Mind the Beginner

A few hours ago an e-mail entered my inbox. Sent by Problogger, a blogger you might now as Darren Rowse, one of the biggest bloggers out there and one of the happy few who makes a six figure income by blogging.

A long time ago when I started this blog Darren was offering a cycle of the 31 Days to Building a Better Clog challenge. I eagerly jumped on the project and the following 31 days was total pandemonium. Thousands of bloggers took part in the challenge to make their blog a better blog in just 31 days. Every day a new assignment would come online and we’d all implement what Darren was suggesting and follow things up with discussing about the assignments on the forum. THousands of bloggers doing so at the same time, hundreds of bloggers looking at each others blogs.

In 31 days my blog got a really good start in it’s digital life and the lessons learned are still being applied to this day. Now you must be wondering, what does that mail have to do with things and why am I trying to sell you something?

The truth is, yes this is an attempt to sell and the link I’m offering here is an affiliate link. << Click

Now I might have already lost you right there, I sure hope not because I have a very good reason to do this. By following the link you will be taken to the product page, but what it doesn’t tell you as far as I can tell is the temporary (7 days) bonuses that are on offer.

• A report by the name of 9 Things to Do to Get Your Blog On Track for the New Year – it is a 9 day extension of the 31 Day workbook and contains 9 extra tasks, particularly designed for the new year. This means you have 40 days of exercises to get you going.

• A 55 minute podcast with Leo Babauta from ZenHabits.net – this podcast is rich with tips on how Leo has launched his blogs and leveraged them to sell successful e-books and a best selling book.

• A 45 minute podcast interview with Neil Patel from Quicksprout.com – another practical podcast with Neil on how to drive traffic to blogs as well as tips on personal branding, SEO and more.

Now If you are still with me after all that you might be wondering why I’m doing this, why am I lowering myself to this shameless promotion. It’s a simple truth: blogging is an enrichment of your life, at the very least you become skilled in putting your thoughts to words and sharing your thoughts with others. By themselves writing skills are already very useful. Interaction is very likely to follow and you’ll get in touch with people who share your way of thinking or are really interested in what you have to say.

The main item itself is a workbook filled with tasks to get your blog up to speed. If you’re a first time blogger or thinking about writing a blog but don’t know where to begin this is just about the best resource around. You can work through the workbook in your own time and have it all in a nice bundle.

To sum things up: No, this blog is not permanently lowering the standards. I just feel that if you plan on blogging, have a beginning blog or have a writers urge then this really is a good place to start.I really do endorse this product, the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog is the single most significant thing that helped me start this blog and give it the flying start.

It won’t have gone unnoticed by now that my posting frequency has dropped dramatically. There is a high correlation between this phenomenon and the hours I’m spending on my homework. Take this weekend for example, I’ve been working roughly eight hours spread over the last two days trying to solve SQL queries. Problogger warns against this type of post but I’m still going to put it up: I’m sorry for the lack of posts and I must confess I don’t see things lighten up in the next weeks.

So here’s the new plan:

You will get at least one (1) proper post from mere on this blog every week! I’m temporarily backing down a bit. After all, the real world still is just that bit more important than the online world. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s just that I’m working on a sure fire way to have a good income through the 9-5 way. It’s everything we lifestyle designers are against but blogging about it, or blogging in general will never support my life. I have to find better ways, and more importantly, safer ways.

I’ll be more than happy to spend weeks without working, knowing that I can get a very good paying job quickly than linger in the online world kicking against that evil wage slave world while I can’t seem to sustain myself. I’m hoping to set up some sort of side income through the online world, but I don’t (realistically) expect it to ever make me enough money to fuel all my dreams. But that’s okay, I know there are a lot of lifestyle designers out there that make it and earn more than they can spend while traveling all over the world. I’m just not one of them (yet). It’s all because I chose a different path, a traditional one and one that I want to finish before I try all sorts of crazy/insane/brilliant ways of generating a side income.

Seeing as most passive side incomes are generated through internet and I do have a soft spot for this type of income (who doesn’t) it’s not more than natural I will try this in the future. At the same time I’m currently learning all sorts of new computer skills (new to me at least) through university and I expect to be able to do some simple programming within a year from now. That alone will generate an income. Blogging will chip in a bit when I move over to my own domain.

But as things stand, this blog is put on a slow simmer with an occasional proper blogpost. After all I’m still a quality seeker and I’d hate to flood you with all kinds of bad blogposts just so you have something to read.

