Successful Blog

The Mic Is On: We're On a Deserted Island!

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It’s Like Open Mic Only Different

The Mic Is On

Here’s how it works.

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.
The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.

What Would You Take?

There’s plenty to talk about. Here’s a few ideas to get us started:

  • What music would we listen to?
  • What books would we want to read?
  • Would there be anyone else with us? Like Gilligan?
island

And, whatever else comes up, including THE EVER POPULAR, Basil the code-writing donkey.

Oh, and bring links about the deserted island to share!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

Change the World: Forget the Kids at School, Say It Out Loud

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We Know, But We Can’t Say It

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It’s those words. They sit right up there in our foreheads. They are the important ones. More often than not, they are words kept captive there by a fear we hold dear.

We know what words they are, in our hearts we do. We know what they mean to us. We can’t say them out loud because, then we would hear them and, we might get the kind of response we got once. We know that’s not so, but knowing is one thing that is easier to say, than to do.

About three nights before SOBCon07, nearing midnight I was on the phone with a dear friend. We were talking about the conference, how the event would soon be real.

I called him by name, I said, “I’m afraid.”

As any friend would, he asked what it was making me feel that way. I saw the words, felt the words, knew the answer then. I probably knew the answer for days before this conversation took place. I felt my throat tighten to think of saying the words out loud.

I said, “I know, but let’s talk some more. I can’t tell you right now.”

A while later, the subject came up again in a natural way. I knew it was important that I say the words out loud for someone to hear. I worked my way up to give context, to build courage, to make sure that we both understood. What I said came out something like this. . . .

I’m not afraid that no one will come. I know they will. I’m not afraid that the event will not be successful. It will be an experience that the attendees will never forget. I’m not afraid of the people in the room for whom I will be speaking.

I’m afraid of the kids I went to grade school with.

He wondered what I meant. I laughed and said, “Don’t worry I can handle them.”
He said, “Please explain.” I did.

What I thought was a story that’s so universal. I said, “Remember when some kids at school made you feel small?”

But those kids had shrunk and vanished the minute I let that fear out of my head — when I said it. At that exact second, they were no longer near, they were decades ago. I knew that they had forgotten me, and I could forget about their laughter at my expense. They looked small and young in the distance.

I wish we didn’t hold a fear to say what we know is our truth waiting to be said. “I’m afraid, because of the kids I went to school with.” How silly is that? Boy am I glad that sentence is out of my head.

We hold onto sentences like that. I can’t say out loud who I am, what I’m good at, what I love, where I’m going, what I dream, what I fear, what I need, what I hope, because if I say it out loud I might hear and you might respond like the kids did at school.

Imagine if we choose wisely enough to trust and to talk out loud to folks who can see us.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

He Can't Let It Go . . . Maybe You Can't Either

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look at this

Jim Walton over at church tech matters responded to I Can’t with thoughts of his own. Hi post is well worth checking out . . .

While you’re there follow the link to the post with Clif’s comment. It’s got another powerful take on the “can’t” discussion.

And don’t miss Vern’s powerful conversation, that starts with can’t, from his post here on Sunday.

Of course, if you just can’t right now, I understand . . . completely.

Smile,

Liz's Signature

Finding our Feet

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Head to Toes

sneakers

It starts before we even think in words. We’re babies in a cradle.

We find our hands and wonder. . . what the heck might these things be? Somehow we see the two hands and soon we learn how to make them move. It’s a little later when we realize they’re attached to us, though.

The party that is our life begins. Our hands symbolize interaction. We wave “hello.” We touch a face, wipe a tear, hand a flower . . . We use our hands to make our ideas into something more than thoughts. Our hands make them real.

In school we learn ways to use our hands.

Ah, but our feet. From the first our feet are further from our head. We have to reach to touch them. We put them in shoes. In some ways, we take them for granted until they’re hurt. They’re in charge of transportation.

We’ve found our feet when we claim our place to stand.

We find our hands in our infancy. It can take a lifetime to find our feet.

My son left for real life today.

Liz's Signature

The Idea Dude Is Connecting Dots . . . Connecting Us

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Introducing logo

a writer I admire, the.idea.dude, Vernon Lun — Successful Blog’s newest arrival.

