Will This Stand The Test Of Time? - Day 22

There are literally 838,000,000 search results when you Google "how to write a great blog" - at least as of this morning. One question that many of them will tell you to ask yourself is this -

Will this stand the test of time?

On the one hand I like the idea of taking a moment to step back, look at what I wrote with a fresh perspective and ask myself - is what I wrote good enough, interesting enough, smart or funny enough to stand the test of time? 

It seems like a very good gauge for posting quality work - not limited to blog posts. One that obviously is not being considered in the case of Honey Boo Boo.

On the other hand it is also one of those questions that can stifle my creative flow. The kind that can make me look and look again - in search of perfection - before I hit the PUBLISH button. The kind that can leave me in doubt, wondering if anything I have to say is worth posting. 

This experiment I've been running never promised quality. It was partly a challenge to myself to see if indeed I could come up with something every day - in a row - for thirty days - that I felt comfortable enough with to hit publish. It was also partly a way for me to gain perspective on the last five years.

I wanted it to be fun. Most days it has been. Although I admit to days when I wish it was done already. My only hope was and is that whatever of my own gems I was thrusting out into the blogosphere might also resonate and make a difference in someone's day.

But I am sure that had I started torturing myself with that question - especially in those first few days, I would not be writing this post - day 22. 

Sometimes you have to not ask the big questions. Sometimes you have to just press forward and go with it.

Will this one stand the test of time? Only time will tell.

note: This is Day #22 of the 30 Day Experiment.   Here are the details on how it all started.

Can I Really Do This? - Day 2

I’m a little terrified. Here it is day 2 and it’s hitting me that I have committed to this experiment - publicly. Which means there is no turning back.

Oh yes - I could turn back. Dump this whole idea here and now but that is not how I roll. As a rule I follow through on what I commit to. Yes, I’ve had my moments where that does not happen. When I’ve eaten the entire cheeseburger on the non-gluten free bun and every single french fry that came with it when I could have substituted for salad and when I promised myself that I was only eating greens and salmon all week. But anyone who knows me and knows me well knows I’m pretty disciplined. So I am not planning on reneging on my commitment to post for 29 more days. At least not yet :)

What I will do is acknowledge that this is not going to be easy. That this is a challenge. That I am going to have to let go of that thing writer’s get that makes us keep our stories under cover until they are exquisitely perfect.

Yes, I admit it. I am Joanne Tombrakos and I am a perfectionist.

Which on the one hand has proven to be a good thing in my life. Quality is something I value and what people have come to expect of me. But on the other hand it has often held me back. Kept me waiting for those rare moments when all the stars are aligned. Perfectly.

The truth is nothing will ever be perfectly perfect. Take yesterday when the newsletter announcement of this experiment included a misspelling of 'prolific' - after it went out and I couldn't change it!!  I cannot tell you how many times I reread that section!  I suppose my worries about being prolific left me unable to spell it correctly.

I'm going to let that blunder go and remind myself that if I could leave behind a twenty-five year career - I can certainly post thirty days worth of blogs.

hitting......... publish....... NOW.



note: This is Day #2 of a 30 Day Experiment. Here are the details on how it all started.

The Experiment

I am about to celebrate the five year anniversary of my divorce from nine to five corporate life. Yes, you read that right. Five years!

It’s causing me to reflect. On many things. Including this blog which has not been getting the attention it needs and deserves.

While I aspire to be as prolific as Seth Godin and share something here every day - I don’t.  It seems as though while my life has expanded exponentially to include teaching and coaching and consulting, my energies have been dispersed. For a reason I cannot yet explain, it’s taken me away from what my initial intention was when creating this blog. To write. About what I see, what I think and what I feel. And to share it.

So I have decided in honor of this upcoming landmark event to launch an experiment. Beginning today for thirty days, I am going to post every day. It’s something I’ve never done but have always wanted to.

Thirty was a number I chose, for no other reason than it felt right. I’ve since been informed that thirty days is the amount of time needed to commit to something in order for a shift to occur.

A shift. That’s what I’m after.

You should know I’m doing this for very selfish reasons. The most important being a desire for clarity. You see everything feels like it’s falling into place - but I’m still not sure. And for me writing is about more than the joy I feel from the possibility I might entertain my readers, offer some insight or inspire them to try something new. It’s about me being able to breathe. I write because I have to. Because I need to. Because it is my passion at the core of all my other passions.

Like the very first post I wrote here on November 18, 2008 - I have no idea exactly what I will be writing for the next month. It might stay on target with what I have been writing - but there are no promises. I may lose readers. I may gain some. But again - the person I am doing this for the most is me. Which as a marketer might sound contrary to what I “should” do. But like I said - this is merely an experiment.

p.s I’ll be looking for inspiration. So if you have a question for me that you’d like answered, leave it in the comments section and I’ll do my best to serve something up.

pps. If you don’t already subscribe to my blog and would like all thirty days of blogging to be delivered by email, you can sign up here. 

pps. If it’s not doing it for you, feel free to unsubscribe whenever you are so moved.