Your blog still bores me. The last time I wrote about that I received all sorts of fun reader feedback from people who said that I was too negative and kind of mean. It makes me yearn for the good old days when I used to share posts I called Reader Gratitude.
Speaking of Gratitude I have a guest post running on that very topic tomorrow. It is going to be over at Al’s place. I like Al even though he doesn’t know a damn thing about college football.
Improve Your Time Management Skills is the kind of headline that makes me yawn. I suppose that it is a bit unfair for me to say especially since I say that headlines are overrated but it is part of life’s lovely double standards.
I blame the 99% for making me grumpy. The 53% irk me too and so do the 1%. Maybe it is because I am tired of being told that I am part of the 99% that the 53% make fun of. Or maybe it is because I secretly wish that I was part of the 1% that the 99% hate for all sorts of reasons, some based upon logic and some upon myth.
Don’t know about you but this post isn’t supposed to involve higher math so we are going to drop it right now. Done, gone, finito.
Speaking of done and gone Joe Paterno’s career just flamed out and I don’t feel badly about it. Joe Pa as some call him screwed the pooch. If you know that someone is molesting children you don’t tell your boss and then pretend it is over and done with. You make sure that your boss does something about it.
And if you are Joe Paterno you have no excuse because when this happened you were already a legend at the university. You weren’t some rookie coach who feared losing his job because he rocked the boat.  But you blew it and didn’t see it through. And then you blew it again when you didn’t tell a group of moronic college students to stop causing trouble.
You should have said that you were fired because you made a serious mistake. You should have said that you were sorry and that it was time for them to go back to class but you didn’t and that is sad.
I Am Not A Saint
I am not a saint. My life has places where there are ugly red splotches and I expect that I will continue to make mistakes. My hope and my goal is that I will do something about them. Every day I try to be a better person- doesn’t mean that I succeed but I try.
The children and I talk about this. We talk about how good intentions can still lead to a bad outcome. We talk about how sometimes we make mistakes because we didn’t know then what we know now. The goal is to learn, grow and try to avoid these things so that we don’t repeat them.
Why I Keep Writing About Nanowrimo
I keep writing about Nanowrimo because it keeps it front and center in my mind. I keep writing about it because it is part of my own effort to improve my time management skills. It helps keep me focused. My friend Stephen King suggests that when we are working on our first draft we should avoid letting others read our words.
There is a lot of merit in that suggestion. More than a few people have written or left comments that contradict each other. Some of you love when I write posts like this and this but some prefer this.
I don’t spend time trying to figure out who is right or wrong. That is not because there isn’t value in that but because the story I am writing now is tied into the fire I feel in my belly. I want that fire to come through in my words because I think that is what will draw the readers in.
Theoretically it might be smarter to try to write for the people and to follow more closely a formula that has proven itself. I just don’t want to do that now. There is something inside me that is pushing me the other direction and I am following that voice.
Besides I have an audience in my head that I am writing for. I can see their faces and hear their voices. I know where my North star is and I am following my guide.
I told the universe that I was open to opportunities and possibilities and answers are flowing.
What about you?
Some readers or viewers might find your blog boring, but some aren’t…just write what you like and love…they’ll like and love you eventually…
Ricci,
I agree with writing about what you like and love provided that there is some passion there. That doesn’t always happen.
It’s hard to write a compelling headline. It’s even harder to write a compelling headline for a story prompt, and I’ve been doing that four times a week for almost a year now, so… yeah, “improve your time management skills” is boring as all hell. I understand the people who capitulate and start writing these meh headlines, because being creative on a systematic basis is not easy.
“Kick your time-wasting habits in the nards forever,” now there’s a proper headline.
Or…. “How to Run a Nightmare Company and Scare the Living Sh*ts Out of Your Customers”
Or “Turn Your Worst Weakness Into a Cash Cow” (Trust me, if I knew how to do that, I’d be rich by now. I’d love to see any accredited professional -like a marketer with a postgrad diploma in depth psychology- turn that into a course or workshop. I’d attend.)
You know what’s really lacking in most business blogging? A little bit of humor and a little bit of personality. I like places such as ihatepeople.com and GruntledEmployees because they’re snarky.
John, I don’t think that I have ever seen you fall flat. I have seen headlines that I thought were better than others but overall you always have a kick to them.
Some people just consistently mail it in. It is not just bad headlines but the lack of effort in their posts that makes me roll my eyes.
Gruntled Employees- Got to love the name, how could you dis them. 😉
Hi Jack,
I LOVE this: “I told the universe that I was open to opportunities and possibilities and answers are flowing.” but you had to know I would! I use the power of the question a lot and trust that the answers will come. One I’m asking now: why did my comments section on my blog freeze up yesterday, killing my post and will it miraculously work today? But I digress. You asked; the Universe provided answers and opportunities. Can it be as simple as that?! Imagine all the wonderful questions we’re NOT asking 😮 And let’s ASK them! 😉
Lori
Well Lori I asked the questions and now I am waiting/listening/receiving answers.
It has been interesting to say the least.
Oh Jack, you’re hurting my sensitive feelings, calling out boring blogs and picking at headlines.
Just kidding, I love your down-to-business approach and honesty. Keep at it!
-Beard
Beard,
I can tell that you have been shamed into trying harder. 😉 Some of our brethren step on my cranky nerves but that is ok because it provide blog fodder.
More importantly there is no one right way to do this so…
Hi Jack
I actually read that article on Time Management! I concur, though, and your article comes at a time when I’m committing myself to doing the very same thing and writing from my heart – perhaps from my suppressed angel’s heart because, for too long, I’ve written what I thought others wanted to hear and not what I wanted to say. Thanks for the words of encouragement.
I say write what you feel and what you know. Let your heart sing its song and good things will happen.
That is not hype or hyperbole on my part- it is absolutely what I believe.
I suck at headlines and even I know that’s a bad one. My cheat is usually to use some variety of Suck… Suck Less At Time Management… same thing, still crappy, yet slightly more captivating.
For the record, I have no idea how you tied that all together, but damn that flowed…
Practice, practice, practice and it all gets easier or so they tell me. Ask Paul Wolf about Natural Talent.
It is worth reading:
http://www.onespoonatatime.com/do-you-believe-in-natural-talent
What about me? I know now I will have to change my Monday post – Improve Your Time Management Skills…..
Big Al won’t like you dissing his Crimson Tide.
Joe Pa, wow. Bobby Bowden thought his exit was inglorious. What was inexcusable was letting this predator back on campus to run the youth programs knowing they already had tangible evidence this guy was real scum. They did the right thing cleaning house, but there will be more to come; I think this will be deeper and more sordid than people would care to hear about.
Keep on pluggin’ away sir; it’s what we do best.
I have read a few of the “reports” about what might be coming- nasty stuff.
It is inexplicable and inexcusable what happened there. Simply sickening.