My buddy Elizabeth sent me a tweet today to let me know she had quoted me and I thought it was so cool I wanted to share it with you. Now that wacky woman the Shmata Queen might allege I am sharing this because of my ego but I can assure you it is not.
That isn’t to say I am not pleased by this because I am, but I relate to it in a number of different ways some of which might even resonate with you.
I am right on the verge of celebrating my 9th blogiversary.
Does It Matter?
Is there any significance to hanging around for nine years? Â It is a subjective question and a subjective answer. Part of me wants to provide you with something profound and insightful and part of me wants to be that insouciant guy, the clown who loves to laugh.
I suppose it is because they are both me. I am among the most intense people you will meet and someone who people sometimes complain is never serious.
This blog is filled with examples of both. There are ridiculous posts about flying clowns, used pumps and tips on how to become a better blogger or how to leverage social media for business.
Blogging is where I rediscovered my love for writing and remembered who I am and who I want to be. It is where I shared stories of falling in love, having my heart broken, what it meant to become a father and so much more.
Sift around here and you’ll find stories about all of my grandparents. There are obituaries for three of them and memories of friends who have died.
Have You Ever Thought About Quitting?
Yeah, I have thought about hanging up my keyboard. I have thought about moving on to other things and other places. There are lots of posts here that never received a comment or a pageview, but when I thought about it I didn’t care.
Didn’t care because I write for me first.
But I looked at the time I put in and asked myself what sort of return was it yielding and decided it wasn’t easily measured. I can tell you that it has led to freelance writing jobs, sponsored posts and all sorts of other things that enable me to say I monetized this joint.
It also led to friendships and the restoration of a very important one too. There aren’t metrics to measure that kind of stuff.
And of course I would be remiss if I didn’t mention again that is has been where I figured out the answers to some personal things that are of paramount importance to me.
The Challenge
The challenge that comes with this isn’t necessarily singular in nature, although I could phrase it that way. I could say it is a question of what comes next. What do I need to do to make this more interesting or do I.
I haven’t been visiting as many blogs as I used to. Just haven’t had the time and I have taken a hit traffic wise. I am not surprised. There is a certain amount of give and take that goes on here, but for the moment I have had to adjust priorities and that is ok.
Some will keep reading and others won’t, but those that don’t because I don’t visit probably weren’t going to hang around anyway. They aren’t the brand evangelists or maybe they are.
Maybe they could have been, maybe if I spent more time cultivating relationships they would have become part of the core.
But you can add the challenge of misunderstandings to the list because some posts have enraged people. Those who know me well understand that I am rarely concerned about confrontation. I don’t fear it and sometimes I have sought it, not necessarily one of my finer qualities.
Misunderstandings are different. They are different because I usually have a good enough command of the language to say what I mean or to at least think I did. But we all fall short and I have had some awkward moments because I screwed up, that is never pleasant.
The Future Is Now
I blog at the speed of me and I write because it is what I have to do. Call it a piece of my heart and soul or a compulsion that comes from the demon within. Doesn’t really matter because either way I will do it.
It is because I am active in the present and in creating the future I want to see because the future is now.
Your thoughts as always are welcome.
I hope you never stop blogging, Jack. You complete me.
When I wrote the post about my uncle, and it didn’t make the splash I thought it would, I considered not adding new content from that point. But, eventually I come back to the mantra I started with – “I write for me” – and realize that if I get readers to share in the thoughts I publish, it really is just icing on a very satisfying cake.
The ‘net would be a boring place without The JackB. 🙂
Hi Joe,
I survive by writing for me first and everyone else afterwards. Sometimes people ignore the things we think are best for the trivial, but when you write for yourself good things happen.
Appreciate the support. Enjoy your weekend.
I quit every day. I think I have to. But then I get a thought that ruminates ’til feels like it’s going to explode if I don’t share it. So I write it down and then I quit again.
Hi Betsy,
I can relate to that feeling. Sometimes you just have to get it out.
This is the best attitude to adopt and I’m happy that you’ve decided to take it! Also, happy blogiversary as you called it! It’s a big accomplishment to be able to blog for nine years and now that you are doing it just for fun, I can you can keep going for ever longer! Don’t hang that keyboard up just yet.
Hi Alma,
Thank you. I have too much fun with this to just give up. Instead I try to alter my schedule so that it works for me.
Hope you are having a great weekend.
I’m usually, if not always, reading. I’m not commenting as much as I should. Got lots of stuff going on, impending timeframes, but I wanted to say “hey! I read today.” Lots of stories coming down the pipeline for me. Getting really busy but have a great summer. Hang in there with that crazy weather. It’s terrible down there, I know. 🙂
Yo G,
It won’t be long before the big trip. I hope you enjoy it. Don’t give up on the writing, it is worth it.