Actually it’s a trait I’ve been seeing develop on more blogs in this area of the sphere. Less frequent posts but the ones that do come out are good stuff. So my dear reader, that’s what you can expect on this blog the oncoming weeks/months. Less posts but “still kicking ass with a zen twist”

I’ve quoted this one before but it’s actually a huge reason for me to have this blog:

• To learn: read
• To know: write
• To master: teach

There is only so much you can do for yourself by reading self-help books, blogs on personal development and other sources. Most people who realize this quickly become bloggers themselves in order to put to writing what they have learned. Over time -months or years- these people become experts of sorts in their fields. They know what they write and they practice what they preach.

Take Jonathan Mead over at Illuminated Mind for instance . I don’t believe could have quit his regular job and gain his freedom if he didn’t blog about it. The same goes for Darren Rowse aka Problogger. Although there was little on blogging in the early days when he started (so he couldn’t read much) he quickly took to writing about it and thus really getting in to the know of blogging.

And now there is me. I’m a zen enthusiast but it’s hard to grasp what zen is about. By writing about it and time and time again trying to put to words what it means I’ve gotten a far better idea on what zen actually is. Hopefully the same goes for you. Through reading you get to learn things that others write about and thus know.

It’s personal development on a new level. Helping others by writing about your experiences will steer them in directions they didn’t know existed. Although truly conveying and experience is impossible you can get people to look in a certain direction.

Not only does personal development this way help you develop yourself but in doing so you help others who are willing to read what you’ve put to words. You get feedback through comments (your readers start writing/knowing) and you all gain new insights. A repeating cycle where eventually you -the writer- gains so much knowledge that you start to teach others. You mastered what you learned.

Again, Jonathan and Darren are perfect examples. They set out to achieve something and now that they are there they want to help others get there too. Darren teaches bloggers how to build a better blog and Jonathan teaches you how to reclaim your dreams and cut the cubicle umbilical cord.

Two prime examples of writers who know so much they now teach to master their field. The very tip of the personal development pyramid.

So it’s up to you now…. do you want to learn? Keep reading. Do you want to know? Start writing. Do you want to master? Read a lot, write about your passions and teach whatever it is you want to master.

It’s a long way up, but from everything I’ve read, it’s awesome up there! It’s the ultimate in personal development.

Okay, so here it is again back by demand. I skipped number 13 and now it’s on to number 14. With further distractions here are the numbers:

Average number of pageviews over this week: 171 without going “viral” this week. So they’re real numbers. Last time I had 230, but that was with a huge spike in there. They didn’t stick, obviously.

Number of subscribers to my RSS feed: 68, yesterday it was at 69. That’s 10 more than the last upate. If this trend continues I should reach the 100 in a month. (And transfer my blog to it’s own domain as I told you in my previous post.)

Where the traffic is coming from: No surprises here as well, the usual suspects are getting me traffic. Stumble, Google, Twitter, other blogs. They’re all pitching in to make nice numbers.

What I have done this week to get my blog bigger and what I learned: Well, the biggest lesson is trying to stay focused is hard. I haven’t done much with Project Mojave for weeks now and I haven’t been online much. I could say “I’m going to do it this week” but those are just words on a screen. No, it’s action hat’s required and so action it will be.

I actually havn’t done anything actively to get this blog bigger. It’s slowly growing by itself. I think I’ll have another look at all the info I got through the 31DBBB challenge from problogger and see if there are little gems in there I can utilize to make the blog grow just a bit faster and get more sticky traffic.

I’ve also learned something valuable concerning good vs bad I’ll b sharing in a blogpost next week, so stay tuned.

Well, there you have it, the weekly update is back on Saturday. The new goal is 100 subscribers and after that I’ll hunt for those 500 pageviews a day. This topic isn’t exactly about zen, or lifestyle design or personal development for that matter. That’s why I write it on Saturday, a slow day on blogs in general (and Sunday is my day offline). This ongoing topic is to show you the process behind this blog, and to give you a more personal look at me, the grandma guy behind the screens as far as you don’t get it through my blogposts.

I’ve found an interesting new source of insiration by the way. I’ve quoted from it once via twitter so far in the last days. Here’s a challenge for you: Find that tweet and either send it back to my by direct message or (if I’m not following you yet) send me an @ tweet telling me I should follow you because you have the answer. The first three people to get it right get to tell me a subject they want me to write about and I will do so, along with a linkback to their blog (always nice to boost your technorati rank)  and everlasting glory.

Good luck, and spread the word about my blog. As a last note, is it wrong for me to shamelessly ask you to linkback to my blog if you have a blog yourself?

[update]

Alan Perlman found it, two more to go…

Ralph Carlson found it, who will be number three?

[/update]

I’ve had several questions lately about what certain terms are that I’ve been using here. Well, to make things a bit clearer I’m going to provide you with a post on  terms that are being used in the personal development and lifestyle design niche. It’s by no means complete though and I urge you to add more in the comments.

