Five Reasons to Start a Blog This Year

Last month made it three years I’ve been blogging.

Three years.

I had a very little idea of what I was getting into when I started. What type of blog would I be? What would I write about? What if I couldn’t write about anything? What if no one read it? What if they read it but didn’t like it? What if they read it, liked it, and wanted me to write something else good?

But I did one thing; I started.

Then I kept doing it. Some things got easier. Some things didn’t. But I kept doing it. I kept changing things until I thought they were best. It was work, but it was fun work.

It’s something that I encourage everyone to try. Here’s some of my favorite reasons why it’s worth a shot.

• It’s free – If one of your New Year’s Resolutions was to save more and spend less, then you’ll find no other activity that can occupy so much time and cost absolutely nothing. Start with a free space here at WordPress. It’s easy and there are tons of tools to help along the way. What time you don’t spend writing, you’ll spend reading other blogs and stealing getting ideas.
• It will change the way you look at things – This will happen so much quicker than you’d expect. Before long you’ll start to watch life and not just live it. The only way I can describe it is the difference between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat. When you’re the driver you have to focus on the road, the task at hand. When you’re the passenger you can enjoy the scenery. Blogging makes you do both. You go throughout your day as usual, but soon you’ll notice you’re doing something else. You’re watching. You’re noticing. Your driving like normal, but checking out the scenery too.
• It will change the way you think – I’d describe myself as a pretty analytic person by nature. I love lists. I make lists for everything. One thing I noticed about making lists for my blog, I’ve gotten better at it. I’ve gotten better at reflecting and organizing things mentally. I’ve gotten better at putting them in order so the clutter can be on my desk, but my mind feels like its running on the Dewey Decimal System.
• It will make you manage your time better – If this is the year you decide to get organized, then starting a blog is definitely what you need. I tell myself constantly that I have to make time to have time. I have to make time for this. Usually that means I’m getting less sleep but that’s okay with me.
• It will make you flex – You won’t be flexing your glutes in a wall of mirrors at the gym, but you will be flexing. Blogging causes you to work your mind out in a way it rarely gets to do any more. When you’re a kid you get to do all kinds of creative things but as an adult our opportunities for creativity are usually limited to sticking to your budgets and excuses for being late. Blogging makes you flex your creative muscles constantly – potential topics, posting structures, titles, pictures, graphics, and the list goes on. Soon you’ll realize you had an entire group of mental-muscles that have been begging to hit the weights.

If you’ve wrestled with yourself about starting a blog then here’s a good tip I’ve told several people:

Try to come up with ten blog posts.

They can be about anything. Just try to come up with ten separate ideas that will get you writing. Write down the ideas and see how it feels. Expand on each idea to see how you’d like to write about it. It might come slow at first, but it will give you a good idea if this is something you’ll forward to or just end up hating.

If you have those then do it. Get started.

If you liked this post you may also enjoy:

• Three Free Tips for Bloggers
• Working on More Than Just Words
• Mid-Week Review: The Traits and Habits of Highly Successful Bloggers

Five Myths About New Year’s Resolutions

Today is the first day of the New Year. A quick glimpse at Facebook and you’ll figure it out. You’ll see posts about resolutions and pics of the night before. People will make a few promises to themselves and pledge that this will be the year they stick. Not to be cynical but that probably won’t happen. The odds are against them. One more thing that hurts everyone’s success is the horrible advice the internet has to offer.

Scan a few articles today and you’re guaranteed to run through the same tired advice about keeping resolutions that was just recycled from previous years. They come with good intentions but basically set you up to fail. So I thought I’d tackle some of the myths about ringing in the new year with success.

