I’m not telling you this to get pity. I chose this job. It’s pretty standard in private business to have these kinds of “benefits”..

And I’ve also spent the majority of my working life in a Government job that gave me paid sick time and 4-6 weeks paid vacation a year, etc..

The reason I’m even mentioning any of this is that I blog.

Blogging is different from having an offline job. Even people who blog for social reasons are expected to post daily or at least several times weekly, every week, 52 weeks a year.

We are under the impression that if we stop for just a day or two that we will lose our readers.

The expectations for business bloggers is even higher. Not only will the business blogger lose his/ her readers but they will lose credibility and their business will fail.

Business bloggers are expected to keep a posting schedule, be active daily in Twitter, Facebook, etc, produce products, do promotion and marketing, deal with mounds of email, do guest posts, create unique content, give away things, build a list, write a newsletter, create forums and paid sites, et.al..
Couple that with the fact that the longer one continues the more readers one attracts, the more comments and emails one has to deal with, the more demands on our time…..

The current model of blogging is doomed to failure for almost all bloggers. Which is probably why most bloggers, even successful business bloggers, seldom last for more than a year or two.

If offline jobs demanded the same ever increasing time commitments that blogs demand then most people would be quitting jobs and choosing welfare.

In the blog world this happens all the time. Popular, often very successful bloggers, announce that they are quitting. They vanish, much to the surprise of those following them.

So, I wonder why we place such a ridiculous expectation on ourselves to begin with.

Part of the problem is that the top bloggers lead us to believe that if we start a blog and continue it for a short time that we will become rich.

Generally they provide, for a small fee (?), their secrets which will make us successful and wealthy.

Part of the problem is that we believe them. That building a successful blog is easy. That we just need that one missing piece of the puzzle and we too will be just like them. Rich and famous.

Part of the problem is that we are so busy trying to find that missing piece of the puzzle that we don’t consider planning our business as being necessary. We can plan things when we are successful.

And part of the problem is that we fail to realize the time commitment that it takes to be successful.
The ridiculous time sucking time commitment that never allows us to take days off or take a holiday.
Time spent away from our blog is time wasted. And it’s time for the competition to move ahead of us.

We live in constant fear that someone will do whatever we are doing better than us. That they will steal our customers and ultimately our business.

So we forge on putting in more and more time on our blogs, our social media, our marketing, our business.

In the offline world my great job with great benefits required me to be on call 24/7/ 365 a year..

The pay was great. The benefits were great. The reality was that I spent my weekends on the phone or in person at work dealing with problems. I couldn’t get vacation time when I wanted it and often had it just paid out at the end of each vacation period. I worked when I was sick.

Life at the top isn’t really all it’s made out to be.

Certainly when I left there was a payoff. I have income that keeps me comfortably. I currently work for my enjoyment and for the social benefits my current job provides. And I don’t care if I’m not paid for the vacation time I take.

But I left my old job with 2 years of vacation (which was paid out to me) and 1 year of unused sick time ( which I wasn’t paid for).
And I left feeling burnt out and disillusioned with business.

I gave up a lot personally to make money. Time that I can’t ever get back. Time I could have used to connect with friends and family. Time I could have used to learn and try new things.

I blog.

But I have no intention of devoting my life to it.

The blog is a place to write what I’m thinking about. It’s a place where I try new online things like video posts or audio posts or story ideas. It’s a way to connect with a few readers.

I’m content when I write.
I’m equally content when I don’t.

Blogging isn’t my life and I don’t want it to be.

I can’t be creative if I am spending my time worrying about comments. Or my limited audience for that matter.

We are told to write for our readers.

I suggest that doing so is doing us a disservice to us and to those who follow us.

We need to write for ourselves. And let others decide if they want to read our words.
We need to produce things for ourselves. And let others decide if they want to use the things as well.
We need to try things that appeal to us. And quit worrying about what our followers think of our work.
When we want to take time to explore other things we need to take time. Not try to fit our current interests into our already to busy lives.

Instead of trying to do to much we need to stop and do only what makes us happy.

