8 Years of The Wealthy Ironworker

 

 

Milestone – 8 Years

 

 

Welcome to The Wealthy Ironworker, where, as of this month (February 2026), this website has been live for 8 years. Talk about a milestone – and one that I am immensely proud of.

Now, I haven’t always been consistent; indeed, the first few years, I was sporadic, and things were hit or miss. Plus, I didn’t have the same direction I did when I started this back in 2018 – things change, and that’s alright. To that end – and in keeping with the numbers theme, I’d like to highlight 8 things I’ve learned/implemented/evolved since launching the website – The Wealthy Ironworker.

 

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***NOTE: I had planned to write this article from scratch, but when I looked over my article titled “7 Years of The Wealthy Ironworker,” I found that it was exceptional. I’ve decided to edit it for this year’s anniversary article, building on an already stellar one.***

 

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1. At Some Point, You Just Have to Just Get Started

Just start somewhere and adjust along the way

 

I bring this point up first because so many fall victim to the “I would like to” mindset without ever really taking the plunge.

You can read, research, ask questions, listen to/watch podcast episodes all you want, but at some point, you HAVE TO jump in and get started. Otherwise, you risk overanalyzing and never making the decision to actually start somewhere.

And you know what? This is precisely where millions of people find themselves with just about everything. We think we need to be experts. We believe we must have all the latest gadgets. We must, then, be professionals who have everything in place BEFORE we start anything.

So we never start.

Admit it – it’s happened to you before. It’s happened to me, too.

This is why at some point, you just have to get started. Despite the equipment (or lack thereof), the lack of “expertise,” and even the feeling of being a novice. EVERY individual – expert, professional, and specialist – ALL started as a beginner.

The above is true for just about everything we can undertake – like websites and podcasts (trust me on that). And perhaps the most astounding thing is that after 8 years of publishing content here, I still don’t have it figured out. Yes, I have established some patterns, context, the various “series” here, and, while I’m getting better at what I do, I continue to improve/evolve – and that’s all right. There’s nothing wrong with that; in fact, the only thing that IS wrong is doing nothing.

 

2. Things Will Evolve/Change Over Time – and That’s Alright

Everything changes over time – embrace and adapt

 

After 8 years, The Wealthy Ironworker has changed quite a bit. From just the website: A new theme, dark mode (easier on the eyes), adding yearly goals evaluated monthly, the addition of Series (multiple articles grouped together – Book Reviews, Leadership, Principles, etc.), the creation of Musings (shorter form content for more engagement), the increase of what I research and write about, and many other smaller, seemingly insignificant changes that have culminated into what I post today.

Just as significant is the addition of The Wealthy Ironworker Podcast. Started in December 2023, the intention was to augment the website – to be an extension of it, as it were.

What’s particularly frustrating is momentum disruption; after growing the podcast, I took some much-needed personal time off – approximately 10 months – and restarting is similar to starting fresh.

EXCEPT, I have experience, which is valuable.

Lastly, while some things change, some never do. I will NEVER EVER give up creative quality control of this website/podcast, sponsor something I would not or would never use, or ever compromise artistic integrity.

 

3. You Can Ignore Much of What “Experts” Say

Much of what the so-called “experts” have written is obsolete. Photo by Rita Morais on Unsplash

 

With regard to a blog/website, things change rapidly. Google does an update or two, and Reddit is full of people whose website traffic has dropped precipitously. There are reasons why this is: many relied on “strategies” to get views, attempted to build up their backlink network (backlinks are where others link to your website and content), relied on clickbait due to sly use of keywords; Google has shifted to using AI providing the top answers, they have deals in place to have Reddit a top link – these and more have decimated many blogs.

Why do I bring this up? Simple: because much of what “experts” say/write is no longer applicable nor worth the time to read/listen to and enact.

Most strategies are a waste of time. Backlinks can be beneficial, but attempting to rig the game by offering to write for another website when there’s no real connection is sketchy. Clickbait is all but dead – and I applaud that. Google’s use of AI is annoying to me, and the elevation of Reddit on the search I can scroll past.

In the end, much of what so-called “experts” tell you to do is outdated advice.

Do you need to post several times a week? How long should your posts be? Does AI have a place in your writing?

From the beginning, I have written EVERY SINGLE WORD MYSELF – and I highly doubt that’ll change. I maintain tight control over the creative quality, and AI has absolutely no place at The Wealthy Ironworker. I post at least three times a month, and I plan on some changes that will help me take things to the next level.

In the end, so-called “experts” have capitalized on the blog segment’s growth, and their time is up. What’s really important is whether you write well, and have content others find interesting.

THAT’S IT. The rest can – and sometimes does – come with time. But in case it doesn’t…

 

4. Write for the Sake of Writing (or Create Content for the Sake of Content)

Do you write for the sake of writing – because you enjoy it?

 

Write for the sake of writing. Or, if you prefer, I write because I have something to say. I’m not trying to get “wealthy” (in the conventional sense, anyway); otherwise, I would have done things differently. I enjoy writing, keeping track of how many articles and musings I have published, and the cumulative word count for each, precisely because I enjoy writing.