• Myth #1. Write it down – The first point on any resolution guide will begin with the advice to write down your goals. They’ll tell you that writing them out will help you follow through. While this sounds really good, it just doesn’t work. I know because every single week, seriously, every week, I make a grocery list. And every single week I get home, empty the bags on the counter, and see that one little item I forgot. I mean I followed their advice. I wrote out my list, checked it often (at the beginning of every aisle), and still came home with a bag full of failure.
• Myth #2. Share with friends and family – Again, this sounds great in theory. Make a Facebook post publicly declaring you are going to do things differently this year. You’re going to drop a few bad habits. You’ll see people say things like, “If you see me with a _______ in my hand, just slap it right out.” Of course you tend to lose that feeling when someone comments about the Dr. Pepper you drink at work on a Tuesday afternoon in March.
• Myth #3. Get a partner – This one actually could work- if you’re partner is a personal trainer. If you go with a friend who’s in the same boat as you, it’s just the blind leading the blind. In a few weeks all of your collective will power will fade and the two of you will be sitting around wondering what happened to that sleeve of Oreos you had a minute ago.
• Myth #4. Buy one piece of clothing as motivation – This one is another great gem. Buy an expensive pair of skinny jeans to hang in your closet so you’ll be motivated to slide into those bad boys in a few months. I’m almost 30 years old and wear a size 10 shoe. I’m not about to spend a few hundred bucks on a pair of size 13 MJs and tell myself this is the year it’s gonna happen. If you’re going to buy clothes, do everyone around you a favor and just buy what fits you now.
• Myth #5. Buy a dog – This one is truly awful. Not only is it bad advice, it’s from TIME magazine. In an attempt to maintain your physical fitness, they recommend buying a dog on a whim. That way you’ll be forced to walk it everyday. Really? Here’s what will happen: You’ll get a cute dog. You’ll be enthralled for a few days. Then you have to go back to work. You’ll be gone and that mutt will go to town on your couch and pillows. Or he’ll mess in his crate or tear up your yard. You’ll be mad. After a few weeks, when it’s rainy and cold you’ll give up on those daily walks once and for all. He’ll get fat and you’ll feel bad. Every time he moseys on through your living room with his gut dragging the ground, you’ll only see another failed attempt to change your life. Get that dog a bus ticket. He’s gone. Now you’ve not only set your life back another year, you’ve ruined that of an innocent puppy. Then you’ll remember to cancel that subscription to TIME.

Don’t be fooled by these mistakes, but don’t make fun of others that do. Keep up with them throughout the year and just make sure they don’t do it again next year. As far as yourself, remember New Year’s is as much about reflection as it is resolution. Don’t get caught up in what you want to do without looking at what you’ve already done.

“By improving yourself, the world is made better. Be not afraid of growing too slowly. Be afraid only of standing still. Forget your mistakes, but remember what they taught you.”     -Benjamin Franklin

This quote comes from A Few Thoughts: A Collection of Quotes. Available on Amazon.

If you liked this post you may also enjoy:

• Keys to Anti-Social Networking
• The Art of Conversation w/ Dumb People
• Well That Was Awkward
• A Graph-ic Post Too

 

My 19 of ’12

Hemingway, Miller, Collins, McCarthy, Flemming

For 2012 I made a few resolutions for myself, including the goal to read at least one book per month. I made a post about it here, Resolve to Read, at the first of the year. I made another keeping up with my progress, Make the Most of the Middle Mark. 

I can’t say I met each goal I set, but as far as reading goes, I definitely surpassed it. I’m glad to say I read 19 books throughout the year.

• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne (Free)
• Everything Ravaged; Everything Burned: Stores – Wells Tower
• Through My Eyes – Tim Tebow (Hardcover)
• Edge of Sadness – Edwin O’Conner
• Cowboys, Mountain Men, & Grizzly Bears – Matthew P. Mayo
• The Girl Who Played With Fire – Steig Larson (Paperback)
• Dr. No – Ian Flemming
• Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad (Free)
• The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
• The Island of Dr. Moreau – H. G. Wells (Free)
• A Million Miles in a Thousand Years – Donald Miller
• Outer Dark – Cormac McCarthy (Paperback)
• Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – Steig Larson
• Crazy Love – Francis Chan
• Thunderball – Ian Flemming
• Call of the Wild – Jack London (Free)
• The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins (Paperback)
• Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins

At first glance, I couldn’t believe the list was this long. It didn’t feel like it because I really don’t just sit around and read. I usually take my Kindle with me throughout the day and read on my breaks and lunches at work. I also carry it with me when I run errands on weekends or just read a few paragraphs during commercial breaks.

