The Lost Art of Personal Responsibility

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“The Lost Art of Personal Responsibility”

Whatever happened to personal responsibility? I don’t get it. It’s always someone else’s fault. Nothing ever works for me! I can’t ever get ahead. Everyone else is so lucky.

It is rare to see someone take full responsibility for their own actions.  You can usually spot them with no effort.  They stand alone amongst the crowd.

My mother has never allowed excuses.  Whenever we whined or complained about something, she always told us to DO SOMETHING! No excuses here.  In fact, any “challenge” is just that – some kind of a test or something to see if we can accomplish our goal.  Just so life can be interesting.  Life would be kind of boring, I guess, if everything was simple and we didn’t have any challenges.

She also, somehow, has embedded herself in my head so I have to listen to her wherever I go, day or night. Real amusing.

J. A. Colon of Social Media Marketing 101 recently wrote a post regarding Self-responsibility. It is up to you.  It is your responsibility to “fix” yourself and your circumstances.  If everyone took responsibility for themselves, things would go much smoother.  There would be a lot less whining and complaining.

The only thing stopping you is you.

You cannot fix what you do not acknowledge.  If you do not know you are overweight, then you are not going to eat less and exercise more.  That bit of information, by the way, is the best kept secret in the weight loss world.  And you found that information here free!  Sorry no pill, no magic.  Just personal responsibility.

The only thing stopping you is you.

Your job sucks!  You are going no where fast.  You are stuck.  There is nothing you can do.  Oh, wait.  Maybe you can take a little initiative and try to better yourself.  I don’t know your exact circumstances so I don’t know if you need to simply apply yourself and work towards a promotion or ask for a transfer to a different department right where you are or if you need to be completely radical and change your job entirely.  What I can tell you, is talking about it probably won’t change anything.

The only thing stopping you is you.

I am not trying to be glib or flippant.  Most change does not happen overnight. You need to take baby steps. Realize the meaning of cause and effect. There are results for every action.  Good or not so good.  It usually takes a while for you to get where you are.  Either standing still by not moving or moving by taking action.  It is up to you.

The only thing stopping you is you.

Personal responsibility is a refreshing trait.   Do you know what happened to the lost art of responsibility?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“We know the truth, not only by the reason, but by the heart…”

- Blaise Pascal

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Popularity: 19% [?]

The Elusive Comment

“The Elusive Comment”

Blogs, also known as weblogs, are actually interactive websites. They are typically written by an individual whose thoughts are published in daily posts. The posts are listed in chronological order in a given niche or topic.

The idea behind a blog is for the author to express his or her opinion or authority on a certain topic and then open the discussion up for comments.  The best exchange is when a topic is controversial or causes contradictory positions.   Blogs are a collaborative effort between the author and the reader in the form of comments.

Ah, the elusive comment.  I have many thoughts about comments.  I also have many questions.

How do the numbers make sense?

Some blogs get thousands (I’m talking 5 digits here) of visits a day yet, in my observation, only receive 40-45 or even 60 comments per post on average.  However, there are other blogs that get only hundreds of visitors and receive 10-20 comments on their posts.  That doesn’t make sense.  The numbers don’t add up when you are talking percentage points.  The blogs that receive the large number of visitors are considered the “A-list” bloggers.  A-list meaning more professional?  Older blogs, more experienced?   So having said that, one would think that the A-list bloggers would gather a bigger percentage of comments, yet they don’t.  What is the reason?

Why do people comment?

Is there one main reason why people comment?  I certainly don’t think so.  In my opinion (which is extremely important), there are just as many reasons people comment as there literally are comments.  So why do people comment?  They have an interest in the subject. The topic or the author inspires them to action.  They are passionate about the opinion expressed.  They want to express their passion or sentiment.  Maybe the post makes them angry.  The comment part of blogging is a sense of community.  There are plenty of other reasons people leave comments.  What are some reasons I haven’t listed?

Why do people not comment?