If we don’t we will become bitter and jaded and stop altogether.

Which is why I quit the “good” job..

Funny, I don’t regret a moment of doing the “good” job.
But I don’t regret a moment since quitting it either..

And I have no intention of making my blog a full time job..

So today’s question is:
1) What are your thoughts on blogging either for social or monetary reasons?

Some people, like those living in Mosolo for example, had fewer choices. When you have nothing you must continually work to survive. There is only one choice.

But Zimble didn’t live in Mosolo. His choices seemed unlimited.
And that was the problem.

When it really doesn’t make a difference whether you do one thing or another then doing nothing is as good an option as all the rest.

In Zimble’s life starting and stopping things happened regularly.
He had taken beginnings and endings to define his way of life.

Zimble would start a job, quit it and start another one.
He would start exercising regularly and then decide one day that he didn’t have the time and would stop.
He would work on his diet and then eat junk food the next week.
He would write and write and then stop writing on a whim.
He would…

Zimble envied those with more focus than he had.
Those who started something and completed it.
The ones who have the desire to carry on even though they don’t have to.

But Zimble was stuck in an endless loop of starting something, reaching a point where he realized that by just pushing on a little longer he would become successful and then stopping.

Knowing that you can do something if you wanted to seemed to be enough for Zimble.
Actually doing it seemed to hold little reward for him.

And he would back away at just the point where it was within his grasp to achieve something worthwhile and he would do something else.
The point just before he could make a difference in either his life or the lives of others.

When Zimble finally died there was nothing written about him in history books. ( I was actually shocked that I could find out so much about him. It’s almost like I knew him personally..)
Certainly he was listed as existing. There are records kept of everything.

But it was just a name. Useful for family trees perhaps, but little else.

No one remembers ordinary people. They are but filler in the records of life.

So today’s question is:
1) Do you care about where your life is heading?

I’m glad they came. It was fun to see them. Hope they return again soon.

But, and there always seems to be a “but”, whenever something like this happens it throws my routine off.

And yes, I do have a routine like everyone else. Except that one guy in Asia who is kind of a rebel. And that one girl in Poland who refuses to follow any routine. And a few others who I don’t know who also don’t follow any routine.

My routine, where blogging is concerned, involves getting up early in the morning, writing a post and posting it, reading and commenting on other blogs and checking my email and maybe responding to it.

The whole process only takes about 3 hours. I’m pretty organized. Well, I’m consistent anyways.

Of course the visit ruined my routine. As visits often do.

Each day I would be half way through writing my post when someone would pop in to visit.

And each day I would visit and spend little bits of time finishing my post before being interrupted again.

I don’t remember visiting other blogs. And I like that part of my routine the most.

There is no way to avoid surprises like this visit. I wouldn’t want there to be anyways.

But, it made me think that getting some posts done up ahead of time really would be a smart move.

And I wondered:
How do you deal with changes to your routine? Do you have an alternate plan in place? Do you just take things as they come? Do you throw a tantrum?
What do you do when your routine is changed?

We want to receive comments on what we have written.
To know that others have read what we have toiled to create.
To spark discussion on a topic we are interested in. To gain further insight and ideas that will help us all grow.
To obtain important links from others so we can return to their sites, read what they are thinking about, comment and get to know them better.
To begin building a relationship with others.

This is really the primary reason we blog. To meet and interact with like minded people.

When comments go bad

Comments are supposed to help both the writer and the reader.

The writer gains feedback into what others think of their ideas.
The person leaving a comment gets their questions answered.

Comments are not meant to be a place for personal attacks or threats.
It’s fine to challenge someone’s idea as long the challenge remains directed at the topic of the post and not the person writing it.

The problem comes when we take the challenge to our ideas personally.

When we start threatening the person for their views then we lose our credibility.
When we stop listening to what they are saying and attack we lose any possibility of reaching any common ground.

Why do comments go bad

Often people have strong opinions on a particular subject.
They read a post, strongly disagree and state their case in the comments.

Or they, like me, are learning. And something that’s said seems contradictory or confusing to them.
So they point it out and wait for clarification.