And that’s the real reason I’ve read so much this year, the Kindle Fire. I had a previous version of the Kindle that was nice but seemed a little too bulky to carry around everywhere. But for Christmas my wife bought me a Kindle Fire. I’m pretty cheap (that’s an understatement) so I wasn’t about to buy one myself, but after reading just a few books this year, it had already paid for itself since the majority of Kindle versions are cheaper than paperback. Not to mention the several free books I’ve read. I’ve already read one this year.

Overall I have to say I was satisfied with every book I read last year. I read masculine classics like Steinbeck, Hemingway, Fleming, and Conrad to young adult fiction of The Hunger Games Trilogy to non-fiction authors like Donald Miller. Each one left a different impression on me and each left me with a sense of accomplishment that I had spent my time wisely.

Have you read any of the books listed? Or maybe another book by the same author? What books did you read last year?

Make the Most of the Middle Mark

Today, July 1st, is the 183rd day in 2012. This marks the halfway point for the year. I’ve always tried to make it habit to take this time and look back at the resolutions I made at the beginning of the year. I made a previous post about one of them. I made the personal resolution to read at least one book per month. So far I’m glad to say I’ve done pretty well. I’ve read eight books so far, including one that had over 600 pages.

I’m sure not everyone made the same resolution as me, but it is important to think back to where you were 183 days ago. Are the things that were important to you then still at the top of your list? If so, what have you done towards them? How much time have you made for it? In another 183 days where will you be? I did well on this resolution, but I’m way off on a few others. Pray more. Listen harder.

Don’t let today pass you by. Stop. Take a minute. Ask if your middle mark puts you halfway finished or halfway behind.

Here’s what I’ve read so far this year:

• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne
• Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned – Wells Tower
• The Edge of Sadness – Edwin O’Connor
• Cowboys, Mountain Men, and Grizzly Bears – Matthew P. Mayo
• Through My Eyes – Tim Tebow
• The Girl That Played with Fire – Stieg Larson
• Dr. No – Ian Flemming
• Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
• The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway (currently 52% completed)

Resolve to Read

As a new year begins I’ve started making a list of resolutions. One of the things that always top my list each year is to read at least one book per month. When doing this I decided I’d look back at the books I read this year. I read 12 but just barely met my goal.

I really enjoy reading but still feel the need to set goals because I know I’ll get lazy. I think people do this with other hobbies but not with reading. Runners track how many miles they accomplish each week. Musicians routinely practice their songs and sets. For me the same has to be done with reading, or I’ll just waste my time watching reality shows on The History Channel or watching the same stories repeat themselves on SportsCenter.

I met someone last year that had already read over 30 books from January to May. That’s just not me. I think most people like to read but run into obstacles. For most of us it’s time.

“I’d like to [insert hobby] but I just don’t have time.”

We’ve all said this. I read, but I don’t stay up late at night or block out sets of time. I try to make a habit of keeping a book around. I keep it in my truck and read on my breaks. I’ll take it with me to doctor and dentist appointments. I’ll mute the TV during commercials and read until the show returns. And with apps, I’ve read books on those fun-filled trips to the mall.

I took a minute and added up what I spent on books throughout the whole year – $118.08. That’s it. I doubt you could find a better trade-off given the amount of hours these kept me occupied, especially since I’m a slow reader. With the numerous benefits, low costs, and convenience, this may be the year you try to add reading to your list of resolutions.

Here’s what I read this year:

• Quiet Strength – Tony Dungy
• Decision Points – George W. Bush
• Rules for My Unborn Son – Walker LaMond
• The Art of War –Sun Tzu
• The Ultimate Man’s Survival Guide – Frank Miniter
• From Russia with Love – Ian Flemming
• Cannery Row – John Steinbeck
• As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner
• In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
• The Orchard Keeper – Cormac McCarthy
• The Red Pony – John Steinbeck 
• The Outlaw Album: Stories – Daniel Woodrell

Let me know if you have any reading suggestions for the new year.