And that’s my advice to ANYONE who is looking to start a blog, website, or start creating content (which, for me, is the podcast): write or create for the sake of the medium – NOT to make money.

Why? Because statistically speaking, if your motives are wrong, you’ll fizzle out. You won’t have staying power; you won’t see results as fast as you’d like (if you even see them at all), and you hang it up. It happens all the time.

I’ve made it 8 years now because I enjoy writing and have something to say.

Oh, and I should add this is true for EVERYTHING worth doing; do it for the sake of doing it. Not to get rich. Not to get famous. Not to get instant gratification. Something worth doing is worth investing in: time, effort, the joy of simply doing it – these are the right reasons.

 

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***Just so I’m clear: I would LOVE to make money from this website and the associated podcast. In fact, I’m hopeful of it. BUT, it isn’t the motivation for why I started or continue to write, publish, and podcast. ***

 

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5. Be Authentic and Genuine

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

 

I highlight this in The Leadership Series also; there are TONS of people who are fake, pretend, and “act” their way through life – including website/podcast creation.

Listen, people have a BS meter, and most can detect when someone isn’t genuine or authentic. For my part, those in the trades have theirs dialed to 11, and they are QUICK to voice their opinion. I may not like what you have to say or even how you say it, but I respect you for having the courage to say it. Most people don’t.

The articles I’ve written and, to a lesser degree, the Musings I’ve published are words that are genuine, despite what others think. To me, that’s the only way to write. A person is free to do this when they write (or create) for the sake of writing (or creating).

What’s more, being genuine and authentic is something I’ve tried to work out on the job, too. For my part, I believe most people at work rarely see someone who isn’t fake, an actor/actress, or disingenuous. So when you mean what you say, and you are genuine and authentic to a fault, it catches people off guard.

Being genuine and authentic is worth the effort – trust me.

 

6. Develop Consistency

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

 

A lot of “so-called” experts tell people they need to post several times a week. If you have the content, the drive, time, and intentionality, post away. For the vast majority, however, that schedule is unrealistic. Moreover, this advice is usually given to those whose motivation is money and not the art of writing (or creating); they aren’t building on bedrock.

If people like your content, your take, your opinion, your creativity, and – just as important – your writing, then they will read it. In fact, they will do it despite your consistency.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strive for consistency – the opposite, in fact. You should strive to establish consistency to overcome obscurity and build reliability.

Shifting focus to the jobsite, consistency can be viewed as dependable. Instead of being the unpredictable journeyman (who, admittedly, gets the laughs), it’s far better to be consistent. It’ll go much further than you think. It’s another trait worth developing.

 

7. Stay the Course

Continue on despite setbacks, mistakes, and failure

 

Point number 7: Stay the course. Also known as discipline, you cannot achieve or maintain success without it.

I haven’t been doing this for 8 years now because I continually stumble into things; rather, I have been intentional about setting goals, checking them, and making adjustments along the way. Moreover, over time, the amount of content on this website increases. Deciding to compartmentalize content into one of four ways – Musings, Articles, Series, and Podcast – creates a bevy of content that is both timely and timeless.

2026 is already a BUSY year with numerous months already spoken for; still, I plan to stay the course, research, write, and publish articles and podcasts consistently. What’s more, the jobsite continues to give me ideas for content – and that is winning for sure.

 

8. Evaluate, Adjust, & Remove What Doesn’t Work

Do NOT be afraid to cut out/remove what doesn’t work

 

For my part, this is one of the reasons we should take the time to set goals, evaluate, and make adjustments. A lot of people are on autopilot, and since life is what happens to them, they are wandering aimlessly. This is no way to live if you ask me. It’s far better to be intentional and focus your energy where it can make significant gains.

That is precisely what I’ve done here at The Wealthy Ironworker. After 8 years, I continued to evaluate, adjust, & remove what doesn’t work. For example, I set goals yearly and evaluate them monthly. Some of the goals I achieve, some I do not. I make adjustments along the way. And, every now and then, there’s something I’m doing that isn’t working and/or has me spinning my wheels. And when discovered, it needs to be cut out.

I use an app called Elementor on this website; it’s how I have edited most of the pages here at The Wealthy Ironworker. Since they are static, they work just fine.

Articles, however, are different.

Yes, they are static once done, but the time it took to try to edit the article before publishing was a time suck. Instead, I’ve come to realize that basic editing in WordPress is sufficient. Coupled with my writing style, I can convey meaning while maintaining a clean, professional tone.

On the job? Well, I’ll leave it to your imagination as to what could be cut out – but I’ll wager it’s A LOT.

 

All in all, it will be interesting to see how things evolve, change, and adapt in the coming years, but one thing is for certain as those years come and go: I want to be writing and podcasting at The Wealthy Ironworker.

 

Conclusion

 

If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to subscribe to this website so you don’t miss any content. 2026 is shaping up to be an interesting, unique, and challenging year at The Wealthy Ironworker. Here’s to 8 years!

 

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