Successful Blog

Interview 16.2 Easton Ellsworth — the Blogger

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Interview and Commentary

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Yesterday, we found out that Easton is a SuperHero! He won our hearts with stories of his work at home schedule. He also shared some great comments with us and told the story of the PEZ dispenser — in the comments following the interview. Today we find out what kind of blogger Eastonis and what keeps him blogging.

How has blogging changed who you are as a person? What do you hope you will still learn from it? What so far is your greatest blogging success?

Blogging has made me more courageous and less selfish – not because of the technology, but because of the activities and relationships I’ve experienced along the way. I still hope to figure out how to decide at any given moment, what’s the most important thing to say and who to say it to, and in what way. Now there’s a lifelong pursuit! I think my greatest blogging success so far has been using blogs to benefit people in spite of opportunities to do the opposite.

What was the biggest surprise about blogging? What is the part you most enjoy? What is the part you could live without?

How personal it is. That’s what I love most about blogging, by far. I could live without the technological limitations we still have to deal with – the latency, the bugginess, the complexity under the hood.

What’s the best advice you ever got from a blogger about anything? What advice would you like to pass on?

I’ve gotten one supreme piece of advice from several bloggers, and there are several ways of saying it: Don’t give up. Be persistent. Keep at it. Stick with it. I might boil that down to one word: persevere. Change your strategy as needed, but always strive for a higher level of excellence. There’s never a lack of opportunities, only a lack of vision. So get out there, believe in yourself and your power to change the world, and use the opportunities that come to you and create them where you can’t find any. You can do it. So do it. Do it!

Easton, you are an inspiration and a friend. I feel lucky to have met you. Thank you for this interview. Thank you for being a blogger.

Meet Easton at SOBCon 07 on May 11&12 — Why SOBCon not that Other One. Register now

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Interview 15.2: Jeff Talks about the Two Myths that Get in Our Way
13.1 Meet Glenda Watson Hyatt
Interview 11.1: Rajesh Setty — Raj’s Story

Interview 16.1 Comments from Easton Ellsworth!

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Interview and Commentary

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If you read comments, you know that a great comment is hard to find. If you write them, you know why.

On some of the most readable blogs, the most readable comments are in the voice under the name of Easton Ellsworth. Easton writes a great blog post — no kidding — but he also writes the most interesting comments you might find in a comment box. People I know actually look forward to coments Easton leaves on Blogtipping Day. It’s because he’s authentic and a great guy. Here’s few comments I picked up . . . Easton is cheerful and funny. He’s also a wise man.

A HUGE key to blogging success – and also to writing success and life success – is being able to read and drink in knowledge effectively. And along with that, developing a keen sense of what constitutes good or bad writing.

Good blogs don’t write themselves – people with engaging intellects produce them. So it will be with SOBCon. I hope everyone who reads this drops what they’re doing and registers!

Off the top of my head, I’d say I work hard to connect professionals with other on the Web. That’s just one aspect of my life though … hmmm, need some time to mull it over!

Sometimes we write forward – across the table to our readers – and sometimes we write sideways – around the table to our content producing cohorts. It’s important to learn how to do both to the satisfaction of both parties.

So I wanted to introduce you to the Easton that I know. He’s a guy that’s one in a million and well worth getting to know. So let me introduce you to the first of a two-part interview.

Easton, You are more than a blogger. You’re involved behind the scenes at KnowMoreMedia, but even more you really are the face of the company. Is there anything you’d like people to know about who you are and what you do?

I want others to know that I pour my heart and soul into my job – not just my blog posts, but also my efforts to improve and promote Know More Media as a source of relevant business news and information. I spend most of my workday teaching and motivating our bloggers and reaching out to connect with others who might benefit from working with us. And that I am proud to be a work-at-home parent who knows how it feels to juggle diaper-changing and banner ads, Teletubbies and teleconferencing, grocery shopping and blog brainstorming, etc.

What were you like when you first started blogging? What was your blogging goal then? What is it now? Where would you like to be in three years if there were no obstacles?

When I started blogging in August 2005, I knew almost nothing about blogs. I stumbled across my blogging job via a part-time copywriting job that helped pay my young family’s bills while I was a full-time college student. At first, my biggest blogging goal was just to tell all the people I could about Know More Media. As I met other bloggers and made friends, helping others excel (blogging or otherwise) became my number one goal. I’ve found this to be the most rewarding and uplifting course to pursue, and I’m grateful to have met so many excellent people who feel likewise. Three years from now I would love to be with Know More Media or maybe even start my own business on the Web.

