2 years. And counting.

~ Live & Learn

blog, symbol,hand symbol,blogging

It’s arrived. My two-year blogging anniversary.  On my run this morning, I decided to queue up FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) that have been posed to me.  Here we go:

Q: WHERE do you find your content?
A: Three sources, listed in order of contribution.  (1) I read. (A lot). (2) Susan (spouse). (3) 3F’s: Followers, Friends and Family.

Q: How do you decide WHAT to post?
A: Todd Lohenry recommended Evernote. (I recommend Evernote.) I let content marinate.  If it still moves me a few days or weeks later, up it goes.

Q: Do you think you post too frequently?
A:  I do think about this. Mostly from the seat of the follower/reader. Then I revert to the purpose of this blog.  If it moves ME, it goes up.

Q: What has most surprised you about Followers?
A:  The blogging community.  Period.  And, that so many in the Community take time to comment and share their insights and inspirations.  I look forward to many of you tuning in each morning.  When you don’t, I find I miss it.  You are ENABLERS.  Shame on you.

Q: What else has surprised you about Followers?
A:  Out of say 25,000 comments over two years, there has been only one nasty comment.

Q: Who do you decide to Follow?
A:  Excellent question.  There are so many talented bloggers – so much exceptional writing. So little time. If I grow, learn, get inspired, stay inspired – I follow.

Q: Do you give and accept Awards?
A:  It was an important vehicle in establishing visibility. I feel badly that I haven’t reciprocated to help others in the last 6 months.  I try to give back on certain Wednesday morning posts where I recognize blogger posts that inspire me.  Bottom line, it’s a trade-off.  Time to post. Time to respond to follower comments. Time to read. Time to work. Time to sleep.

Q: Are there useful software apps that you must-have for blogging?
A: I have tried hundreds. I revert back to a handful.  Let me save you time and money.  Your short list should include: Evernote. Tumblr. Mr. Reader on iPad. Feedly. YouTube. Pocket.

Q: Are there subjects you avoid on your Blog?
A: Yes.
Q: And?
A: Next Question.

Q: Are you as upbeat and inspired as your posts?
A: God No.  (Ask family, colleagues, friends.) A friend told me that it’s important to feed your mind “light” to stay up or get up.  I scoffed back then. I’m ain’t scoffing now. I believe.  And I need light.

Q: Do you have any advice for new Bloggers who are trying to build a following?
A: My advice: Blog for YOU first. Find an angle you are most passionate about, and ride it. If you are in it to to please others, blogging will run out of steam. Second, Respect your Followers. Post quality content. Reply to followers’ Comments.

Q: What do you get out of Blogging?
A: I get inspired by certain Posts.  I get inspired by the “Community.”  I love that others get a similar high or aha or laugh or inspiration that I do.  I also enjoy helping other bloggers – – I have a friend, one of my earliest followers, who I have shared feedback – her Followership has soared. I get a real high watching her success.

Q: What’s with the Poetry?
A:  Funny you ask. I had zero interest in poetry.  Then I hit Middle Age.  And BANG.  Carol @ radiatingblossom is a source of much daily inspiration. She passed along Pablo Neruda’s answer to the same question. It touched me in a similar way.

And it was at that age
Poetry arrived
in search of me.
I don’t know,
I don’t know where it came from,
from winter or a river.
I don’t know how or when,no,
they were not voices,
they were not words,
nor silence,
but from a street
I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me…

~ Pablo Neruda

That’s it folks.  If you have other questions that I’ve missed, hit me in the Comment section.

THANK YOU all for your friendship.

Related Posts: 1 Year. And Counting…

Image Credit: Gangster “Blog” Hand Symbol: Chiefoftheleast.com

70 thoughts on “2 years. And counting.”

  2. Great post ~ Happy Blogaversary! I’m grateful that we’ve connected as I do enjoy your posts! Thanks for your support as well! Congrats to you! Nice to know a bit more about you as well with the question/answer style! Keep shining! ♥

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  4. Happy 2nd Anniversary – can’t believe we’ve known each other that long (with the caveat that we wouldn’t recognize each other if we passed on a street). If I get schmaltzy, you’ll write back with ‘awwww’ and I’ll feel goofy. But, what the hell – it’s your anniversary. You’ve been a fantastic cyber-friend, remarkable curator of fascinating and moving material, you write damn well too and you have provided evocative, inspirational moments for which this heart is grateful. Congratulations Dave – long may you lead.learn.live.

