Successful Blog

Too Many New Blogs Too Fast?

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Beach Notes
by Guest Writer Suzie Cheel

I was feeling a bit of overwhelm in the blogging department today. Then I realized that in the past six weeks the number of blogs I own and/or contribute to has gone from just one to five – one a week!

  1. The Abundance Highway blog has been the main site for my blogging activity for the past year.
  2. I became co-author on Thinking Home Business. I was wanting to write more on blogging and making money online and realized it didn’t really fit on The Highway.
  3. I launched Zen Law of Attraction, as an offshoot of The Abundance Highway.This transpired after i wrote an article on To Niche or not to Niche, that generated a traffic surge as well as lots of commentary and food for thought.
  4. Inspired by Richardink.com I found a way to put Suzie’s Art Studio online. this is one of my loves and passions that I had put on the back burner for the past year or so. this was blog four to write on.
  5. I became a guest blogger here at Successful Blog.

Objectively, madness. But definitely fun.

Actually, I don’t recommend starting so many new blogging ventures in such a short space of time.

On the other hand, I have learned a lot. I’ve learned is that I really do love blogging. I wasn’t so sure before. There were days when i thought is this what I want to do?

I have learnt the importance of planning out the new blog before you begin. Being an artist I also can spend far too much time on the look of the blog, only to find that what looks a simple design doesn’t always work. I am looking forward to the day when I either learn how css works or pay someone to make me my own unique templates.

Another, related lesson is that when I get “in the groove” it’s really easy and enjoyable to write and I can produce a good blog post quickly and without stress.

Next time I’ll write about what I do to get in the groove.

Suzie writes on Law of Attraction at Abundance Highway and you can see her wonderful Art scarves and Art Quilts at Suzie Cheel

Have a Dream

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Can we talk about . . .

something to look forward to.

In the business of living, we need three things: food clothing, and shelter.
But even folks who live in house with designer wardrobes and chef-prepared meals aren’t immune from feeling stuck and sometimes feeling hollow.

Tuscan cafe

On a level higher than those three needs is a sense that our lives have purpose and meaning. It’s part of our humanity to want something we live for, something we look forward to doing or being.

Have a dream.

Don’t just have that dream, though. Put it on the horizon and make a path to it. Start working and walking in it’s direction. Picture yourself at inside it.

See the dream that you want, think that dream’s thoughts.

Live the dream. Make it your life’s business to be it.

Liz's Signature

image: xch.hu

The Attraction of Blogger Conversation

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I've been thinking . . .

about folks getting lost in the blogger conversation.

Meeting friends on the Internet is seamlessly efficient. We click in, look around, and stay only if we find thoughts that are attractive. If we choose to click away, we cause no pain. We’re merely blips — stats in a calculation. If we stay, we often become part of a conversation.

We become part of a community of bloggers.

Bloggers like to think with each other. We ideate. We imagine. We suggest problems and then solve them. We open our heads and our hearts to each other. When we meet in person we hug rather than shake hands like strangers. A blogger conversation is built on trust and transparency that takes time to find in the concrete world. It’s incredibly attractive.

So we find ways to bring the bloggerly conversation into our 3-D spaces. We talk in taxis, restaurants, and airports. We twitter from hotel bedrooms and during business meetings. We send messages from commuter rail stations.

We talk about blogging culture in our own blogging language. Do you see signs that some of us view the world as “those who blog” and “those who don’t” — with the first being better and more interesting? Do you see nonbloggers who think the exact opposite? Are we becoming “us and them”?

Will we lose the gifts of our on the ground friends while we talk to our tribe of bloggers? Will we one day find that those friends have moved on because we’ve lost the intimate connection?

I wonder. The blogger conversation is so attractive.

Liz's Signature

Change the World: Be a Bridge

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Head, Heart, and Meaning!

changetheworld8

I arrived home from nine day journey, thinking about all of the ways we move forward and around in our lives. Some ways are reflective, slow, and private.

horse and carriage by Andrew Dubber

Some take us to a crossroads that require a decision in due time.

Some transport us over calm or troubled waters.
Wacker Bridge by Wendy Piersall

But the best parts of the journey are when we have friends, offering their experiences and insights. They offer hope when we’re on the darkest ride. They’re like human bridges as we move through our careers and through our lives.

Bridges make roads seem more worth traveling. They can shorten a journey or offer a chance to think about where we’re going.

Bridge by xch.hu

Bridges can offer a lighted way to the other side.

After nine days traveling to see people I’ve met here and people who’ve never been to the blogosphere, I look at the Internet with new eyes. The interwoven content, context, and human relationships of the blogging Internet is network of bridges.

We were all new here once . . .

If we could offer an irresistible invitation, a sweet introduction, and a lighted bridge, people who never dreamed of talking might connect in a conversation that was more than meaningful and more than right.

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

Image sources: Andrew Dubber, bjmccray, Wendy Piersall, xch.hu (see alt tags)

What Do You Do in a World of Too Much Noise?

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Seth and Dave Are Right

relationships button

Last night a trackback didn’t make it here. I saw the link in the list at the broken Technorati index. Dave Olson was asking, “Is it getting really noisy in here?” Dave mentioned that Seth feels it too.

On the other hand… it also seems to be getting harder and harder to find original content. Seth Godin noted that yesterday. Too much noise… not enough signal.

Brings up an interesting phenomenon I think. When given too many choices, people often opt out of the whole decision.

I’ve been thinking about the same thing for some time. As I look back at what I’ve been doing my answer seems to be how I always respond to too many voices shouting at the same time.

I’ve backed away to get some perspective. I’ve tried to sort the messages into meaningful chunks. I’ve gone outside. I’ve talked to people who don’t listen. I’ve listened to people who don’t talk at all.

Now I talk to one person at a time and when I do, I talk as softly as I might.

It’s easier to listen to what folks are saying if we don’t shout back to be heard. It’s easier to hear whether their noisy words have meaning when they are away from the crowd. It’s far easier to know whether the crowd’s talking wisdom when we check in with the world on the ground.

Maybe our circle has become too focused on the people inside.

Dave’s blog post ends with “What do you do?”

I finely tune my personal frequency — that value I most admire. I adjust my signal to a low decibel and broadcast my strongest message as clearly and as often I can.

Head, heart, and meaning are important.
Head, heart, and meaning are the keys to life.

What do you do in a world of too much noise?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. I’m checking in the hotel today!

Promise Yourself to Build Your Confidence

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Keep a Promise to Yourself

Personal Identity logo

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. —Robert Frost

Do you keep your promises?

Kept promises inspire people to invest in us. When we keep promises, folks we work with are never left wondering. They’re sure that we’re solid, true, and worth betting on. They have confidence in us and in what we say.

A promise is a commitment. It’s my word. It’s my bond. I make good on my promises. Broken promises break relationships. Kept promises seal them.

What happens when I break a promise to myself?

Suppose I plan to get something done, then decide “Aw, that can wait.” What’s the impact? How do I respond when I don’t follow through? I’ve been watching, and it’s a bigger hit than I want to take.

When I back out of a plan with myself, it’s the same as breaking a promise with someone else. I know that I didn’t do what I said I would. I lose credibility — with myself. When I do what I plan, I feel credible, capable, and confident. I know I am who I say I am.

I’m making more promises to myself and keeping them. My confidence grows with each one. Other people have started to notice.

We build confidence by keeping promises.

What promise to yourself will you make and keep today?

-ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!