• Let’s start with some names first

Tim Ferris This name really should ring a bell. It’s the guy that started it all (for me at least) He’s the author of “The four hour workweek” and blogger writing about “experiments in lifestyle design”. He’s living the life so many of us want to. It’s probably why his book is so popular, it talks about a something that seems a fantasy and he claims can be reality. However, there are those who believe the four hour workweek to be a lie.

Leo Babauta Blogger over at zenhabits.net and author of the book “the power of less”. Has radically redesigned his life to what he wanted. I could explain it all but it’s easier to read this page.

Jonathan Mead Blogger over at Illuminated mind and author of “reclaim your dreams”. He also writes for zenhabits and lateral action. Someone who really kicks ass in the virtual world stating what it’s really all about without being gentle. He regularly kicks against what people think is reality and gets your head back out of the clouds.

Carl Nelson A friend, blogger at slacker reform, professional lindy hopper, vagabond, philosopher and rising start in the location independence world.

Corbett Barr Blogger at freepersuits writing about lifestyle design, another rising start in the community.

Rolf Potts Author of “vagabonding”, the second book that’s an essential read to anyone who wants to become location independent. Not from the perspective of how to get there, but on what to do when you’ve got it.

Darren Rowse Also known as problogger. A full time blogger making a six figure income through it and a huge name in the blogosphere. Anyone who takes blogging seriously has heard is name and has probably visited his blog as well. A great resource for anything blogrelated.

Seth Godin Writer of a lot of (11 so far) books on diverse subjects in the direction of market development and business.  A name you’ll see pop up from time to time, so I thought I’d mention him.

Steve Pavlina This guy might just be the original personal development blogger. He’s been blogging since 1 oktober 2004

• Some essential literature

The four hour workweek (4HWW) The book that got it all started, or at least put things on the map. In a nutshell this book teaches you how to find an online market, set everything up, automate it and reduce the number of hours you work to the bare minimum while keeping a descent income so you can spend your time on other things.

The Power of less Leo’s book, a nice summary of all his blogposts that will get you up to speed on minimalist thinking when it comes to daily life.

Vagabonding The book about extended world travel or how to “live out of a backpack” for months or yours. Perhaps even giving up a home and constantly traveling the world.

Reclaim your dreams An  eBook on getting away from the 9-5 till 65 life. You can read my review of it here

• Some often used terms

Lifestyle design Everything that has to do with living your life like you want to live it. Severing the ties that keep you from doing what you want to be doing. For most people this means quitting their job (a major timesuck where they are not in control) and setting up an alternative income through Internet. This frees up time so one can do all those things that one dreams of but never does. It’s getting rid of preconceptions that life has to be a certain way just because your parents lived that way or the education system has taught you how to live.  In short: It’s thinking for yourself on how you want to live your life and doing everything you can to live that life right now! Corbett over at Freepersuits has dedicated a blogpost to the subject that’s far more comprehensive that the definition I give here. If you’re interested you can find that blogpost by following this link. It’s a great read and will get things crystal clear.

Muse. A term used by Tim Ferris to describe the thing that generates the Internet income. His muse is a food supplement he’s selling online. Probably by now it’s also his blog and his book.

Vagabond. A person who travels for extended periods of time where not the destination but the travel is important and where at times there is no plan on where to go or on how long to stay there.

Digital Nomad. A vagabond with a laptop and other technical devices who has an Internet income and manages that through his laptop while vagabonding.

Location Independent Professional (LIP). A professional who isn’t bound to a location in order to make an income. More often than not these people generate their income through Internet and might just be called digital nomads as well. That is, if they choose to travel. Being location independent means you can go wherever you want, it doesn’t mean you have to.

Freedom business. This term is used in Project Mojave to describe an Internet business (selling an information product) that generates an income that’s significant enough to quit ones dayjob and become free. This means it consistently generates an income of some 2-4k a month depending on your needs. Also, this business requires little “maintenance” so you have an income that costs little time as well. Although you might not reach the 4 hours a week, it’s definitely doable with about 10 hours a week.

Project Mojave An online program where Clay Collins and some others teach you how to set up a freedom business, in three months or less.

Personal development The ongoing effort to develop oneself and keep learning. Learning new skills, keep questioning ones thoughts, beliefs and habits. You probably know people who do the same thing every day like clockwork. Have a dayjob, don’t read, don’t try new things or whatever. These people don’t develop any further for they don’t expose themselves to new things.

Well, that’s it for now, I hope you will all contribute to this blogpost by adding more names, blogs and terms to the comment section.  If you have any questions or if what I’ve written in this blogpost is just pain wrong or hopelessly incomplete please do let me know.

If you liked this blogpost please to give it a “thumbs up” on stumble, digg it, tweet it and use smoke signals to tell others. I’d really appreciate it.