to making and the purpose I was Not chasing; this reminds me of another article I wrote not long ago: Seeking And Facing The Truth Above All Else.
It’s so easy to want the soft, easy version of reality, the one that doesn’t challenge us, that lets us stay right where we are, in our comfort zone, unbothered, but if you really think about it, staying in your comfort zone, and choosing comfort over truth, has a way of coming back to bite us, maybe not every time but it does come back to let use know we were wrong to do that.
One of the many things about the truth is that it has a way of demanding to be seen. It doesn’t care about our feelings, our fears, or how badly we wish something was different. But here is another thing I’ve also learnt, that when I chase, seek and stand for the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it shakes me up, that’s when I find real peace. The kind that actually lasts.
So, I want you to ask yourself this question: do I want the comfort of a lie, or the deep, unshakable strength of truth? If I don’t stand for the truth, then what am I even standing on?
Continue Reading: Seeking And Facing The Truth Above All ElseIf you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair .C. S. Lewis
But I learnt a lot from PredictOdd, mainly what NOT to do and honestly, it was very very frustrating to watch it struggle, but that failure was a blessing in disguise; it taught me my first real lesson in blogging: don’t build something you’re not genuinely passionate about, and this is true because when motivation fades, passion and responsibility, and duty is the only fuel that keeps you going.
After PredictOdd, I took a step back; this time, I didn’t rush. I spent time reading, reflecting, and meditating on what kind of blog I truly wanted to build. I read about different niches, studied successful blogs, and asked myself the important question: “What do I really enjoy writing about, even when there’s no audience, no one is watching and no one is reading?” And that is when I found my answer: Self-development and this is primarily because in reading and writing about self-development, I was shaping and better-ing my own life, which for me, the betterment of one’s life is worth more than money in the bank.
The self-development niche felt like home because I’ve always loved learning about growth, habits, mindset, and becoming better every day and I just knew that even if the money didn’t come quickly, I would still enjoy writing and sharing my journey with others.
So I created ReelNat Blog, a space for real, intentional growth, a blog that reflects who I am and who I aspire to be.
The Long Road to My AdSense Approval
Even with my very well defined and homely new direction, I still faced the harsh reality that many bloggers face: Google AdSense rejections, not once, not twice, but over 15 times.
Each rejection hit hard, especially when I felt like I was doing everything right, quality posts, at least to the best of my abilities, a clean design, original content, and a valuable niche, but the thing about blogging just like every other creative art is that: it tests your patience, it doesn’t reward shortcuts; it rewards consistency, improvement, and originality.
And that’s exactly what I focused on; I improved my content; I learnt more about SEO, readability, user experience, and Google’s policies. I cleaned up my blog structure, refined my posts, and stayed committed to my readers and my growth, again to the best of my abilities. Finally after over two years of grinding, tweaking, writing, and waiting, I got the email I had longed expected: “Your AdSense account has been approved, your site is now ready to show Ads.” I can’t explain the feeling, after so many rejections, and the opportunity, finally I can start earning from my blog as long as I continue to bring in my A game.
Fast forward to today, as you can obviously see, this article is not on ReelNat Blog, that is because I lost the approval to earn from that ReelNat because I got greedy and wanted to beat the system and I got caught and penalised for it. I shared that story on another article on this blog, Value Faith, so I won’t be getting into that here but here is a linked below if you want to know what happened.
At some point in our lives, we have all been there and done it. I have for sure had a double standard, but recently I thought very deeply about it. I remember back in my university days, I had an issue with a friend, which I will not be going into details, but it was very much about my standards. I was not willing to take the road I disagreed with because, for that particular event, it was the same thing as having a double standard and not practicing what I preached.
Fast forward to just recently, I had this friend that I helped in making a decision that was again against what I preached, and I was very much aware of this, it got me thinking, where do we draw the line and how much of a standard do we really have depending on the price of compromising?
Now sometimes this double standard can be a form of bias, and sometimes it is so small that we might not even see it because it sometimes takes a high level of consciousness to spot these things, but in my case it was obvious, and I felt this unease inside of me, so I decided to ask this friend to know if they see it as having a double standard because this is someone I know who likes to set standards too, but unfortunately they did not feel a flinch with the decision, masking it in the “its for the greater good” slogan.
Continue Reading: Double Standard Is No Standard At All
ReelNat was more than just a blog; it’s a reflection of my growth, a reminder that setbacks don’t mean the end, they mean there is more to learn, almost all post I write now is rooted in personal experience, real lessons, and the desire to help myself and someone out there who might be going through the same struggles I am facing and once faced. I want to be successful as fast and possible, in fact I need to be, but here is the paradox: I no longer chase “quick success,” I build slowly, intentionally, and with all my heart, and that is what has been making this journey worth it.
If you’re reading this and struggling with rejection, know this: you’re not alone, I’ve been there, many of us have, and yes it can be frustrating, and guess what? Just as the title of this article stated, I just got my 9th rejection by Google AdSense, but I refuse to let that stop me, I refuse to feel frustrated and I am telling you today, however the the result to that exam came out, whatever that rejection is, don’t let it stop you and like me choose to see it as an opportunity to Do Better, and Be Better, and this reminds me of my tagline on ReelNat Blog: Do Better, Be Better.
I know that it can also feel difficult to change your lens on how you view rejection because of the feeling of frustration that can come with it. I know this because I have been there, so much so that I even wrote an article about it: How to deal with frustration on your journey to success.
