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Tag: business

10 lessons learned from 3 years of blogging

This week marks the 3rd anniversary of Project Exponential; 3 years of meals served, friends made, and surprising connections between industries and ideas. I am filled with gratitude and awe when I think about those I have been fortunate to introduce.

The anniversary also marks three years of blogging. When I first started, it was a completely new venture. I wan’t sure how to go about it or what to say, and I didn’t know if anyone would care.

I’ve learned so much since those initial posts and want to share a glimpse of what I’ve gained along the way:

1. Establish a practice.

When I started blogging, I would churn out posts several times a week. Eventually I realized that with client work, hosting dinners and volunteering in Nepal, I was struggling to keep up. I settled on once a week and have held myself accountable ever since. My schedule has become routine. I find myself noting possible topics and thoughts that could turn into a post throughout the week.

My tip: Forget about what other bloggers are doing. Find what works for you and stick to it.

2. Small bricks build something substantial.

A handful of blog posts didn’t mean much at first. Three years later, I have accumulated a body of work I am proud of. I regularly receive emails from people who “stumble upon my blog” and find something useful. Put in time and commitment, and you’ll see results.

3. Blogging forces you to discover and connect.

Because of the blog, I have met new people, come across new ideas and found new sources of inspiration — both online and off. Searching for articles and specific topics has introduced me to inspiring bloggers and new theories. As a result, I’ve re-considered some of my viewpoints, developed new ways of thinking, added more sites to my Bookmarks bar, and have exchanged emails with talented writers.

4. Done is better than perfect.

This might be one of the most difficult lessons to learn, but it’s absolutely necessary. Waiting for perfection only hurts yourself. You can spend hours upon hours obsessing over nuances and phrases. Don’t give the Schedule/Publish button unnecessary power. Perfect is a crazy, evading word and we are our own worst critics. Do your best work, be prudent in your edits, then click Submit.

5. You don’t have to be technically inclined to blog.

Sure, I kept a blog when I was traveling around the world in my late teens. But when I considered blogging for professional purposes, I figured only famous people did it. I also thought I needed more technical knowledge. Turns out you don’t have to be computer savvy to write a blog people enjoy. With a choice of platforms and writing tools, anyone can get online and put their thoughts in the world.

6. Don’t stop experimenting.

The first few blog posts feel like a great big experiment. Everything is uncertain and new, and you don’t really have any idea how it works. That feeling eventually fades, but it doesn’t mean you should stop experimenting. Try new writing styles, vary posts from lists to personal accounts to asking questions to honest challenges. Challenge yourself to feel uncomfortable after you start feeling comfortable.

7. Blogging is good for business.

Aside from standard SEO results, the more you write, the more authority you have. Blogging helps cement what you know and show others you can back up your claims. Writing regularly on particular topics helps the right people find you and helps you provide clear information to potential customers. Links and trackbacks to other blogs can build relationships with experts in your industry, and regular posts prove that you’re relevant and up-to-date.

8. Caring what other people think only paralyzes you.

This speaks for itself. Obviously there are societal norms you should keep in mind, but too much questioning and assuming and worrying and forecasting will only ruin your writing and destroy your creative process.

9. I still write with a pen.

My best writing happens when I write in a notebook then transfer to a computer later on. I type directly when I’m short on time or traveling, but I recognize it’s just not as good. Knowing what works for you and acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses is instrumental to your development as a writer.

10. Read good writing.

I have a list of writers I respect and admire. Their websites are saved on my computer, and I drop in and see what they’re up to from time to time. I always leave their websites feeling inspired. Admiring the way they spin words and describe their experiences encourages me to keep working on my own craft.

Whoever those people are for you, study them. Figure out why you are drawn to their work and what is successful about their writing. The best teachers are perpetual students, and the best writers are perpetual readers. Strive to do both.

Build reputation, establish trust

The fastest way to build reputation and trust with the audiences you care about: treat everyone the same.

Granting exceptions to certain people makes your work difficult, and you have to remember who you promised what. Trust is the only way you can make solutions that matter and develop reliable products.

Give the same respect, the same quality of time, the same work effort, the same level of commitment to each one of your clients. What you do and what you say must align in order for any of it to count.

Top 10 blog posts

Before I list the Top 10 most popular posts I’ve written, I want to acknowledge something big: Project Exponential is coming up on FOUR YEARS of existence, and I can hardly believe it.