Wow, that is the “big” question.  If I knew the answer I would probably be a kamillionaire!  The subject doesn’t interest or concern them.  They don’t feel like they have anything to contribute.  When I first started blogging I was almost as nervous about leaving comments as I was about publishing posts!  I didn’t want to sound stupid.  I often thought I would get lost in the shuffle of the flurry of comments already added.  Maybe the blogger has already said all there is to say on the subject.  You know, kind of beat the life out of it, so to speak!  Maybe you weren’t invited to comment.  What else, what other reasons do people not comment?

Why do bloggers want comments?

Well, because.  Lots of reasons.  You don’t want to feel like you are talking to yourself!  Bloggers want to connect with their readers.  The significant part of blogging is the interaction between the author and the reader.  Blogging is Community.  Not to mention comments are a great ego booster.  People are reading your “stuff”!  You have something to say and people are interested in discussing it with you.  Life is good.  Comments kind of validate your post.  If you don’t get comments then your post is mediocre, or so you think.  So, why do you want comments?

How do you get more comments?

I wrote a post and it has been published for 8 minutes now and no one has left a comment yet.  It must be crappy.  I can’t do this.  Calm down.  Don’t Panic!  Try to get the news out that you just published a post and announce a little blurb about the content.  The more people that see your post, the more people who will comment (to a certain extent).  You should twitter your post a couple of times throughout the day.  Different people are on twitter at different times.  You know, work schedules, time zones, stuff like that.  If your post is “Stumble” worthy, then certainly submit it to your friends.  It is somewhat unlikely that every post you write is “Stumble” worthy (sorry) so be choosy.  I have found that the social media can be fairly slow at times.  Frequently, I will get comments that trickle in for days after I have submitted my post to the various social networks.  Be patient.   Another approach I use to get more comments is to ask.  Yeah, I know, who would have thought of that?  I’m a genius.  Do you have a creative way to engage your readers to add more comments?

So what are your thoughts?

Do you have secret strategies to entice your readers to comment?

Join in the conversation, I appreciate and respect your opinion – add your comment!

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“Communication leads to community, that is,
to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing…”

- Rollo May

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Popularity: 29% [?]

Twitter – Amazing Tool or Total Waste of Time?

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

Twitter – Amazing Tool or Total Waste of Time?

We may as well start this series with everyone’s favorite discussion.  You either love it or you hate it.   What is the purpose of twitter?  That might be a debate all on it’s own.

I am not claiming to be an expert on twitter.  Far from it.  There are so many applications to use and/or enhance twitter that I couldn’t begin to explain twitter to it’s fullest.  Personally, I use twitter for a few reasons:

To meet and connect with people.

What possible connection can you make with 140 characters or less -  not words, characters.  Well that’s hard to explain.  I am certainly not “a woman of a few words”.  So in that respect, Twitter can be a challenge for me.  It’s hard to explain, it just works.  I have met a significant number of people on twitter and have come to really enjoy their tweets.  You can see their personality come through in different ways.  Sometimes through their comments, sometimes through their gravatars.

To Market my blog.

Yes, twitter has an element of business to it.  I usually tweet my posts every day.  There are different people on at different times of day so I usually tweet at breakfast, lunch  and dinner and of course throughout the night when I am supposed to be working on my blog.

To rant and rave when I feel like it!

I don’t know what part of twitter is most fun.  I love to see other people’s rants too.  I have actually started following some tweeple because of their funny tweets.  They are so amusing sometimes.  I usually get my chuckle for the day -  more than one actually.

My opinion:

I think you can gather from above what I think of Twitter.  I’ll be the first to vote.  I think Twitter is an amazing tool.  Please cast your vote and leave your opinion for or against in the comment section.

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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Popularity: 34% [?]

8 Writing Tips

Writing can be a challenge.  You are concerned if your writing is clear and concise. Will the reader follow my thoughts?  Are my thoughts organized?   Is it interesting?