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  5. Congratulations. Happy Anniversary to both of us. Yesterday was my first year anniversary. There is so much to learn, too little time. And I like you answer “next question. Carol has good poetry, I would love to use Pablo Naruda’s poem in the future, if you don’t mind. Happy blogging and thank you for being there.

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  6. “…it’s important to feed your mind “light” to stay up or get up.” This is so true, and your blog has always been a source of such bright and shining light for me. I’m sure that so many of us are better people simply by our association with our blogging family. There is unbelievable inspiration and beauty to be found amongst our friends. Thank you for all that you do, David…Happy Anniversary! 🙂

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  8. Congratulations! You know what I like most about your blog? It is eclectic…meaning you share a thought, an image, a piece of poetry, but all within the same sphere. I often thought about doing a blog like this; it allows you to dance all over the globe and cosmos and share what touches you at the time. My blog has a different “feel” — an attempt to make sense of getting older — and so it can get to be wordy at times. Not a bad thing — just different. But your blog makes me think of Air. Which is delightful. Keep sharing!

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    1. Hi Brenda. Thank you! Time rockets by. Susan reminded me it was two years or I would have missed it. I didn’t know you even followed. I owe you a return phone call. And I trust you saw the post this morning (Believe. In Verbs.) – you aren’t far from my mind on the subject. 🙂

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  13. ” If it moves ME, it goes up.” – BAM there it is 🙂

    I love your blog, so congratulations on 2 years =-=- can’t remember how/when I found you, but am I ever glad you did. Thanks for sharing all that you share — and I especially enjoy your “musings”.

    Bests!
    MJ

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  15. Thanks for the fun, the funky music, the wisdom, the laughs, the knowledge, the uplifting notes, the inspiration. Keep on

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  16. I read your Blog more avidly than any other, mister. You inspire me more than any other Blogger. Your passion and energy make me feel lazy and guilty, for which I thank you. The Blogs I appreciate most are the descriptive ones you write where you open up on your vulnerability. You write so beautifully and with such authenticity.

    I have one question for you, which, you guessed, is bound to be impertinent, so feel free to “Next question” it: do you set an alarm for your 3.45 am posts, if so what does your wife think of it, do you think you make a productive use of time getting up that early, and does tiredeness ever get in the way of your effectiveness as a leader during the “normal” working day?

    That was 4 questions for the price of one, so feel free to answer all or none of them 🙂

    Thanks always.

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    1. I read your comment yesterday Michael and marinated in it. The fact that you and others can get inspired from posts that inspire me, well, let’s just say that I AM MOVED. PERIOD.

      So, let’s go after your questions.

      Q) Do I set an alarm for my 3:45 posts?

      A) I never set an alarm. I get up when I get up and that ranges from 2:30 to 5:00 am and avg. around 4:15 am.

      Q) What does Susan (my wife) think of it?
      A) She thinks I have a sleeping disorder. Apnea. Or something. She tells me to go get it checked out. I avoid doctors and hospitals unless some part of me is bleeding. So, the h*ll with apnea or whatever I have. What’s behind this? Adam Grant (Prof @ Wharton) says: “For me, in my moments of idleness, I experience the most existential anxiety, so I like that every moment is scheduled..it means my brain is engaged in other things, and it’s not going to be a terrifying evening.” I’m with Prof. Grant here.

      Q) Do I think I’m productive at 3:45 am?

      A) Great question. Not sure about productivity. But I do I find my blogging activities put me in a more balanced place – dare I say more centered. A strength is the ability to focus deeply and for significant periods of time – historically, it has been focused on work – I gobbled VAST amounts of life with work. And set similar expectations on colleagues. Blogging has injected balance. I feel that I bring a better personal perspective to the office. Not sure everyone would agree, but I feel it.

      Q) Do I think “tiredness” gets in the way of a normal working day?
      A) Another great question. Let’s introduce recent research first.

      http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323981304579079121055363770.html

      “Insomniacs don’t just suffer at night. During the day, they often feel sleepy, have trouble concentrating and report greater difficulty with work or school performance than individuals who get adequate sleep. But researchers are intrigued by an apparent discrepancy: Despite what insomnia patients experience subjectively, they often seem able to perform cognitive tasks as well as people getting adequate sleep. One possibility is that insomnia doesn’t lead to inferior performance after all—maybe it just feels that way.”

