The 12 Phases of Becoming a Blogger (for an average guy)

So it's been awhile since I've posted, but mostly because I've been guest-blogging over at Brazen Careerist so it's not for lack of effort on my part.  I've actually been writing a lot, in fact.  Just not posting here.  It's interesting to be writing on someone else's blog, as it creates a whole new dynamic for me.  It's a little strange really. 

I think many bloggers like me go through a series of steps in their blogging career.  I'll call them The 12 Phases of Becoming a Blogger (for an average guy).

1. I can't do a blog.  I'm not qualified.
2. I could do a blog, but no one would read.
3. If I did do a blog, some people would read.
4. Once I started a blog, I would run out of things to write about.
5. I'm going to try blogging, but I don't know how to set it up.
6. People would probably help me set it up, so I'm going to try and do this.
7. I now have a blog, and it's hard to fit writing into my life, but I think about things diferently.
8. I've been writing a little bit, and I'm running out of things to say.
9. I'm starting to fit blogging into my normal weekly routine.
10. I have way too much to write about that I no longer have the time to write about everything I want to say.
11. I've met a few people through my blogging.
12. Blogging has changed so much about my life.

At least that's how it went for me.  Every step for me in my blogging experience has been from other people pulling me into the blogosphere.  In that, blogging is unlike so many other things in life.

I had a pretty funny example of Radical Transparency happen to me today while in a meeting with my executive team at Google.  We were having an offsite at The Four Seasons Hotel in Palo Alto, and discussing the strategic direction of the Online Sales and Operations group and some other topics.  At one point we got to talking about the people side of the business, and the idea of employee engagement.   Google's employee base is a pretty happy bunch of people, as that's why we won the top spot on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to work for in America this year. 

So I'm new, and trying to make an impression and generally contribute to the discussion, even though my head is spinning from trying to get up to speed in my new job.   And then right in the middle of the meeting I say, in my most profound voice, "Someone once said that most jobs are too small for the human spirit..."  Now, I really believe this is true.  And apparently, it really resonated with the team, because a bunch of the leaders in the room were nodding their heads and asking me to repeat it so they could write it down. 

So here's where it get's funny.  One of the leaders says, "Hey, let's find out who said that..." as in, let's found out what famous person coined such a remarkably insightful proverb.  So I think nothing of it, and 1-2 minutes later, this guy starts laughing and says, "I found out who came up with that quote."  And everyone looks, and he points at me.  The only reference on the entire Internet to that specific phrase is by yours truly in an interview with Jason Goldberg a year or two ago.  You can see for yourself here.

So, you have to be careful what you say in a Radically Transparent world, in more ways than you might think.

Comments

[Christie]

I am cracking up reading this.....with being "Googled" at the reach of everyone...you have to be careful what you say, write or do.

:-)

Christie

[Matt Winn]

Jason,

Hilarious. I'd say you came out on the positive side of the real-time fact checking coin!

Seems you adhere to another "human spirit" quotable from ee cummings:

"Once we believe in ourselves [believe quoting oneself counts], we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit."

Best,
Matt

[carla]

Hellooooo
I like the way you write. Its inspiring sometimes!
Im from brazil and here, of course, we do have good people doing this, but somehow I always read your blog too.
best

Carla

[Rob]

Good list. I'm at about number eight right now and definitely need to progress to nine. Hopefully the rest will follow.

[A Stranger Wanders By]

From The 12 Phases of Becoming a Blogger (for an average guy): ""Someone once said that most jobs are too small for the human spirit..." Now, I really believe this is true."

That is a Bad Premise to base a POV on the value of labor.

What I learned as a child: Do your work in the spirit of worship. Whether you are cleaning the bathroom or running the whole shebang, you give it your all, magnifying both the work and yourself. The third-string guard on Stanford's football team has a high value in that he's working on the scout team in an effort to prepare the starters and if he as well as the other 10 on that scout team do their job well, the starters have a better chance to perform well on Saturday. The role that appears small on the depth or organizational chart has a high value in the greater scheme of things and if it does not, it should not be there at all.

On another point mentioned: I have a much different take on how to run an organization. How many "strategic direction" meetings does it take to figure out where one is supposed to go? I say the answer is ZERO. The leader is supposed to know! A good leader has a constant stream of feedback to make corrections in course toward a goal and if needed, change the goal, but in the end it comes down to one leader. Would you have two people try to drive one car? Let one person LEAD, the rest follow. Evaluate the leader's results in the appropriate time frame to decide if a new leader is needed. Evaluate the goal accomplishment situation to decide if the current grouping of a leader and followers is still needed. Those are the functions of the next level of leadership. In the end it comes down to the primary leader and that leader's ability to generate the adaptable memes so the process triumphs over personalities.

Bill Gates built an empire on slapdash and people wonder why others emulate such a poor example with the comcomitant lowering of standards in products and services in the USA. You are 2 1/2 times as likely to die in a hospital from bad medical practices as a vehicular accident in the USA and the result is that much higher premiums are paid for malpractice insurance than car insurance. So much for the highest (?) educational standards and processes set up to generate doctors...LOL! Sometimes the wrong ways make a profit but in the end it is a fatal flaw for the entire social order. Now we deal with the consequences of that defective meme. Those of you who profit from it and rejoice see the small view. I always look at the longest and largest view. If you aren't out to conquer and administer the whole of Creation to a state of absolute perfection as your ultimate goal you have aimed too low. 26-D Eternity is offset by dimensional collapse. Shivan principles are dynamic but unstable in their results. Do you want diamonds or lumps of coal for your efforts? The raw essential material is a constant but the outcome and state of that material is variable.

The parable story: Watch Star Trek: The Next Generation episode from Season One entitled "The Neutral Zone". Study all the characters and derive the moral. Then think what it means to stand on top of the mountain without a fear of heights.

Yes, it is okay to think!

[AjiNIMC]

I like this conversation:

John: "No body reads my blog"
Matt: As you do not have a blog.

Moral:
Write and you will get the visitors. Do a 30 day trial on blogging.

[ed kavanagh]

yeh i think i must be at about level 8.75, i have found it hard to keep blogging with consistency but i defintely go through periods of having so much to say at once. I think that just getting my ideas out on the net, and just training my brain to analyse things better has been extremely beneficial, ive learnt more through blogging than my college commerce curriculum! no jokes

[Jeanette Sherwood]

Hi Jason,
I work for Penelope (and now Ryan & Ryan) and apparently you aren't transparent enough to have your contact info on your blog! I am compiling a list of Coachology people and their contact info. If you would like, you could send an e-mail to Penelope to forward to me, thereby verifying my validity. Thanks!

[Joy-Mari]

Hi, Jason

My overused word for the week is awesome. So I'll say that this post is awesome. I got into blogging (again) last year because I wanted to see if I could stick something out.

And I did. It's been 1.5 years of blogging. I have three blogs and a small audience. Blogging requires discipline, something that I thought I didn't have.

So I learnt something *awesome* about myself through blogging: I do have some discipline. ;)