You’ve heard of writer’s block?  What do you do to avoid writer’s block?  Do you want to be a better writer?  So many questions.  I follow these 8 simple writing tips.

1. Read, read and read some more. What?  How will that help me.  I am already a good reader.  I want to learn how to write better.  Reading more gives you added exposure to different writing styles.  You can see what you like, what you don’t like.  You can get a feel for what type of writing interests you.  Read some trade journals.  Are you a fiction writer or a non-fiction writer?  If you write “how to” articles you will approach your writing from a different angle then if you are a children’s story writer.  Read trade journals that offer different tips and ideas.
   
2. Write, write and write some more. The more you write the more confidence you will gain in your writing skills.  Look at some of your earlier posts!  You will definitely notice a difference.  You get an appreciation for what works for you.  You find your voice, so get writing.
   
3. Don’t write under pressure. Don’t ever write under pressure. Don’t wait until you are short on time or have too many other things on your schedule.  Writing under pressure will affect the outcome in many ways.  It certainly won’t be your best work.  You won’t be able to think clearly or creatively because your thoughts will be focused on “have to get this done” thoughts.
4. Brainstorm. Get creative, put your ideas down just as they come to you.  Go back and review your notes then organize them into some kind of format.  Let your writing simmer for a day or so.  Review again.  During both of these review sessions more ideas will come to you.  I have a file with tons of titles and pictures that inspire me with different writing ideas. Return to your writing finally to formalize your story or article with editing.  This is when you check for grammar and tweak for final results.
   
5. Keep it all together. Keep all of your thoughts together in one place.  If you write in a notebook, use only one.  If you write on your computer, keep your notes together.  Being organized alleviates the feeling of stress.  You don’t need additional areas to think about, you need to concentrate on writing.
   
6. Problem solving. “Define the problem, offer the solution.” What is the point of your story or post?  What do you want your reader to walk away with.  Keep your writing organized.  Remember, people come to your blog for a reason.  The reason is; they want something.  They may want to laugh, some want to learn, others maybe want to get their thought for the day.
7. Show and Tell. Show is better than tell.  Remember when you were a child?  You remember. Isn’t showing much more clear than telling?  How do you “show” when you write?  You explain, you describe.  You make your reader feel. Mary was dizzy, she felt nauseous, all of her muscles ached, she needed to set down -  or -  Mary didn’t feel well.
   
8. Don’t wait for perfect.
   

Perfect – entirely without any flaws, defects or shortcomings.

I don’t know about you, but perfect does not describe my writing and I am sure it never will.  There is no such thing as perfect. Don’t wait for your writing to be perfect. Writing is not perfect.  Are you ever done?  Is it ever good enough?  Do you go back time and again.  Don’t linger on a post too long looking for that one perfect word. If you wait until the elusive “perfect” is in order, you will never publish.

What do you do to help with your writing? What tip makes you a better writer?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas…”

- Linus Pauling

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Popularity: 10% [?]

The Wise Sheep

Contests are abundant in the blogosphere!  They are usually tied to a few requirements.  You need to sign up for the RSS feed, you need to link to the sponsor’s blog, etc.  Software selects the winner randomly by choosing a number.  It is rare that talent or creativity are factors in a contest.  Well, Lindsey from Write for your wealth is hosting a unique contest.  It is short and sweet.  Write a fable in 300 words or less and have a chance to win $250.00.  Check it out!

“The Wise Sheep”

The Wise Sheep was revered by all the flock. She was known as the leader. She possessed an inner power, a gift; an ability to just know. Yes, Wise Betty always knew.

The flock ventured out to the green meadow for their usual day of grazing. A new sheep approached the group.

His name; Leroy Brown. “What exactly do you sheep do here all day?”, the stranger asked. Wise Betty replied “we graze the meadow and hang out.” Wise Betty thought it was odd that a new sheep was here without Farmer Joe stopping by to introduce him to the crew. “Hmmm”, Wise Betty thought “I’m getting a funny feeling about this character.”