More Comments from Easton.

Ya done good thar, Liz. Ya done good. . . . post coming soon – great job making people blush, Liz!

Thanks, Easton. You look good in that blush red color. . . . Can I have a Pez?

Meet Easton at SOBCon 07 on May 11&12 — Why SOBCon not that Other One. Register now

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Interview 15.2: Jeff Talks about the Two Myths that Get in Our Way
13.1 Meet Glenda Watson Hyatt
Interview 11.1: Rajesh Setty — Raj’s Story

11.5 Rajesh Setty — About the Book: How It Got Published

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How It All Came Together

Last week and this, Raj Setty has shared thoughts and insights that expand what he wrote in Beyond Code.. He shared his personal story, how team loyalty and individual goals can work together, “The Inner Game” of attitudes and philosophy about career, life, and ambition, and “The Outer Game” of learning leadership.

Today we talk about Raj’s book, Beyond Code: Learn to Distinguish Yourself in 9 Simple Steps! how it came to be published, what he learned in that process, and advice he has for others who might want to follow his lead.

Raj, how did an IT consultant convince a publisher that he was qualified and able to write a book on how people might distiguish themselves to lead a fuller more successful life? What did you learn from the exprience? What advice for future writers do you have to share?
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11.4: Rajesh Setty — The Outer Game

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Life as a Contact Sport

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On Wednesday, Raj discussed The Inner Game and the Five Ls. He explained how attitude and philosophy toward life, career, and ambition can lead a professional to focus and improve personally. He calls the topics for self-improvement the “Inner Game” and characterizes it with the Five Ls — Learn, Laugh, Look, Leave a Lasting Impression, and Love.

Today, Raj speaks to how positive interaction with others contributes to professional and personal success. In his book, Beyond Code: Learn to Distinguish Yourself in 9 Simple Steps! Raj calls that “The Outer Game.”

Some folks might argue that the Outer Game — Leverage, Likeability, Listen, Lead — can’t be learned, that what you’ll get is manipulation. How would you answer them?

Life is a contact sport and no man is an island. Outer Game covers those practices where there are some external dependencies. For example, you have to learn to be likeable by someone ELSE. Here is the basic premise for each chapter of the Outer Game.

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11.3: Rajesh Setty — The Inner Game

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The Five Ls

Yesterday, Raj discussed participation and differentiation. He explained that team loyalty and individual goals are not mutally exclusive. He pointed out that to be a strong team member, a person needs to be self-aware and to participate as an individual as well as a team player.

Today, Raj talks about how a professional looks inward to start with a solid foundation of personal skills. In his book, Beyond Code: Learn to Distinguish Yourself in 9 Simple Steps! Raj calls that the Inner Game.

Raj, in Beyond Code, you talk about the Inner Game — Learn, Laugh, Look, Leave a lasting Impression, Love — how might you mentor someone who takes life too seriously, who has too much negative “self talk” getting in the way?

In the “Inner Game” section of the book, I cover some topics or areas where a professional can focus and improve with limited external dependencies. There are five of them. Most of them are related to the person’s attitude and philosophy towards life, career and ambition.

Here is the basic premise of each of the five chapters:

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11.2: Rajesh Setty — The Need to Participate and Differentiate

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Team Player and Individual

On Monday, Raj recalled his childhood when he authored a novel and was determined to find a publisher, though people believed it couldn’t be done. His determination paid off. By age 16 he had six books that carried his name — four novels, a collection of poems, and a book on mathematics. He was the youngest author of the state.

That beginning proved Raj a unique and thoughtful man who would always forge his own path. So, it makes sense that when as a software engineer who worked his way up, he observed and understood both the systems on which he worked and the people who worked with him. His observations and experiences led Raj back around to write Beyond Code: Learn to Distinguish Yourself in 9 Simple Steps! to help professionals recognize that success is found in personal and interpersonal understanding, not in following hot business trends.

Raj, it seems the hardest thing for team players to do is to find the balance between participation as a team member and taking opportunities to distinguish or differentiate themselves at the same time. What advice would you offer?
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