In both these cases the comments aren’t bad. It’s in how they are interpreted by someone reading them.

If the author or other commenters take issue with the comment and either ridicule it or attack the person who left it then no one is gaining from the exchange.

When it becomes a personal attack, in my opinion, it’s far better to either respond in a civil manner or, if you are the author, just delete the comment.
You can also respond to the person via email if it would help clarify your position.

As stated at the beginning comments are the lifeblood of blogs.

The authors need to remember that the purpose of allowing comments is to gain new insights.
And those leaving comments need to remember that the authors words are merely ideas for positive discussion of a topic.

What are your opinions on comments? If you disagree with the author do you leave a comment on the post or do you just leave? How do you deal with someone who attacks you in the comments?

This book is amazing. Mike and Nathan did an excellent job with creating the book.
If you haven’t already read it I’d highly recommend it. And I don’t even have an affiliate link thingy on my site so I’m not making anything out of steering you to the product.

You can find links to Beyond Blogging on Nathan’s site or Mike’s site or you can find affiliate links on one of your favorite blogs if you prefer.
Either way I would highly recommend purchasing the product even if you aren’t monetizing your site.

Yesterday I read about Gary Vaynerchuk. His work ethic is inspirational.
Gary does videos on wine which I’ve never watched and on more general topics on the site I do visit (initial link).

I remember the first time I visited his site from a link from another site a few months ago.

My first thought was who is this guy and why all the fuss about him. He looks like the average joe off the street. He’s casually dressed. He doesn’t have a fancy set. It’s just him, his words and a table separating him from his audience.

Then I watched his video. I remember the video but I remember him even more.
Gary has a way of making you feel like he is talking to you personally. One on one.

Watching one of his videos is like visiting a friend. And when you leave you look forward to visiting them again.

It’s an amazing talent and something I am working on accomplishing in my own videos.

You can check out my progress on the sidebar. I know..I have a long way to go..
But in my defense I am trying to get better. And eventually I will.

Anyways, buy Beyond Blogging if you haven’t purchased it already. You won’t be disappointed.

And check out Gary Vaynerchuk’s site if you haven’t been there. His enthusiasm is bound to rub off on you. If you have been there you already know what I mean.

Oh, and keep watching my videos. Eventually you will be able to tell your Grandchildren
“I knew that guy when he sucked..”
And they’ll say “No…you’re just joking right Grandpa (or Grandma.)”
And then you’ll mumble something about kids today and your false teeth will fall out.

So, have you read Beyond Blogging? If you have read it whose story inspired you the most?

Canadians are nice.

But, when is being nice just annoying?

Being nice is annoying when we don’t mean it.

We really aren’t “sorry” when someone bumps into us in a mall or on the street. They make us mad. We want to punch them. But we just say “sorry”.

We don’t usually say anything when someone cuts in front of us in a line. We give them a look. But we don’t say anything. Or if we do summon up the courage to say something it’s usually something like “Excuse me. I think I was ahead of you.”

Of course if they don’t agree that we were ahead of them we are more likely to just admit defeat and reply with something like “Sorry. My mistake.” followed by another look..

If a Canadian breaks the rules and is rude they are given the look by everyone around them.

Why are we like this?

When does “Get out there and win.” turn into “Have fun. It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose as long as you do your best and have fun”

To the best of my knowledge all North Americans originated from the same countries.

Did the strong willed people go south to the United States and the wishy washy people go to Canada?

When North Americans sorted themselves out did the conversation go like this;
“Excuse me. We want to live in the warmer part of North America too.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Sorry. We will stay in the land of the ice and snow.”

Did my grandparents settle in Manitoba because they wanted to or where they just being nice?

Did they ask if they could go farther west to Alberta or British Columbia and someone from there gave them the look so they said “sorry” and just settled for staying here?

Why do I feel like I am getting “the look” right now?

Editors note: If I am getting “the look” then “Sorry.”

