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Celebrate the Small

I had an interesting event happen today (well, a lot of them) that was significant in its own small way. Someone posted a comment on a post I shared on our corporate internal social network.

Now, for those of us who are active in these networks and communities, commenting on something is an easy, everyday occurrence. But for some people, they’d rather just read comments and not put themselves out there and say something, because of whatever reasons. Maybe fear of management, or of saying the wrong thing, or just being exposed and visible. They are all real fears, whether they are for us or not.

So, to have someone post a comment and say that this was their first comment ever on this platform because they really enjoyed the conversation and wanted to be a part of it, was a joy to me. I gave him immediate encouragement and kudos for posting, recognizing that it was a big step for him.

That is so key. If we want more people to participate, we need to make it welcoming and easy for them to do so. They need to feel that they are part of the group.

And that’s what I told him. He’s in the club now. People like us do things like this. And hopefully, he’ll now contribute even more.

That’s how we bring people to the party. Celebrate the small wins.

That was a win for me today.

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The Habit

Every day?

Do I really want to post every day?

I don’t know if ‘want’ is the right word. It’s more about the fact that writing or posting every day is the work of a professional. That doesn’t mean it’s the best or most professional product or output every day, but it’s the Practice that is the goal. So, I want to be a professional.

Creating something for the market to interact with every day is the work of a pro. And by doing it, I’ll get better.

Is it really that hard? It doesn’t have to be long or complicated. Something short takes effort too. But, it’s not the output that counts for me right now, it’s the habit.

So don’t judge.

This is for me right now. Excellent output will come later.

Baby steps.

Every day?

Yes!

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It’s Tomorrow

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Testing Testing… audio

It sounds the same as the other ones. I thought a nicer microphone would help. It doesn’t. Oh well. You can still hear what I’m saying. And it’s super easy to post.

You can’t have everything… where would you put it?

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Online Real Estate

What a hot mess!

I’m describing my online real estate.

That is the space you own on the internet. There are many places you can show up on the internet, in all the social media platforms and communities, but you don’t own those. They could pull it all down anytime.

Now, it’s not likely that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. are going away real soon, but if you don’t remember, Google had an awesome platform called Google+, which they totally brought down. You’d think of all companies, Google, the powerhouse, could compete in that space. Well, they did. But I guess not good enough. I really don’t know why. I loved my ‘Circles’. But it was a business decision. Something about strategy and direction and the number of users they were able to attract.

You don’t have any control over that.

But you do have control over a domain name you purchase and a web site you purchase. I suppose the companies you purchase them from could go down too, but it’s different. You’re paying for a service.

So, I’ve been digging around, trying to find all my old web sites, domain names, blogs and such. It’s funny when you start things, then try something new, and then try a different thing. I guess I’m too much of a squirrel.

But that’s the new digital economy, the new industrial revolution, the information economy, or whatever they’re calling it. We have so many new tools now (the last 10 years) to do new things.

And I like new things.

But what’s old is new.

So, I’m coming back to this blog. I spruced it up a bit and decided to post in here more often. Because this is my most enduring space. Even though I’m not thrilled with the domain name, it still works. And I’ve got some great stuff in here in the archives… going all the way back to 2008!

I may spruce up some other real estate too, and maybe buy some new space, but I’m starting with The Rex Blog.

Because there’s no other blog like it in the world! 🙂

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Write to write

When you want to write something and don’t know what to write, the best thing to do is…

write.

Seth says there’s no such thing as ‘writers block’. It’s like saying you have talkers block. Do you ever get the experience that you just can’t talk because you have nothing to say?

Sure, you can choose not to talk because you don’t have anything meaningful to say, but it’s a choice. Not some ethereal thing that is forcing you to not talk.

It’s the same with writing.

That’s what I did just now.

I didn’t know what I was going to write. So I started writing that idea that I had learned from Seth Godin. Everyone knows something about something. Pick a subject.

The problem is that we don’t think it’s good enough. That’s why we choose not to write. That is what blocks us. So it’s more like perfectionism block. Or insecurity block.

But writing is like speaking. You know how to open your mouth, push the air through and form words with your lips and tongue. You also know how to push on little buttons that have letters on them in a certain order to create words.

Just do that.

Zebra. Jack-o-lantern. Purple. Wind. Meaning. Help. Curious. Love.

See, I did it.

It doesn’t have to make sense.

You could probably put words in a better order than that.

In fact, the job of choosing words, and putting them in an order that makes sense is what you have to do when you talk. So, that is not unique to writing. Writing is just a different medium to transfer meaning using words.

So if you think you have writers block. Just start talking. Then transfer that to text.

There’s no such thing as talkers block.

