Dear Readers,
This week, not only is this the start of a fresh New Year, but Wednesday 1 January 2025 marked the tenth anniversary of when The Holly Tree Tales began!
I thought it would be a fun moment to do a little reminiscing about the journey and how it started …
On Thursday 1 January 2015, I tentatively began my blogging journey with WordPress, when I opened an account to set up The Holly Tree Tales.
Our two children stood at the computer with me, where they had seen me spending time writing all sorts of things online, in a very simplistic form and with super simple tools.
Together we figured out what needed to be done for me to get the site set up … they were much more computer savvy than I, a very nervous online author with little clue about what I was getting myself into!
For the first three years of her existence, the blog was found at http://www.TheHollyTreeTales.WordPress.com and then in November 2017 she finally got her own domain.
At some point in the early years, I discovered that there were local WordPress MeetUp groups in our nearest city, which I started attending regularly and really enjoyed participating in. Most there were very savvy and were even building their own websites from scratch … much remained elusive to me, even with the amply hosted platform that I was on to make life simple!
I have discovered – for me, atleast – that it takes a certain way of looking at things with all things technology and ways of understanding can be tricky for some of us. That is, until we start to look from the same angle and see the beautiful engines that we have access to, at our fingertips.
I have found this same challenge happening for me, as I heard about and then became more familiar with the world of FUNNELS. More on that another time.
To note the bumpy blogging journey from the beginning, I thought it would be entertaining to gather the first few blogposts together now and show my Readers the way this all began. Perhaps it might help some of you to realise that, if I can do it, you can too!
As you will see, I was very confused about how to drive this amazing software machine and was struggling to get all the bells and whistles doing what they needed to do, in sync and to deliver what I was trying to say, all at the same time and efficiently … to say the least.
The start to my blogging journey was hugely challenging, as you’ll see from the selection of blogposts, and I struggled for a long time to drive the process smoothly behind the scenes.
These are the first ten posts that appear in my blog:
1. An Initial Welcome
2. Frustration … and being frozen in the spotlight
5. The Blog page called “Home”
Up until the time that I began to write on this platform and website, which I knew only as a “blog”, I had been doing all of my online writing on Facebook (which I had finally decided to explore in about 2011, I think) and in circular emails to family and friends around the world.
Having written MANY Facebook posts, pouring words out on all sorts of subjects, a number of friends and family members began saying to me that they thought I ought to be writing a blog!
Believe it or not, I had no idea what a blog was. Seriously.
I had some idea of what websites were, but did not have a clue about what one was supposed to do with a blog.
One of my sisters helpfully suggested that I decide on a day of the week or other regular frequency that I wished to send out blogposts, so that people could anticipate them.
However, despite the wonderful encouragement, that sounded far too difficult to organise … even though I am known to be someone who loves to be / is fairly organised!
I truly had no idea how I could possibly present written material as so well accomplished an author AND a be a technological genius. All I was usually doing was pouring out of the keyboard what was spontaneously rising up inside of me and wanting to get out (onto paper or) in type.
And so, despite excellent advice from those around me, I could not commit to creating any sort of blogpost on a regular basis … nor have I done since.
When the words and the inspiration comes, that is when the post or article is written or composed. If you have been a longtime Subscriber of The Holly Tree Tales, you may well have noticed this! When it comes, it comes … I cannot force the words, as frustrating as that is. It just is the way that I write, with any sort of creativity and entirely from inspiration.
Today, as we tiptoe into 2025 in the first week of the new year, I want to take this moment to encourage YOU to step into something that is challenging for you and to take it one little bite at a time … at your pace. Who knows where the journey might take you in ten years!!
Thank you for being on the journey with me, especially if you’ve been with me since the beginning, as we all travel through space on this one gorgeous planet.
Here’s to a most blessed and happy and beautiful year ahead!
With love,
Holly x
PS. In case you haven’t heard, I shall be giving a little presentation on Monday 6th January 2025 and would love to have you join us!
Click here to join the waitlist and you’ll be sent an email beforehand, with the details about where to go to attend online.
NOTE: IF YOU ARE SEEING THIS AFTER THE EVENT, YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR THE REPLAY.
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