Behind the curtain at The Good Blogs, you’ll find, Vernon — and his partner Tony — reading every good outstanding blog that makes it into their amazing directory. The blogs that Vernon selects are a reflection of his values — quality, heart, intelligence, and spirit. I know. I’ve been talking with him since before SOBCon07.

Vern has natural insight and wisdom. Gosh he gets my brain going — check this post about his personal blog’s first birthday for proof.

Did you see that list of what he says he’s learned?

Vernon is not one to let the world know of his talents. But I am.

Did you know that . . .

  • Aaron Brazell, Director of Technology at b5 media said, . . . Vernon Lun . . . actually created the tool that allowed us to clone the design with unique colors and logos across all the [blogs.]
  • Vernon’s got a Ph.D. from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. In his thesis he formulated a framework for distributed real-time intelligence.
  • Vernon’s words are sticky. See how Vern’s idea stuck with Haydn Shaughnessy. I hope the debate over collective wisdom is not over because every time somebody else puzzles over it we stand a chance of writing what Vernon Lun recently referred to as a digital sociology. Few writers can do that.

Vernon’s elegant thoughts and generous heart make such things happen. They also have me jazzed to announce Vernun is writing for Successful-Blog beginning today!!!

Connecting Dots logo

Vernon’s column, Connecting Dots, is exciting and something uniquely Vernon. Vern’s a master at perceiving relationships that take us from one thought to another. So Vern’s going to take us with him as he travels the living web on that silver thread that connects us all.

The Idea Dude is connecting dots for our reading pleasure.

Like peanut butter and chocolate, it’s time we got together.

On a rare occasion, the reality is better than the vision.

Liz's Signature

For the sake of continuity, I’m publishing Vern’s first column right below this one . . . It’s called Connecting Dots.

Connecting Dots

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Connecting dots with The Idea Dude

Connecting Dots logo

Being asked to be a guest blogger for Liz Strauss is akin to being asked to be the opening act for The Rolling Stones. There’s an expectation to be “knock your socks off” great. Of course, this is all in my head, because Liz, in her sublime way, would say, “be yourself.”

It is inevitable that Liz and I would cross paths one day, we were both on similar quests… “to celebrate good blogs.” So this spot in particular is devoted to connecting the dots. Dots being blogs from Liz’s list and mine at TheGoodBlogs. Perhaps the best way to describe this is to show you. . . .

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All blogs don’t start off as conversations, they start because something tugs at you enough to want to share. Blogs have made the Internet personal and it is the personal nature that brings me back to visit your blog again and again. Take Liz’s post about the word can’t for example, she made it personal because at the end, she says It seems to make me smaller. When you read that, you know something happened that day that may have seemed impossible but she found a way to overcome that sense of helplessness. It got me thinking of how impossibility would make me feel small too.

Being personal is infectious.

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I headed over to Sean and he asked the question Can it be that all our choices are dominated by fear? So is can’t a reflection of reality or a reflection of our fear? Hmmm… Food for thought. Sean made his fear personal. He said, So I want to tell you a story. About me. Having followed his blog, I can tell you his entries that resonate the most with me are the ones that grab him in his gut so much he needs to share, the ones that stop him dead in his tracks and makes him think. It makes me think too.

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My good friend, Ben, talks about whether bloggers always follow their own advice. His fear or concern? His blog may cease to be a mirror of him. He tells us, he doesn’t want to speak for the sake of speaking, to walk the walk and don’t just talk the talk. My interpretation is that it is really a reminder to himself to keep his terrific blog real and not post merely to feed the Google juice. Ben says his blog is a reminder to him of what he should be doing. In doing so, he becomes our mentor of what we should be doing too. Ben is being personal.

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And sometimes being personal and sharing doesn’t have to have a lesson. Amy shared her Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad Day. It would be hard for any parent not to empathize with her. Wikipedia calls empathy a kind of emotional resonance… that’s deep. I concur. Judging from the comments to that post, Amy’s sharing resonated. I’m sure a few moms who read that felt a little better on Friday to know they weren’t alone.

Although none of the bloggers contrived to participate in a conversation, they succeeded in creating one in my head. Many of the bloggers above may or may not know each other…yet. But they were unknowingly bound together by their ideas, thoughts and emotions. They provided the dots. Liz gave me the crayon to connect them. The way I connected them was personal. It made me feel richer and some kind of wonderful.

Have an awesome week!

Vern, The Idea Dude