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Practice

It’s one of those mornings where I wake up way before my alarm clock.

I woke up thinking about one thing. This blog. I thought, “Why don’t I write here more often?” I’ve had this for years and totally neglected it. But I keep paying the annual fee for the domain name because I don’t want to lose it.

Why?

Because it’s historical. It’s my legacy. It is what I was thinking about or what was important to me during a particular time.

Now, sure, I have lots of journals that are full of more of my thoughts and feelings throughout the years. And I even have a bunch written in 750words.com over the years too because that’s a private, online space that drives you to write at least 750 words a day. So, I’ve been writing in there recently for the past few months to try and get into a practice of writing every day. I have entries as far back as 2011.

But here, this is different. Kind of.

This is public.

Someone could actually read this. Not that they would, or that many will find it. It might as well be private if I don’t advertise it. ‘Security by obscurity’ I say. This is like a grain of sand on the beach. Someone could touch it, but it’s unlikely anyone will.

But still. They could.

So, you write different when it’s public. You’re a little more careful about what you say, and you pay attention to the quality.

I think that’s why Seth says to do it every day.

Write something worth reading. Write something that people might read.

And write poorly. At first.

If you keep doing it every day, you’ll get better. You can’t help but get better. How long will it take? It depends on how much effort you put into getting better. But showing up every day, whether you feel like it or not, that’s how you do it. That’s how you become pro.

And that’s the subject of his latest book, The Practice.

I haven’t even read it yet (because it hasn’t been released or come in the mail) but listening to his interviews and podcasts he’s doing to talk about it I can get the hint. Plus, it’s something he’s been saying for years.

So, here’s the start of my practice… Again.

You can see all my previous starts on this blog dating back to 2008.

They are other places too. On YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Periscope, Tumblr, TikTok, along with other personal web sites with different domain names.

I dabbled, and played around with each of those when they first came out. Because I like to create and connect with people. But I never went deep, or stuck with them.

I don’t know why.

Maybe because, at the core, I’m a creative person, and I don’t always like to do what everyone else is doing.

Or, I can’t keep up with the practice.

So, here I am again. What’s old is new. I’d like to start practicing. On my own space.

We’ll see what happens.

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It still works

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Just keep going

I don’t know why I do this.

Oh, now I remember… because I can.

There’s just something very intriguing about publishing your own words in a public space. (I guess that’s why so many people do it.) But the space has been ruined by marketers. Not the good kind, the bad kind of marketers.

Everywhere you go, there are too many advertisements. “Buy this, get that! Like this, subscribe here.”

I guess that’s what you get when you have an open space where anyone can say anything.

That’s what allows me to write this.

So I have to be okay with it.

When anyone can say anything, you’re probably not going to like some of it.

Like this. Why are you even reading it?

Well, thank you. It helps me write better.

That was fun.

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Who Knew?

Who knew I’d start writing again?

I did.

I’ve always thought about writing. In fact, I have been writing… in my journal, with paper and pen. I like that kind of writing.

Recently, I started writing on 750words.com. It’s a site that encourages you to write 750 words every day. It has all kinds of metrics and tracking, and a nice blank space for you to write whatever you want. And it’s private. I only missed 4 days last month. I’m going for a full month streak this month.

But it’s private. This is public. This is a totally different world. Someone could possibly read this. (Although very unlikely.) So I write a little bit differently. A little more calculated. Even if it is mostly drivel 🙂

I need a place to experiment. So this is it. It’s what I’ve been doing with this blog for 10+ years. (Well, maybe I’ve taken long breaks within those years.)

When I start another serious blog, I’ll let you know. Meanwhile, you can hang out here, that’s fine with me.

Photo by Simon Migaj on Pexels.com
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What’s Old is New

I can’t believe this is still here.

I’ve had this blog for many years, as far back as when blogs first started. I was curious and wanted to try it out, so I began experimenting with all kinds of features, videos, audio, and text. One of my favorites was the ability to just call a phone number, enter a code, and I could record an audio post.

I may just keep doing that.

Or I may just write gibberish.

Nobody is going to see this anyway. (Except you 🙂

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned. You never know what might happen!

Rex

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Episode 3 – Be helpful

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Episode 1 – On the Road with Rex

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A new year, a new project

It’s amazing how fast a year can go by.

Well, just because I haven’t posted here doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy doing other stuff. (I know, I shouldn’t have mentioned it because you probably didn’t even notice the dates anyway.) I’m going to still keep this around because it does have some good stuff on it, and I can still experiment. So stay connected.

In the meantime, if you want to check out my latest effort, go to http://areyoucuriousenough.com

That’s where the good stuff is. And I’ll be updating that too.

Stay curious.

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My BIG Announcement!