Whoah, it’s here
So two years after I read Andy Wibbel’s book Blogwild and was convinced that I wanted to start blogging right this second, I’m launching a blog. Hi, this is my blog.
It’s taken me a seriously long time to implement the Andy-ignited *spark*. It’s been oh, let’s see, a year and eight months since I got my wordpress API KEY thingey.
And about nine months since that one time I talked my designer, a colleague and several client into blogging (which they took to like the proverbial duck to water, if Selma will excuse the duck reference). Now even their clients blog.
And it’s been at least six months since I realized the following three things:
- If you have a business and you’re not hanging out in (and actively participating in) the land of blog, you’re doin’ it wrong.
- Someone who is incapable of not writing and actually misses writing when not cranking out noozletters and ebooks really needs a platform to dump out all the wordishness happening in her head. That someone is me.
- Remember when Kelly Parkinson from Copylicious wrote me that email and said all those things*? She was totally right and actually she’s always right and anyone who doesn’t listen to every word she says is a moron, including and maybe even especially me.
*Here’s what Kelly said:
You need to be blogging. This stuff you write about is solid gold. There is no reason you shouldn’t be out there doing teleconferences with the Seth Godins of the world. Take this as your kick in the pants message: Get a blog!!! It is just wrong that you’re not allowing the random people who need this stuff to find it. Please! I beg you! Blog!
But getting back to Andy.
Andy Wibbels was my very first internet-crush. Not in a “If only you liked girls” way, but more in a “Whoah, you are so not a phony and yet you’re totally successful at this stuff” way.
It was such a relief to encounter someone who was so obviously not sleazy and just being all this-is-my-authentic-self, but not in a calculated “strategic” (gross) way. Total happy exhale moment. I felt tremendously reassured to know that someone was modeling something sorta like what I wanted to do (help people, but in a way that it’s accessible and that the right people can find you).
Plus he could teach me useful stuff about this whole running-your-home-business-on-the-internets thing. But the most important thing I’ve learned from Andy is one of those yoga-style lessons of life: “Show up completely, wackiness and all.” That means weaknesses, warts, quirkinesses, the toy duck that you talk to and everything that makes you a real, live human being with stuff.
Hmmph. Stupid transparency.
You might be noticing that there aren’t a lot of comments here aren’t any comments here. Yes, I live a yogacentric lifestyle and one of the principles of yoga that I’m so serious about is that of speaking truth, which is way, way harder than it sounds and which will trip you the hell up if you don’t watch what you say, which of course is the point. But enough about bringing conscious awareness to every living moment and more about the comment situation.
There aren’t any. Yet. And that’s because this blog launched yesterday.
Which, as I was explaining above is because I have been working on my “stuff”. Yeah, the hardest part of being a habits expert is modeling the whole being-gentle-with-yourself thing. It means that I work really hard to get better at giving myself permission to take my sweet time to work through my own stuck bits and do things in my own quirky (quirkified?) way. And boy did I have a bunch of resistance to work through around this blogging thing.
But the point is: I’m here now. I’m ready now.
And I madly adore you for being part of it. (Or at least I think I do)
My super-brief Oscar acceptance speech: thanks and crazy gratitude to everyone who kept nudging me forward with this (especially Copylicious Kelly Parkinson, Pam Slim, Nathan Bowers). And Andy, of course. Oh, and Naomi Dunford from Itty Biz.
Naomi is my current internet-crush. Not in a “If only you liked girls” way, but in a “you are the person I’d probably be if I hadn’t lived abroad for eleven years and become a yogi, please let’s be kindred spirits forever” kind of way. She has given me so much inspiration juice.
And thanks/hello to all the great people I haven’t met yet.
If you’re not someone who has been part of my foray my emigration process as I move out of whatever you’d call where I am right now and into the land of blog — actually if you’re someone other than my one subscriber (hi) –, I would love it if you would read some of my old noozletter bits o’ self-work wisdom that are hanging out here while I get into my blogging Schwung.
And if you feel so inclined, leave a comment or two on your favorites to remind me that I’m not just winking in the dark. Would be awesome. Or if you want to celebrate with me. Or if you have suggestions of the “learn from my horrible mistakes” variety or just want to be all encouraging and stuff. Whee, encouragement! Thanks.
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Happy Blog-warming!
Yeah blogging world, we got Havi!!!
I am SO excited for you and eager to tune in whenever a new post appears to get enlightening, action-inspired info on how to work with myself to produce work by myself. Such good stuff, and so needed!