Leroy wanted to challenge the routine. He had a great idea! “Why don’t we do something different today? We could jump the fence and run free. We could go down to the brook and drink as much as we want. Look at how green the grass is on the other side!” exclaimed Leroy. He claimed to be adventurous. Wise Betty thought “Hmmph, more like dangerous.” She didn’t know why she had this feeling but she did. The others wanted to follow him.

Wise Betty warned about wild animals on the other side. Besides, the grass was just as good here. She didn’t trust him, she had a feeling. Leroy talked with such excitement that it was hard to resist. But Wise Betty knew, she always knew.

Leroy gathered the followers that were willing to go on this great adventure. “Let’s go! It will be a day you will never forget”.

Leroy tried to jump over the fence but it was too high.  He got caught on the wires and the others gasped in horror as they saw his wool coat peel completely off! Leroy was a fox!

Moral of the story:  Trust your instincts.  Follow your gut feeling!

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“Trust your own instinct.
Your mistakes might as well be your own,
instead of someone else’s…”

- Billy Wilder

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Popularity: 16% [?]

I Can, Therefore I Am!

“Monday Motivation!”

I can, therefore I am.
- Simone Weil

Wahoo!  I like that.   Positive thinking empowers me – motivates me.  If I can then I am. Short but powerful words. So it’s as simple as that.  If you can be a blogger than you are a blogger.  Of course you can be a blogger.  Why couldn’t you be a blogger?

What is it, then, that holds you back?  The only thing stopping you is you.  Hmmm, that could be a hard pill to swallow.  Give that a little thought.  Really look at your thoughts and actions toward what you want to do.  Do you really give 100%?

Why is it that people will take full responsibility for their success but will offer any and every excuse for their failure.  Failure has a negative connotation surrounding it.  Failure is just a plan that didn’t work.  So what.  Try something else.

When you are working on something – say a craft project – and you create a wreath (I’m trying to give an everyday example) and when you are finished, you look at it and it just doesn’t look right.  Do you give up?  Do you feel like a failure?  No, you just decide to change it, remove something, add something, it’s no big deal.

I can, therefore I am.  I believe positive thinking makes a difference.

Toodles – Blog Happy!

Popularity: 31% [?]

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

“It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!”

Tis’ the season to be jolly and to spend money.  With the economy being in the toilet, many people are thinking twice about their holiday budget.  If people aren’t spending money then people aren’t making money or vice versa! Hmmm, which is it? It’s a vicious cycle.

Rachel of AverageGal.com has a question for you – Can you make money with your blog despite slumping sales? People spend money, period. At this point in time, not as much, not as often, but they still spend money. This might just be the best time to make money. People are going to be careful with their money so if you are offering the best bargains then you will be the one making money.

A blogger has to pick and choose the right affiliate marketing program to match their niche.  If your blog is geared towards mommy bloggers discussing the latest childhood development stage then it is not going to be productive to try and sell computer hardware.  (Yes, I know, a mommy will buy a computer.)  You get the point.

Some blogs (I would say this blog ) have a wide range of diversity from books to equipment to software to electronics.  Being so diverse gives the blogger more opportunity to display and promote a larger variety of products.  Hence, a little more advantage to make a little money.

So yes, Rachel, there is a Santa Claus.

Have you changed the way you monetize your blog since the economy has turned ugly?  Do you have any strategies you could share?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity….”

- Albert Einstein

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Popularity: 8% [?]

3 Steps To Achieving Your Goals

“3 Steps To Achieving Your Goals”

Are you a goal setter?  Are you a dreamer?  Do you try to make your dreams come true by an organized plan or by wishful thinking?  You have a plan and success is in your future!  Your plan includes a step by step course of action and life is good!  All you have to do is follow through.
Do you follow through with them?  It doesn’t do any good to write something down then not look at it.  What is the difference between goals that fail and goals that are successful?  There are 3 critical steps to any goal.  A goal must be defined, measurable and Acted on.