Most people talk about overcoming frustration on their journey to success when they have achieved their perceived success, but that is not the case for me at the moment. Have I achieved success? Yes, I have in many areas; I’ve set a lot of goals over the years, and I have certainly attained them and achieved a lot. Still, this is a new phase for me, or I would like to think of it as a new phase; I have a lot on my plate and a lot of goals, both BIG and small, not just dreams. Dreams are like visions, but goals are the missions, the targets, so I have a lot of that, and I can honestly say that I have been doing a lot of hard and smart work,butas we know, if you want to move up to greater heights; the more you do, the more you see that, there is more to be done, which is okay, the issue is that I am kind of feeling frustrated.
This feeling is the very thing I am trying to describe, this frustration that comes with doing, doing, and doing the work, but it seems like the closer you get, the further the success; that distance in between is what I call this frustrated feeling. This feeling of frustration reminds me of Zeno’s paradox.
Continue Reading: How To Deal With Frustration On Your Journey To Success
And so like me, and on my 3rd blog, Value Faith Blog, after this 9th rejection by Google AdSense: I’m choosing to focus on my craft! I am choosing to write more about what I love! I am choosing to keep learning! And very obviously I am choosing to keep growing. What am I saying in essence? Keep going, keep giving it your very best shot and when the time is due, you hit that target on the head and so until then Keep grinding! Keep growing! Keep believing!
Because here is the thing, we have come too far in doing the right thing to give up now, not too far in doing the wrong thing and refusing to give up, because if what you are doing is wrong and you are refusing to let is go because you have come too far, then you are likely in a phase called the sunk cost fallacy.
Imagine that you’ve poured time, money, and effort into something. Maybe it’s a failing business, a toxic relationship, or a half-finished project that’s draining your energy, and you know it’s not working, but walking away feels like admitting defeat.
That’s the sunk cost fallacy in action; it tricks us into making bad decisions, keeping us tied to past investments instead of looking at what truly makes sense for the future, but what if letting go was the smartest move you could make?
I’m sure we have all been there and maybe you might still be there at this very moment, reading this article; it’s one of those sneaky little mental traps that keeps us stuck in things longer than we should be.
At its core, the sunk cost fallacy is when you keep investing time, energy, or resources into something just because you’ve already put a lot into it even when it’s clear that moving on would be the better choice. Instead of making a fresh decision based on what’s best right now, you let the thought of your past investment weigh you down.
Continue Reading: The Sunk Cost Fallacy
But that is not us, that is not me, what we are doing is right, what we are building is right, and I may not have AdSense approval yet, but I have something else: growth: I am a better writer! A more informed blogger! And honestly and especially because of my self-development niche, I am a better person now, because more and more, day by day, I practice what I preach!
I have connected with readers; I have published content I’m proud of and I have built something that is mine.
Read Also: The Man In The Arena: Daring Greatly
Read Also: How One Small Lie Put A BIG Weight On My Chest
Read Also: Things Don’t Make The Man
Conclusion
The Bigger Picture: AdSense is a goal but it’s not the only goal; this journey has taught me patience, resilience, and the value of consistent effort. I have learnt that the real rewards do not always come in the form of money or approval emails but in knowing that I have improved, persisted, and evolved, AND DO NOT GET ME WRONG, I AM STILL VERY VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO AN APPROVAL EMAIL FROM ADSENSE, I WANT TO MAKE A LOT OF MONEY, I NEED TO MAKE A LOT OF MONEY AND FAST, I HAVE REAPPLIED AND LIKE I SAID, I AM STILL VERY VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO AN APPROVAL EMAIL.
Still Grinding: Yes! This was my 9th rejection, but it is also my 9th reminder that I am still in the game and I need to up that game. I’m not giving up! I’ll keep working! Keep writing! Keep learning! And I will keep applying because the only true failure is quitting. And me? I AM NOT a quitter and I hope you are not too.
So I end this article with this: I am looking forward to writing an article of my soon coming approval, and I am looking forward to success in my certification exams, and I very very much looking forward to you passing that exam, getting that admission, packing your bags and going to school, getting that job.
And as Theodore Roosevelt once said:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING US AT THE TOP!
I AM LOOKING FOR TO GREATER HEIGHTS!
I GOT YOU, PLENTY PLENTY! AND DO NOT FORGET, I AM ROOTING FOR YOU ALWAYS!
Hey you! Yes, You! You’ve got this and I’m rooting for you! Maybe you’ve heard those words before spoken in a quiet moment before a big challenge, sent in a text when you needed it most or even when you least expected it, or felt in the embrace of someone who truly believes in you. There’s something powerful about knowing that someone is standing in your corner, cheering you on, wanting you to rise, succeed, and become the best version of yourself.
You see my friend, the power of encouragement and support is undeniable; it’s more than just words, it’s a force that fuels confidence, strengthens resilience, and reminds us that we don’t have to do it all alone. When someone is invested in your growth, when they want to see you win, it changes everything, it’s a plus, and it pushes us to do better.
And so today, I want us to talk about the wonders of genuine support, what it means to want the best for someone, how it shapes lives, and why, sometimes, the simple act of rooting for someone can be the difference between giving up and pushing forward.
Continue Reading: I’m Rooting for You, TODAY And TOMORROW