I LOVE the WordPress migration — I have serious envy. I am so tired of my blog format for now, but I am allowing myself to be ok with it until the book is done. Once done, watch out world!
And what great company you keep — I adore Nathan, Andy, Kelly and Naomi.
Rock on, safe travels, and welcome to the blogosphere! It is a wonderful, magical place.
xox,
-Pam
Congratulations!!
Welcome to the par-tay! (And, as noted, howdy from my ducks to Selma.)
Right, you’re in the RSS feeds. Now go be interesting. 😉
I was wondering when The Fluent Self would offer “from Havi’s keyboard to my brain” push technology, and now it’s here. Nice!
Uh yeah, the Fluent Self tech division is working on a new technology that will offer “from Havi’s brain to your keyboard” technology. It’s the future, I’m telling you.
Also, yay! A blogwarming! How heartwarming. Uh oh, I can’t stop saying warming. Make yourself at home, food’s in the kitchen. Thanks for all the encouraging words.
So glad Naomi mentioned you in her post! I popped right over and you are now one of the few blogs I’m committed to reading daily. Thanks for updates by email, that helps a lot.
And thanks so much for what this blog is already becoming 🙂
Delighted to be making my way backwards through your blog as it appears via RSS since your mention on IttyBiz — never would’ve found you otherwise. And yet, when finding your blog and site I felt just like you described your Andy/Naomi discovery. “Man! I wanna be that!” But on further reading, I’m reminded that that’s how other people react to me… so you offer much more to me as your Reader/Subscriber/Student than I’d get it I WERE you – ya know?
Glad you’re putting it out there — and if you have it in you to write about how you overcame which resistances you had toward blogging… speak up!
He he he – how the universe likes to tease us.
So I just worked out why I’m not pushing a business out onto the interwebs just yet. To paraphrase:
I need to “work really hard to get better at giving myself permission to take my sweet time to work through my own stuck bits and do things in my own quirky (quirkified?) way. And boy [do] I have a bunch of resistance to work through around this” business thing.
But that means I’ve suddenly got loads of energy for my other projects (I’ve like 4 non-business blog ideas now, 3 of which I’m actively building up right now!)
Then I find my way back to this post through a ‘related articles’ link. Ok, Universe, I’m getting the hint!
And thanks for launching the blog at the perfect time – just so it was ready for me to turn up and be nourished and lifted up and have happy wonderness happen in my head!
Now, what’s a wordpress API key…?
James | Dancing Geeks last blog post..Learn about your fear from rabbits
This is such a wonderful first post Havi! I had jumped right into reading your current posts and I was sure you had been blogging so much longer than this. When you are ready, you are really ready, aren’t you.
Mahalo nui ~ thank you ~ for sharing your writing with us and everything about you which goes with it.
I just started my blog a few weeks ago. All my life I’ve wanted to be a writer. Lately I’ve been wondering, how much writing do you have to do to be a writer?
When I was in college, I took a narrative writing course. The instructor told me that it was clear that I needed to write. “But,” I argued back (only in my head), “I don’t have anything to say–yet. I’ll have something to say when I’m, oh, fifty.”
So now I’m fifty-two. And I’m blogging. Actually, I’m blogging my guts out. (Mental thread: “Must blog. Must write. Cannot not write.”) So does this mean that I get to think of myself as a writer? I really hope so, because I’m beginning to.
Thanks so much, Havi, for your en-courage-ment!
Mary Ray Worleys last blog post..Take Your Stand
Look at you and your comments. 🙂
I just found your blog about 2 weeks ago, and I love it very much. I was glad when you linked back to this beginnings post. I love to hear people’s histories.
It is empowering to see someone with their blog act together… and then go back x amount of months and read how it was taking shape.
Sometimes we take steps into the dark, and trust we’re getting somewhere. The only direction is forward.
Thank you.
Joels last blog post..The Moon Between Us
Great to be able to backtrack and stalk you through your archives.
Loving it!
Hi,
Just wanted to thank you for being so willing to put your stuff up on the net and share it with the world. i’m just beginning to step out into internet land more and i’d been getting so discouraged. I’m a big fan of Seth Godin, especially his whole “be remarkable, be authentic, be consistent” line.
BUT, i ain’t always consistent. one of the things that needs destuckifying — if that is the correct usage of that particular verb (transitive, right?). So, i always felt like, well, once i get me all fixed just perfect like, then i’ll be ready.
reading your blog is helping me to know that i don’t have to wait, especially given that i learn to do by doing.
again, thanks. SINCERELY APPRECIATED!
markie x.