Why does it matter? It’s not like what our friend or family member is saying is interesting anyways. If we think about something else while they talk. Not listening saves us valuable time. For something or other. Probably to listen to our own thoughts. It isn’t that it helps us learn anything. For the most part we just like to think that we are understanding what the friend or family member has said. Even though we don’t.

Why does it matter? It’s not like helping someone in need really makes a difference anyways. To help is to waste our valuable time. Which we need to learn about our life. It isn’t that helping others teaches us anything of value. For the most part we think if we help others when will we have time to get help with our problems. Which is the wrong way to think about helping.

So your question is:
Why does it matter? It not like……

A good example of this may be:

Jim is a powerful brick builder and loud speaker. He is known for his innate ability to tear down the barriers between people. Please welcome Jim as talks about 10 barriers he has smashed for his clients. Learn from Jim how you can apply his principles to smash through your walls and into success..

With todays tendency to skim posts almost anyone can be a great guest post..

The point is that we all write book loads of information every year. Several short books worth.

Writing Styles
My writing is simple. Most of the people I currently read would call it crap but because I had a bigger audience in the past I know there is a group interested in reading it.
I just create a character and a situation and let them lead me wherever they want to.

Technical articles seem hard to me. You have to research. And there are new information and new studies done all the time.

My stories are timeless. I only have to watch for jargon.
Actually, I recently looked at a few books that I read as a child and I still understand and enjoy them. Timeless..

Technical articles date quickly. So new ones have to be written just to replace old information.

If I were to market my stories there is a limited audience. And there are a mass of stories for children out there.

Technical writers also tend to have a limited market. If you write about making money you are competing with lots of other people who have written about it. Or if you write about how to use Twitter you are competing with lots of other people who are writing about how to use Twitter.

Why You Should Write an Ebook
There is a mass of everything out there.
If you don’t believe me just go to a grocery store and count the number of different kinds of boxes of cereal.

Or count the variations in automobile or bicycle models, clothing, food, housing, et.al.

The point I’m trying to make is there is room for everyone. There is room for you.

What Should I Do With My Ebook
If I were to package and market my stories to the right audience I could probably sell them. I may not ever get rich but who really knows.

The thing is that becoming rich wouldn’t really matter to me. Money is fleeting.
Being read by someone is forever.
Even longer if you are Shakespeare or Galileo..
Which you probably aren’t but who knows….maybe you just don’t know it yet…

If you have thought about doing an ebook then do it. If you don’t want to create an ebook do it anyways.
I don’t really think you have anything to lose.

I plan to do one of some of my stories in a few months. I’ll probably just give it away.

But, if you create one and charge for it there isn’t anything wrong with that either.

And if only a few people want what you produce does it really matter. Does Ford care if you buy a Focus or a Expedition. They make a sale either way.

You will have done it. It will sit on your site. Available for anyone who comes later.

And it will make writing the next one easier.

So the question for you is:

What is holding you back from creating your own ebook or book..
What do you feel you would have to lose in doing so.

The supposed logic is that people who read have actual lives.

And in theory anyways, they use weekends to party, expand their minds,contemplate real life issues, do laundry, buy food and ponder running away.

Often logic is illogical. As is the case with this logic.

Most of us sit in front of our computers for most of the day.
And weekends are like the glory days of free time to go online.

We are really, just waiting for a brilliant pointless post from someone, anyone to fill our time.

Some people post on weekends because they realize that they can grab more attention if they do. Less competition equals less competition.

Some people like Nicholas from Site Sketch 101 and Keith from Business 3.0 actually post useful information.
Which is good. Because there is less noise to detract from said information on weekends.

Some others like Seth Godin and Ari Herzog post a useful post and a fun post on weekends. To catch both types of readers I suppose. Brilliant actually..

Others like Skye and Sage pose difficult questions on weekends. Perhaps to give themselves time to think of the answers. Perhaps because there is less noise on weekends..

I post on weekends because I have no real life.
It’s sad really, but I shop during the week and do my laundry mid week as well.
I even save pondering running away for Tuesdays.

So weekends for me are completely free to read and write.

Another bit of logic blown away in a few keystrokes, I suppose..