• Define

Define your goal. What do you want?  What do you really want?  You have to have an end result.  What do you want to accomplish.  You should be very specific.  Rather than say “I want to make a lot of money”, explain your goal.  I want to make $100,000.00 in extra income in a five year period.  It’s difficult to know which way to go when you don’t even know where you want to go.

Make your goal believable to you.  You described what, now you need to define how.  HOW are you going to accomplish this goal of $100,000.00?  Let’s sell an eBook!

• Measurable

Detail, break it down. Make it measurable.  List step by step reasonable tasks that will get you closer to your goal.  Divide the massive task over a smaller, more manageable process.

Take your $100,000.00 goal and divide it over the 5 year period.  That breaks down to $20,000.00 per year, divided over 12 months is $1,668.00 per month even further  -  $416.00 per week.  Doesn’t $416.00 a week feel more “believable” than $100,000.00?

What are you going to do to achieve this now weekly goal?  How many eBooks do you need to sell to make $416.00 within a week?  Break down the detail.  Depends on the price you will list on the eBook you sell.  For this goal, let’s sell our eBook for $9.95 each.  we will need to sell 42 eBooks per week.

• Action

The final step in accomplishing your goal is action.  What action will you take to accomplish your goal?  The action steps need to be realistic & measurable.

Once you are setup with your goal and you have it in measurable segments, set up checkpoints to insure you are on track.  At the end of every month, see if you are where you are supposed to be.  Then set quarterly checkpoints.  Don’t let your goal get too far off track, at the same time, don’t get discouraged after only a couple of weeks, especially in sales.  This type of goal can be dependent on cycles or be seasonal.

A goal is a dream with a deadline.  What are your dreams?  What do you do to accomplish your goals.  Do you have specific “sure fire” steps that insure your success?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable,
or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same…”

- Martha Washington

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Popularity: 19% [?]

How Do You Balance Work and Life?

“How Do You Balance Work and Life?”

It can be a challenge to balance work and life.  Such a struggle.  You always want to give 100% to both.   Usually you feel like you short changed one or the other.

You need to realize you can only do so much in either case.  That is the main thing.  You have many roles, obligations and desires.  The challenge is giving each segment of your life the amount of time that makes YOU feel good.

Work Responsibility:

It doesn’t matter that you have 5 reports to get out today, if it is only possible to do 3 than that is all you are going to do.  You can only do what you can do.  That sounds so simple and matter of fact and it is!  If there are 5 reports to get out then you need to pursue the option of help.  Yes, help.  It is not a crime to ask for help.  In fact, it is a sign of a great leader.  There may be some tasks that you are the most qualified to complete but I can tell you some of your daily routine can be delegated to someone else.

Home Responsibility:

The same theory works at home.  You have to choose what is important.  Is it more important to have a nice clean bathroom or to help your child with her homework?  Do you want your children to remember that their house was always spic and span or that their parents always seemed to find time for them?

Choices:

It all boils down to choices.  Sound complicated?  Not really.  You just have to take a breath and give your situation a little thought.  Really, is this going to matter, is it going to make a difference?

What do you do to balance work and life?   Do you stress about work while you are at home, stress about home while you are at work?  What works for you?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“At work, you think of the children you have left at home.
At home, you think of the work you’ve left unfinished.
Such a struggle is unleashed within yourself…”

- Golda Meir

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Popularity: 17% [?]

Introducing – Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

I am proud and excited to announce a new weekly series on BloggerNewbie.com!

Introducing ~ “Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

Starting  Thursday, November 27, 2008, and running each and every Thursday, we will introduce a question, discuss the pros and cons, voice our opinions and vote in the poll.  I will run the post in the feature section for the entire week and the results will be shown in the poll at the end of the post as they occur.

Please contribute with your opinions and discussion.  Also, it would be great to get questions from you.  I am excited with the anticipation of lively discussion and your participation in this new series!

What questions would like to see debated?  Leave your questions in the comments section or send me a message on my Contact Page. Let’s get the party started!

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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Popularity: 10% [?]

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