      I feel that this research nails it. I certainly feel that I’m missing sleep. My mind tells me that I need 6-8 hours. Yet, when I’m actively engaged in critical work assignments or stimulating blogging activities, I find that I can operate effectively on very little sleep. And my body is jumping to get at it. But what I’m sure of, with inadequate sleep, I can be short-tempered, less tolerant, and less patient than where my low bar is set already.

      Hope this answers your questions Michael.

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      1. Wow, got my own personal Blog out of those cheeky questions, David. Thanks for taking such care over your reply (another reason I admire you and why you have so many followers). I didn’t mean to pry, by the way, it just strikes me as superhuman the way you keep going DAY IN. DAY OUT! I can do it for a day or two, but no more. So my curiosity comes from what you might call morbid fascination of a sort. I have never come across any quite like it.

        I guess if your body is denying you sleep, you are making the best possible use of the time it frees up.

        One last question: if you could magically recover the ability to sleep unbroken through to 6am every night, would you prefer it?

        Sweet dreams mister. And again, thanks,

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  17. Happy Anniversary, David. YOU are a gift. Your light shines brightly through your blog. There is something special in the variety of posts you share. Like Michael Brown Training, my favs are the ones where you tell personal stories and open your heart a little bit wider. As I read many of the comments, I was struck by how many of your friends in the blog-o-sphere are mine, too – thanks to you! You have made my world a more inspired and touched place. Than you! Keep on bloggin’ buddy!!

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    1. Thank you Beth. And I look forward to your comments each morning. You and Mimi are often the first ones out of the gate, and I’ve come to look forward to them. Thank you for your followership and your thoughtful insights.

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  19. I am always lifted by your thought-provoking posts and images. So thrilled we connected in the blogosphere. I’ve been blogging longer than you – 3 years in Feb. I so admire your stamina, so many quality pieces generated and shared through Lead. Learn. Live. I’m still trying to get the hang of Evernote and Tumblr…
    Thanks for blessing my inbox. Many more years of inspiring writing/sharing.

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  20. Yes, congrats on two years of fine writing and inspiration. You are one of my regular stops. I also agree that the WordPress community is a great bunch, lots of talent and inspiration and a wonderful audience too.
    Although I started blogging in July of 2010, I didn’t check out Reader and actively seek out the community until this past summer. I know, crazy. I think I was too worried I’d encounter the same sort of things that happen on Facebook, but that has definitely not been the case!
    Debra

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    1. Thank you Debra. Yes, it is a different vibe from Facebook…glad you are on board. And love your posts, deep, often have me scratching my head – and love your finishes, a quote, a tune, a feather in floating in the air.

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  22. Only 2 years! To me, you are the Yoda of Blogging! I thought you’d been doing this forever!
    Every post hits me between the eyes and most land straight to the heart. The music you’ve introduced me to has made my whole life better (talk about light!), and the sheer volume of posts leaves me gasping.
    Like Vicki noted, so many of my bloggy friends come here. You’re like the neighborhood coffee shop where we all come to get refreshed and connect.Thank you for doing this, for sharing yourself, and for your support. One day, I’ll travel east and kiss your cheek in person. For now, just the etheric kind. XX

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    1. Yoda! My kids call me Yeti (and not in the flattering sense). I read your comment yesterday and have been floating on it ever since. Thank you Sandy. Your kind words mean a lot to me. I’ll take the etheric kind!

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  28. David, I’m a wee bit late to the party, but please don’t read my tardiness as lack of affection or admiration–nothing could be further from the truth!

    CONGRATS on hitting the two-year mark!! As so many others have said, this blog is one of my ‘go-to’ spots for starting each day. Getting my ‘daily dose of David’ is as vital as hitting the gym each morning. 🙂 I started following you in the early days of this blog, along with Mimi and the Karma Truck, and you two have remained ‘leading lights of the blogosphere’ for me. I feel as though I’m having coffee with an old friend each morning, and I have also discovered many other, wonderful bloggers thanks so your space. 🙂

    Every day I’m treated to something new in the pages of Lead.Learn.Live–a new insight into an intractable problem; a dulcet-toned new diva that demands attention; a good belly laugh; a snappy soliloquy on jogging, walking the dog or life in the big city; a new way to add several (thousand) calories to my diet (excluding, of course, that damned jello)– whatever the subject, you never disappoint!!

    Thank you for making each day a little brighter, pal. Long may you lead!! 🙂

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