I remember that first dinner as if it happened last month. I had to talk myself into calling friends and a few famous people I didn’t know all that well and ask them to join me for something new, an experiment of sorts. I was a nervous wreck in the days leading up to that initial event, second-guessing my planned ice-breakers and seating arrangement. At the end of the night I was so worked up, I couldn’t let myself admit a grand success had just taken place.

Countless dinners later, I continue to receive emails thanking me for thoughtfully creating these kinds of dinners: invaluable introductions; new friends, new ideas; old friends, old ideas; surprising conversations; delight. It’s all come together beautifully, and I couldn’t be more grateful to those who have participated and referred clients seeking meaningful connection.

Top 10 posts:
10. I stopped trying.
9. Figure out what you want to learn and go do it.
8. Stop trying to find your purpose
7. 7 sins of crowdfunding
6. The people in your life will make or break you.
5. 10 questions to ask at a dinner party (instead of “What do you do?”)
4. What brings people together?
3. A coffee riddle
2. 5 rules of hustling
1. 12 questions to turn small talk into real talk 

Thank you for your support, your daring, your ambition, and thanks for coming along this journey with me. Becoming an entrepreneur is not easy, and there are no roadmaps for the many winding, twisting roads you find yourself on. If you have a budding entrepreneur in your life, send them a note to keep going (or share one of these blog posts); if you’re thinking about getting started yourself, GO.

Shortcuts

I’ve worked with monks, criminals, CEOs and students, and they all look for shortcuts. This is why hacks are popular and fitness gurus sell health in pill form and “5-minute exercises.” Numbered blog posts receive more web traffic than developed stories because we want information fast. We don’t have time to sift through inconsequential paragraphs; tell me what I need to know and tell it to me now.

This, to me, is human. We want the quickest, most direct path. We want to learn without putting in time. We want money to come without stress and long hours. We want recognition right after a product launches, and we want to know our destiny instead of watching it slowly unfurl.

While shortcuts help us save time and do work more efficiently, there’s much to be gained from slow, calculated movement.

Time management

I have no idea how we’re expected to do everything at once. Or why we feel we must. I only know that setting priorities and saying “no” is the only real chance at any success in this department.
The big decision is what to say “no” to and what earns a “yes.”
These kinds of decisions require some framework of what you want to do. I make lists. I also set aside time each day to center myself and think about nothing (writing, reading for fun, taking long walks). Maybe your thing is running or yoga. What the thing is isn’t as important as scheduled time away from computers, phones and demands on you and your capabilities.
Making time for YOU — your dreams, your passions, your creativity — is essential in order for you to figure out the rest. Time management doesn’t occur overnight and doesn’t happen naturally for most people. But with a little bit of effort, goals will unfold in front of you.
Go get it.

Search for meaning

The internet gives you many lives. You can write an article once, muster the courage to post it online, become disappointed when it falls flat and goes unshared, resolve to forget about it and write something else. Then one day, you wake up to an inbox of responses and questions as if this was a piece you posted yesterday.

This sometimes happens to me.

Lately, a few of my Medium posts have undergone rebirths, and I’ve found myself answering questions about the search for meaning and joy and life. “Should I go to a monastery?” “Do I need to volunteer in a different country to find myself?” “What advice can you give me to discover my passion?”

I don’t have any answers, really. I know that the answers we often want most are right in front of us. They don’t necessarily require a trip around the world, months spent in solitude, or someone else to show us the way. I wish I could tell you a perfect formula. I wish I had this formula myself three years ago when I first set out for Nepal.

But I think that’s my big secret. I stopped looking.

I was driving myself crazy with these exact same questions. I was browsing the self-help section for career changes, dog-eared my way through What Color Is Your Parachute, and still no answers. My journal was a messy scrawl of ink and tear, I mean, coffee stains when I got on that first plane to Kathmandu. I knew was I was hurting and raw and sick of feeling like crap. I wanted to feel good, both in the world and in my body and make a positive contribution somewhere. And this is how I found myself teaching English to a bunch of rowdy monks.

No, I had no idea I was going to start a Learning House. If you told me I’d spend the next three years of my life in Nepal, I would have laughed. But I did know that giving to others and empowering individuals through education brought me deep satisfaction. In this way, my focus shifted from myself and onto something positive. I stopped questioning and just did.

Meaning found me. I hope it finds you.