Two years ago this week I finally launched a real blog.
Sure, I’d written blog posts in the past. They were sporadic, forming only when inspiration randomly struck, and with no through-line in terms of content, form, or style.
Unsurprisingly they weren’t well written or widely received. How could they be? I was bad at blogging because I hadn’t done enough of it to develop my talent. And then Seth Godin, of course, changed my life.
“Everyone should write a daily blog.”
That was never going to happen. Not for me, at least, with the insane travel schedule I was barely managing. Still, the point was well taken. Nobody is born a great blogger, podcaster, filmmaker, chef, accountant, magician, pilot, lawyer, or center fielder. We are bad, and then we are bad, and then we are slightly less bad, and we improve gradually over time.
So I committed to a weekly blog. Not for a month, or even a year. Forever.
What?!
I know, I know. Why not give it a go for just a month or two, to give myself an out in case I really didn’t enjoy it?
Because it would have been too easy to give up.
In committing to writing a weekly blog forever I redefined my relationship with it. The blog would not be a creative endeavor that required inspiration to strike. It would be a professional obligation, a promise I made to myself and my audience, no matter how large or small, that I would uphold because that’s the kind of professional I am.
And that’s precisely what I’ve done.
The blog comes out every Wednesday at 8am (for email subscribers on Eastern Standard Time). In two years I’ve never missed.
Does something new, innovative, or exciting somehow happen to me once every 7 days? Of course not. I write about something interesting every week because the blog goes out on Wednesday, not the other way around.
Lessons Learned
In no particular order, here are some observations from two years of weekly blogging:
- Writing is a skill, not a gift.
- When you get into the habit of looking for interesting things to write about, interesting things happen more often.
- Something worth writing about happens at least once a week, if not every day.
- If you write like you speak, you’ll never struggle to put words on the page.
- Your best-received blog posts are rarely the ones you spend the most time carefully crafting.
- People are impressed simply that you produce content on a regular basis.
- More people that you’d imagine are interested in what you have to say (just look at the positive responses from readers with fancy titles and in positions of power).
- Less people than you’d hope are interested in what you have to say (just look at the number of subscribers).
- Your opinions change more often than you realize. Read back your own entries from last year if you don’t believe me.
- You will absolutely run out of things to write about.
- When you realize the blog is due tomorrow, you will magically find something to write about.
- You’ll be wrong sometimes.
- When you’re wrong, you’ll learn something new about yourself or the world.
- Your next blog post will be about why you were wrong and what you learned since then.
- People will start to see you as an authority on your subject matter simply because you write about it every week.
- Some days you will feel like an imposter when people treat you like an authority. You are right.
- Some days you will feel exactly like the authority people treat you as. You are right.
If you’ve always wanted to start a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel, the time is always now.
Commit before you begin
Decide right now that blogging (podcasting, YouTubing, etc) is going to be a regular part of your life from here on out. If you think you might quit in a month, don’t even start. It’s not worth the effort, or the time.
Make the announcement publicly. Put it on your socials and tell your friends. “I am now a blogger. My blog is about _____ and it comes out every ______.”
“That’s great!” they’ll say. “Good for you. I can’t wait to read it!”
They won’t read it.
And that’s okay.
Because in the end, your blog isn’t for the people who already know you, for the person you are today. It’s for the people you haven’t met yet, and the person you’ve yet to become.
Through your writing you’ll rediscover parts of yourself you’ve long forgotten, uncover parts of yourself you never knew were there, and invent brand new pieces of the ever-evolving puzzle that is your unique identity.
The most beautiful thing?
Soon you’ll discover you’re not so unique, after all. There are dozens, hundreds, or thousands of others who see the world just like you do. You’ll form true connections with people in distant lands and of varied backgrounds.
This community of others will light you up in a way you never thought possible. And all because you decided to say something, anything, for no other reason than…
It’s Wednesday.
My Favorite Posts
Here are some of my personal favorite blog posts from the past two years, with no explanation. They are not necessarily the most popular.
Finding Joy in Anything: Greg, McDonald’s, and Greek Gods
The Story We Tell Ourselves (and others)
Why every dad wants a Gibson Les Paul
Soft skills are hard. We make it easy.
Learn 7 foolproof ways to start a conversation in any situation - without looking like an idiot! No. 7 will blow your mind.
Brian – I recently found you on LinkedIn, watched your TEDx talk and just read this – my first blog post of yours. Inspiring. Thank you.
Hi Ryan, thanks so much for the kind words! Appreciate you stopping by.