Postcards from the Funny Farm

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe via -or-

When I was in high school, I ran track and field. My coach would always tell us that runners with commitment were more important than those with talent. For example, I recall one runner who for four years constantly took first place. He was valuable, but he was a flake and his senior year he started doing drugs and the coaches decided they were really disillusioned with the guy. It’s a shame when talent gets sacrificed at the altar of laziness.

I can relate with the idea of talent with laziness, that’s something I try to avoid. I had talent on the guitar at an early age. My dad was a teacher so he taught me all he knew and some other men in my family played and they showed me what they knew as well. By the time I was in 4th grade I was singing Kenny Rogers’ “Coward of the County” for the fourth grade talent show. It was a fun childhood holding a guitar and I got a lot of attention, but I look back often wishing I would have been more serious about my lessons. I quit them earlier and was self taught ever since. This applies to many aspects of my life and yours. There may have been something in your life that you took for granted like I did guitar. Like the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady wins the race -or- committment takes it all.

I’ve seen amazing talent in the keeping life simple. It’s a good idea to try just one thing at a time. Make that your commitment. making money online. Your enjoyment can enhance the art/product/whatever it is.

As I get closer to my 40’s I see the wisdom of my high school coach. The great people I have known throughout my life have always been striving and creating the next thing. They never rest on their haunches, like Walt Disney said they always “keep moving forward.”

There is nothing worse than a talent gone complacent like old rotten teak furniture. Are you parked in some area of your life? Break away from your comfort zone and keep moving forward. Go the extra mile … life is short. The result of your reaching out of the comfort zone will be: innovation and creativity like you never imagined.

I see the biggest challenge to blog authors today as keeping visitors on their site long enough to have an impact through their writing. I’ve seen and heard the effective traffic brought on by games and gimmicks for shiny items like designer jewelry. I wonder if that traffic really reads their stuff though. Readers that stay is what I am always thinking about when I create and innovate my blog.

Going down my reading list of blogs today, I found that a few blog titles really stood out and urged a comment out of me without me even reading the post. As I went on to read the post my idea changed a little, but the gist of my comment came from that initial reaction to … the title.

As a teacher of writing, I have told my students for years that what sets a good article apart from a great one is its creative, thought-provoking title. Now, as a blog writer, I see that is all the more true in electronic medium. There are two types of readers among many that visit your blog:

1. Quick hoppers: These folks are looking forsomething they don’t find at your blog, or they are just trying to get EC points for Entrecard. Whatever the reason, their intention is not to stay long. These people might be the ones to consider in a creative, innovative title. Even more so if you have a SUMMATIVE title. I’ll give an example shortly.
2. The second kind are people who are looking for something and found it through a search on your blog. There are more than these two types, but when talking about summative titles, you should consider these two. So, howabout that example … okay … patience my good friend:

Imagine you have two blogs to read that you have starred for later. You look at the title of the first one and it says:

“As if …”

Then you restar that because your are not quite ready to let it go and you come across one that says:

“Songs that Stay in Your Head.”

The first title requires guessing (brain strain) and curiousity (again, brain drain). Nowadays very few readers will bother with a post like this unless they are good friends of yours or extreme fans of your personality etc. The second title is suggestive. It doesn’t even require the reader to finish the post in order to leave a comment. As Entrecard and “blog hopping” becomes more of the social norm in blogging, you should do all you can to get a comment, if not just get hoppers to stop and read the words you worked so hard on.

I think titles are something I’m going to do a series on. They are scantly addressed in the blogosphere
To Entrecard hoppers and other speed-readers: “Would that be something you’d enjoy, and stay awhile for? Wait, don’t answer that, I know you’re in a big hurry ;)