When I first went down this path of putting myself online and giving people advice, I did it, because I was called to do so. I had no idea where it would go. But I was happy to keep on taking a step at a time and see where the trail would end.
Now, I have been blogging and podcasting for 3 years now, and I get a lot of viewers, and listeners, who message me on a weekly basis, asking me dozens of questions.
Of course, I am not famous or anything, but certain people tend to connect with my words, and they message me asking for support.
In the beginning, when I was just starting, and I had more time, I gave my time to people freely. I have answered hundreds of questions till now, through email, messenger, and other formats.
Boundaries Need To Be Set Up, So I Can Expand As A Human
The more I walk on this path, the more alone time I need to reflect. I use all of my alone time to ponder the important questions in life. Why am I here? How can I create a better impact on this world? What is my unique purpose on this planet? What is something only I can do, with my unique sets of talents and abilities? Etc.
All of this means that I cannot spend my precious time answering questions anymore.
This is because when I am going to take the time to answer someone, I am going to really spend some time answering them. We are not doing things by halves here. It’s not even a possibility for me.
Thus, I decided that if I really want to come into my own and create that impact that I want, then I need to set up higher boundaries.
This post is all about those boundaries so that if you are thinking about messaging me to ask me questions, you know that I now charge for my time.
Culling People Out Easily And Neatly Using Monetization
The great thing about charging people for my time is that it weeds out about 99% of the people who would have sent me a question. In addition, the people who are actually paying for my time, take it more seriously, think deeply about their questions, and use my time wisely.
I notice when my advice was free, most people wouldn’t take the time to formulate their questions properly, they would send me terribly worded, grammatically incorrect, unpunctuated essays, without any sentence or paragraph breaks. It was a nightmare to read through. It was an even bigger nightmare to understand their question, and then reply to it.
I must admit it took up hours and hours of my time, and I was happy to do this in the past because I had more of that commodity.
But, as I said, now, I am really focusing my effort on people who can appreciate and pay for my precious time.
I Want People To Start Thinking For Themselves – Without Advice
This is something a friend of mine pointed out, and I think it’s so true. If I am putting all of this valuable free content out there, in the form of blog posts, podcasts, and videos, I think I have probably answered your question in some format. Personalized advice is unnecessary, really.
The onus is on you now to cull through all of that content, think for yourself, analyze, and figure out what the answer is for you specifically.
You have a brain. A good one. And you need to start using it.
That’s what I want to say to all of those people who are still messaging me asking questions – it’s time for you to stand on your two feet. It’s time for you to leave the nest, and fly into the world, creating your own beautiful unique path. Good luck!
P.S. I have more than 262 blog posts, two podcasts, one with 850+ episodes, the other with 220+ episodes, and more than 1000 videos on my YouTube channel.
P.P.S. I charge $100 an hour for my time. It’s really not much. And if you can’t afford it, you can’t afford my advice, either.
