“I’m Done With Pretending”-Blogger Confesses to Being A Fraud
If I asked you to describe your idea of a “fearless” blogger, what type of person would come to mind?
Someone who feels powerless, paralyzed with fear, and overwhelmed by basic activities that intellectually should not be a problem to achieve?
That’s what I thought.
You read it here first. I’m done with pretending.
I call myself the Fearless Blogger. Yet, if I had to choose one word to sum up the past year of my life, that word would be “afraid”.
That’s not a Fearless Blogger. That’s a fraud.
It’s much easier to admit that to you now – the hardest part had been admitting it to myself.
Now that I’ve come clean, it’s time to turn things around. It’s time for me to live up to the moniker.
I’m not afraid anymore.
And now I’m ready to share my story.
These past few months have been focused on creating a healthy & balanced life for myself. In other words, I’m choosing to make creating the life I want a higher priority than creating websites.
Part of this process included learning to accept the debilitating impact of my ADHD and OCD, and how to better manage them. I choose not to let my diagnoses define me; still, I embrace that they’ve each had an integral influence on my life experience and perspective.
And now I’m ready to share my story, with hope that others like me might connect with it. We can feel stronger when we know we’re not alone.
Yours Truly,
The Fearless Blogger
Self-Indulgence: The Future of the Fearless Blogger
Warning:
This contents of this blog post are incredibly self-indulgent and there’s a good chance they may even be boring. Read at your own risk!
Been doing a bit of thinking about this blog lately. I’ve been busy helping others with their blogs, and a bit like the cobbler whose kids have no shoes (or whatever that saying is!) I’ve been neglecting my own. And I miss it.
I have some changes in mind, so thought I’d take a moment (or twenty) to share them. In a sense, this post is me sticking with an approach of transparency, in another sense it’s a bit of a brain dump. More honestly, I’m hoping that putting this into a blog post will be a bit of an affirmation, to make sure I get on the ball and back to being a blogger.
change is afoot (photo credit: David Reece)
To those of you who’ve been regular readers, commenters, subscribers and friends (both online and “IRL”), thank you for joining me and staying along for the ride thus far. Hopefully these changes keep you coming back for more. Ultimately, I’m just trying to find ways to make sure I’m keeping this blog true to me – which is the only way I feel I can live up to the “fearless” domain name I’m inhabiting. read more
A Plea to Ford: Please take my human. By Kaya Cher
I mentioned in my last post that I’ve had a couple of things I’ve been working on that I’d share with you soon. This is the first.
Background
Ford recently posted this contest at fiestamovement.com
One of Motor Trend’s Gotta Have Cars for 2010, the Ford Fiesta will make a bold statement on the American road. This is your chance to drive the international model here before its official US debut. We’re looking for an elite crop of drivers to take the wheel: people with a strong presence on the web, an ability to craft a compelling story through video, and a hunger for adventure. As a driver, you’ll receive monthly secret assignments from Ford Mission Control that will take you to places you’ve never been, to meet people you’ve never met, and to experiences you’ll never forget. And you’ll bring your friends and followers along for the ride.
We’ll hand you the keys to your own Fiesta for a six month period, and we’ll even handle the gas and insurance for you, too.
Many will apply. Only 100 will be chosen. Show us you’ve got what it takes to join the Fiesta Movement
As part of this excellent example of using social media in a marketing campaign, interested applicants were to submit a video explaining why they should become a driver, upload it to YouTube with the tag fiestamovement and submit the link with their application. As the video shows, my cat decided to toss my hat into the ring!
Where in the World is the Fearless Blogger?
For those who’ve noticed things have been a bit quiet on the blogging front . . .
I have a couple projects up my sleeve that are in the final stretch (but have nothing to do with mixing metaphors).
Curious? Not really? Either way, I’ll be elaborating on two of them more in the next few days. It’s felt weird to be blogging less frequently and I’m looking forward to making up for lost time!
Next week will also bring the return of Inside the Bloggers Studio. (Thank you to those who’ve sent in your responses -- I’ve held off on posting them until I’m able to dedicate the time to each one to make sure they’re written with the care and attention you each deserve!)
In the meantime, if you’re the type who doesn’t like to wait: Contact me (in the comments or on Twitter) if you’re interested in taking a sneak peak and providing some feedback on a new website.
Puzzle Pieces and Michaelisms
There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle. -Deepak Chopra
photo credit: miss blackbutterfly on Flickr
Although I consider myself a spiritual person, I don’t view myself as especially religious. My ties to Judaism are driven more by tradition and culture than by adhering to its tenets.
Tradition motivated me to continue to go to temple for the “High Holidays” after moving to Seattle. It was at one of the Seattle services that I heard a sermon that’s stuck with me, nearly a decade later. I’ll do my best to share the rabbi’s message here:
We each carry within us puzzle pieces. Some of these pieces belong to our own puzzle, some belong to other people’s puzzles.
photo credit: rpongsaj on Flickr
As we encounter people throughout our lives, puzzle pieces are exchanged. Sometimes we give pieces, sometimes we receive them.
Often we may not realize the exchange was made until time has passed, more pieces accumulated to help identify where it fits into our internal puzzle.
Similarly, we’re often unaware when we’ve handed someone a piece to their puzzle. Exchanges can be made in the briefest of encounters. Intentions or impressions don’t have a bearing on these exchanges.
Receiving a puzzle piece does not mean it’s yours to keep. Sometimes pieces remain stashed away, until we encounter the intended recipient after time has passed.
I love this metaphor. It adds meaning to each person I connect with as I journey through life.
The sermon was shared in a day that the internet was very young and social media was not yet part of the lexicon. Today we have some many ways to make connections; opportunities to exchange puzzle pieces.
