Day 23,753: Slowly dictating away.

This is my 100th post since I started thecronediary.com on January 27, 2018.  As with several posts in the series, it is already moving me to learn new things and new ways of doing old things. Many of the links are to older posts you may have missed.

I had hoped to see if I could do a full year of consecutive posts. Then, I decided perhaps it was better to chunk my goals and see if I could go for 100 days before setting a goal for a second hundred days. Turns out, that was a wise choice since, at this 100 mark, I now find myself with an arm in a cast due to a broken elbow. As long as my arm is in a cast, I’m not going to promise to continue daily postings. I’m pretty sure the Universe has been trying to tell me to slow down. I got the hint when I lost my keys a few posts ago, but apparently the Universe didn’t think I took the hint fast enough and decided to really slow me down with a broken elbow.

But, to at least finish this first leg of a self commitment, I am getting this 100th post up today. Here are a few things I learned in my first 100 days.

  • Take suggestions. When I posted yesterday that I broke my elbow, a clever reader immediately suggested I look into voice-to-text software. Thanks Val. I’m now dictating on Google Voice directly into Google Docs.  It’s a very interesting and fairly accurate experience. It might even be a better way to write quickly when I am back to fully typing with 10 fingers. Lesson learned: When you get stopped in life you can either look at it as a full stop and be derailed, or merely a stop sign, which means you should pause, look in all directions, and figure out how to proceed with caution.
  • Follow gurus. Or, just listen to wiser people who have gone before you. In doing this blog, I follow 2 gurus – Seth Godin and Gail Sher. Godin has been blogging daily for over 10 years. He feels it’s the most important thing he’s done in his career. I have followed his marketing advice ever since his first book Permission Marketing  in 1999 and have never looked back. Gail Sher is new to me, but has been around for a while as well. She was recommended to me by a valued colleague. Thanks Bill. Her book, One Continuous Mistake, is about the four noble truths for writers. The first truth is: Writers write.  Lesson learned: Good people have good reputations for good reasons.
  • Be open to new connections.  A downside of blogging is there are a lot of spam commenters looking to hack your account. Yet, in between there are legitimate other bloggers and thought providers, but also fresh voices who are worth learning about, connecting to and considering new digital friends. Thanks Hitting 60. Lesson learned: If you don’t let ego get in the way, you can easily discern real people and voices from fake spammers.
  • Take time to think and regroup. They used to call that a vacation. Consistency counts, such as a regular blog schedule, but it also counts to be open to new thoughts and learn new things. It all takes time. I could look at this time as being sidelined, or as newly found free time to finally finish some of the lessons I never seem to master. At least one blog and one podcast I follow are now on hiatus. They announced it and I know that they’ll be back.  Thanks Inkblots and Icebergs and The Urban Monk Pedram Shojai.Your example makes it easier for me to understand and I can take a hiatus. Lesson Learned: Balance and time off needs to be consciously developed.  
  • Metrics don’t matter. Yes is in direct contrast to current trends that feel the need to measure everything constantly. This is nowhere more apparent than in my daily job in marketing which is increasingly judged by various new metrics. Marketing has always been a fun field, and I have always relished it. However, the modern metrics are exhausting. Thanks Google Analytics and Tag Manager.  I could get hung up on blogging metrics, constantly checking stats such on new followers and comments. Instead, I’ve learned people are reading however they want whenever they want and 0 comments doesn’t mean that there are zero readers. Some people have sent me emails; some stopped to chat; some have posted on Facebook, and some have posted directly on the blog. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and read any portions of any posts. Your feedback and comments help keep me motivated. Lesson learned.  Anything worth doing is worth doing for yourself. Having an audience is a bonus. Bonuses are delightful like a cherry on top.

The Big Lesson Learned over the past 100 days is the concept of a practice, and how to create a practice. The definition of an addiction is something that  you do on a consistent basis, but it does yourself harm. The definition of the practice is something that you do on a consistent basis, but it helps you grow. These past hundred days have shown me how to implement a practice of blogging. To the degree that you’ve been following along, commenting, or  just quietly and occasionally reading – thank you. I will become consistent again after I finished my new practice of healing my elbow. It starts with a visit to the orthopedic today.

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Focus on Gun Sanity.   Check out the article A Resister in Gun Country by Catherine Koebel in the May 2018 issue of Vogue. Key quote: Fear spreads like a virus, but courage is catching, too.