Tag Archives: Fortune Cookie

Blogging

Struggle as Hard as You can for Whatever You Believe In.

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Struggle as Hard as You can for Whatever You Believe In.

Struggle as Hard as You can for Whatever You Believe In.

So vague and so non-committal, a great fortune because it is one of those that I can take and run with. If you haven’t noticed that I pretty much write stream of conscious on these particular type of posts then you haven’t been paying attention. I have no direction on these FortunateBluFrog posts and so today’s “Whatever you believe in” is a perfect hopping off point.

I believe in myself

Despite the post the other day about how I have a hard time taking praise from people I still believe in myself. Each day is a struggle to work as hard as I can to improve that self. This may mean working out (something I am finally doing with regularity after a 7 year hiatus, ugh!), or eating right or monitoring my blood sugar levels. These are pretty much the three things that I struggle with on a daily basis. As you know I love to eat. I love greasy fried foods and cheese and sweets. I love them, they are delicious and comforting.

I struggle with weight

I’ve always struggled with my weight. From 8th grade to Sophomore year of college I remained 185lbs. I was as tall as I am now, 5″10′ on a good day. Now I look back and see that I wasn’t that big especially now that I am wearing 45 additional pounds. I do feel like I am wearing a 45lb full body suit with me everywhere. Now some people might look at that and say that I’ve got nothing to complain about because the number of pounds I need to lose is minimal. I guess everything is relative.

Being average gets you nothing

Did you ever notice that the world loves extremes. Look at Extreme makeover home edition, the people chosen have such extreme hard luck stories, the houses they build are extremely over the top and Ty yells extremely loud. Then look at the biggest loser, here you have extremely fat people being yelled at by extremely enthusiastic trainers and then they lose an extreme amount of weight.

This isn’t just on TV either. If people are extremely poor they have programs to help them. And if, lets say a company, a banking or automotive one, screws up in an extremely spectacular way then an insane amount of money goes to bail them out. If people buy more house than they can afford well they are getting a bail out too.

So what about the Average person?

Screw ’em is basically the feeling. I pay my bills so no bailout for me. I am not super fat so no extreme makeover for me. My clothes aren’t even bad enough for Stacy and Clinton to mock me over. Nope the average dude works, pays taxes and does the same the very next day. That is why they stay average.

Can you break the chain of average?

Now I’m not suggesting that you default on your mortgage and hook yourself to an IV of gravy. I do however, I think you can break the chain of average without doing harm to yourself, your waistline or your credit. One way to do it is to work hard, every person who has made anything of themselves and who is a person that people respect has worked hard. I had to add the earn respect part because there are people who have certainly made names for themselves who are not respected.

Working Hard isn’t Enough

If you are average you probably have been working hard your entire life. So why are you not more successful? And sadly I don’t have the answers you seek but maybe you have the answers for me. Leave a message about how you can break the chain of average in the comments.

Blogging

You Will Be Fortunate in Everything

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You Will Be Fortunate in Everything

You Will Be Fortunate in Everything

Well, that just about covers it. I guess I have nothing more to say on the subject.

Fortune Favors the Prepared Mind

Louis Pastuer once stated “In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind.” This quote has been re quoted and misquoted with regards to many things. However, I think that the original quote makes a lot of sense for those in the blogging arena.

As bloggers we observe what is happening around us and report on it, we photograph, tweet, video and facebook it. We record our observations and share them with the world. If we are educated on the latest trends then we can be prepared when chance happens upon us.

How to Have a Prepared Mind

To prepare your mind for fortune (chance) in blogging you need to do your research. Are you learning from respected individuals or are you listening to those who just have loud voices? There are so many “experts” in the fields of “Social Networking”, “SEO” and “Make money with …” . If you come across those people who say they are “experts” in those fields, run don’t walk to the nearest exit. By following those people you are riding the tail end of any trend. Sure, a few of them make it and do well but for the most part they simply rehash thoughts and ideas from other bloggers.

To find people who really are respected as authorities on blogging take a look at blogging conventions like Blog World Expo, Affiliate Summit and IZEAFest. Specifically take a look at the Keynote speakers. Generally if someone is keynoting at a conference they have something that people want to hear and should hear. So learn who those people are and find their blogs, then read their blogs to learn the dos and don’ts of blogging.

However, Don’t Be a Sheep

Sheep never challenge the shepard, they may wander away from the flock and get lost or eaten by wolves but they never challenge the shepard. Don’t be a sheep. If you are reading posts by bloggers weigh in and give your opinion, leave a comment even if you disagree.

Be Polite

Being a sheep and being polite are two separate things. You can be polite and still disagree with someone. Polite discourse and intelligent disagreement can generate excellent discussion and earn you respect not only from the blogger you are following but also from their followers. Being a sheep means agreeing with everything the blogger does and commenting to that effect. You may get noticed with an agreeable comment, however you most likely will become lost in the flock. Don’t be a sheep, have your own opinion and use it.

Back to Point

A fortunate blogger is one who learns and observes, picks his moment to act and makes it look like he knew exactly what to do all along. A fortunate blogger doesn’t waste words, she learns all she can before speaking and when she speaks she speaks with authority. A fortunate blogger understands that when his mouth is closed, his ears are open. Listen, observe, keep the good, toss the bad and you will certainly be a blogger who is Fortunate in Everything.