By: Taban Khajehnassiri
You must know what you are doing. You must love what you are doing. You must believe in what you are doing.
Will Rogers, 1879-1935 - American humorist noted for his homespun commentary on American society and politics.
For those wanting their own (Iranian) web site or entity to succeed on the net, I have decided to once again dedicate this editorial to this issue, and as a matter of fact, this is the same title I wrote about some months ago, and it is now revisited.
Who was the first subscriber of my weekly newsletter? Who was the first visitor for my web site? Who was my first client? Who was the first individual called me and said "Thanks, Keep up the good work!"? The answer to all these simple questions, the message is so clear: Myself! It doesn't require any logic, It doesn't need any further proof, I'm just showing you the real feeling I have about it, I'm just showing you my deep belief and enthusiasm. The depth of my own conviction and all the ways of my feeling and believing at the same time. I start this newsletter and the web site with deep feelings and emotions, and I remember now I even wrote about it that I prepare this newsletter, I write these editorials with all my emotions, hope and optimism. I read a lot these days, it is almost more than ten years I have been working hard day and night, nearly 20 hours a day and I have enjoyed it a lot. Frankly, I have to say I like it and let me confess I love it.
I read and write, I learn and teach, and I am doing all these with faith that I have in God and what I am doing. All these years of hard labour brought me the most exciting feeling that I have now: enthusiasm. I understand that and I have been honest with myself at first and my friends too. The first subscriber once wrote: "Hey, Taban! You are doing great, your newsletter is something useful and informative!" I knew it ... After the first visit, the first visitor paid to my web site he sent me a note: " Hey webmaster, your site is so simple, easy to use and navigate, it has the content but you have to work more on it! There are some links not working properly, some Images loading very slow, and so on, but I like what you are doing, go ahead and keep up the good job, there comes a day many come to visit your site and benefit from it!" again ... I knew it. The first client I had, never paid me, but that's OK, as far as he was myself I could easily forgive him! He send me the first testimonial I needed: "I Think, er, you have done a good job for me, thank you! That was a great translation, a great research. As usual, keep up the good work!" - he wrote to me.
I will never forget the feelings, the enjoyment and the enthusiasm, and I am sure that you can feel it now while you are reading this. I have all these feelings and emotions because I knew what I was doing, I loved what I was doing and I believed in what I was doing. Because I knew the honest interest I had in what I was producing, proceeding or serving. And now I can tell you that I finally succeeded. The best asset I have ever enjoyed after all these years has been my knowledge and experiences. I used my know-how and I used my emotions the right possible way. I said to myself once: "That's it ... you are doing great! but you have to keep on working, you have to make it more understandable, informative and educational! That's it buddy! You can do it ... So just do it!" - The depth of my own conviction, assurance and hope, brought me the chance to reach to this stage in which I can now talk to you about the success that everybody wants on and off the Internet!
I beleive that you are looking for success too. I simply design it for you, take a pen and write down on a piece of paper now : "I want success! I want it all and I want it now!" - Write down that you want that desired success in whatever you are doing. Call it a project. I have considered and called almost every thing I have done these recent years a true project. Now you call what you are about to do a project, and you need to know your project, you need to and you have to love it because it's all yours, you must believe in yourself and what you are about to. Start to gather the most needed information, read more and write your findings down, review them from time to time and then do them the best way as you can, the first layouts may be simple and basic, but who cares? If nobody, YOU CARE, and try to fix the errors step by step. Ask for help from your emotions, look at your project from different angles. Consult with your friends and ask them related questions. Summerize and study your recent surveys, do not give up soon, keep on working on what you have started right to the end. In the final stages, test everything you see important, test ... test ... test. One day you'll see and have your dreams and imaginations as a done project ready to use and criticize! Do not afraid of errors and critics, they are (created) to help you more to find your mistakes and to let you make your things better and better. I am sure I know the last subscriber of my list, the last visitor for my web site(s), the last one who will one day call and talk to me in a friendly manner. The message is so clear, he will let me thank you, he will give me the final chance to say, once again, I did it my web, to say, Oh Lord, I thank you.
This article first published as the editorial of WWN February 10, 2001.