Why Shouldn’t Your Blog Be Your Home Page?

Google has always been my default home page for as long as I can remember.  Lately though, I’ve noticed that when I fire up my Firefox browser, I check out three things right away: mail (on my gmail account), Facebook (alright, so I’m probably marginally addicted…), and Multiply (…marginally addicted to social networking!).

From there, I’d go to check on my usual websites- check out some entertainment news, or the latest music chart movements, or the latest news in gaming- or do some online business like pay some bills or something.

The rest of my day will be spent blogging, and linking references into my blog, or checking out any other variety of social networking and social bookmarking sites from YouTube to Technorati.  I’ve gone to the point of actually spending more than 8 hours a day online- including the time I spend in front of the PC after work- which is to say I’m either playing World of Warcraft or doing even more blogging.

I suppose this is all really about putting some much-needed order into my life.  There’s just so much going on already, and there’s probably much more going on later on, so I suppose I’ll have to make way for new stuff coming through.

So the first order of business is to set this blog “The Life and Times of The Renzie Man” as my home page.  Let’s see how that works out.  Gonna work on getting this blog just a little bit more functional: at least as far as we can fine-tune it- the free version of WordPress doesn’t seem to support some of the things I’d like to have just now.

Gonna put more link lists, and RSS feeds and widgets on the side.  Just to make this an easier springboard to get into other sites. It also means more updates from time to time, probably on a more daily basis.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Preparation + Opportunity = Success

The following post originally came out in one of my other blogs, “Blog. Blogger. Bloggest!”. Check out the rest of that blog for more insights on the world of blogs and blogging. Particularly useful for you who are just starting to blog, and those wanting to build better blogs. Enjoy!

I remembered it hit me in the face when I saw it on an E! True Hollywood Story or something. It was a story about Keenen Ivory Wayans. You may know him as a successful and talented actor, comedian, director and producer- but for me, I will forever associate him with one of my most favorite sketch comedy shows of all time, “In Living Color”.

Shout-out to my sister for getting me Season 1 on DVD, by the way. Great stuff.

Now from what I remember (I could be wrong, so bear with me), Keenen had always wanted to be a cast-member of Saturday Night Live- which has always been the benchmark for TV sketch comedy, even to this day. For some reason, he never made it into the show- but it didn’t keep him from honing his craft, working on writing and directing and producing.

It wasn’t long until he got noticed- this time, a TV network (FOX) presented him with the opportunity to have his own sketch comedy show- which we now know as “In Living Color”, and which I think at the time was positioned against Saturday Night Live.

The show was groundbreaking. We know it now as the show that helped jumpstart the careers of Damon Wayans, Jim Carrey (back then credited as James Carrey), David Alan Grier, Jennifer Lopez (she was a Fly Girl!), and Jamie Fox. “In Living Color” went on for five seasons, until 1994- which was still a very respectable run for any TV series.

Brothers Damon, Shawn and Marlon Wayans all had fairly impressive movie careers already going on at the time the E! True Hollywood Story was done. I remember them crediting big brother Keenen for drilling into their heads this simple, but very important equation:

Preparation + Opportunity = Success.

And it has been a source of inspiration for me ever since. The story was something I’ve shared with people I’ve worked with- not just at the radio stations or the contact centers I’ve seen action in, but also with clients and friends.

It teaches us that success depends on two things: One- the amount of effort you put in to honing your craft, making yourself more marketable, essentially building yourself up. And Two- getting yourself into a position that opens doors for you, and grabbing the chance to showcase your skills when the opportunity presents itself. You need both to achieve success.

And yes, I believe in that.

It’s no different for blogging. Building up your blog is the ‘Preparation’ part of the the equation. It gives you a chance to develop your writing skills, to get into the habit of churning out good content, and get completely immersed in the blogging lifestyle.

The ‘Opportunity’ part comes in when you start marketing your blog. You allow more people to check out your work, and you also put yourself in situations where you can get noticed by the people you want. You’ll never know what you can find out there: making new online friends, getting offered to write for a blog network, getting invited to blogger events, being asked to talk about your blogging experiences at a workshop- the possibilities are endless.

In fact, blogging presents a lot of opportunities for anyone who’s serious enough with it. Check out this posting for jobs for bloggers just for this month. And the way things are going, there’s a rising demand for good, quality content- a need that can be filled if writing is your game.

So do you think you’re ready? If so, then good for you- get yourself out in the spotlight and show us what you got. If not, well then keep building yourself up- and hope that, next time the opportunity presents itself- you’ll be ready this time.

Blogging My Way To Work.

The following post originally came out in one of my other blogs, “Blog. Blogger. Bloggest!”. Check out the rest of that blog for more insights on the world of blogs and blogging. Particularly useful for you who are just starting to blog, and those wanting to build better blogs. Enjoy!

Currently, my everyday commute from home to work takes about an hour in a cab. I usually take the time to do my phonecalls, prepare my to-do list for the day, or scribble down a few notes.

As some of you may have already read, I have acquired for myself one of these sweet Asus Eee PCs. Which means I could actually take out this sexy little laptop and do some work on the way to work.

Or blog while I’m on my way to work.

I simply can’t stress it enough: when you’re a blogger, if and when the urge to write hits you- by Bob, you better get down to writing.

Thoughts are very volatile stuff. You could have a nice idea, or a well-worded insight, or some rant or rave you have working in your mind at the moment, but as you may have noticed- that can all evaporate just as quickly as it was formed in your head.

Thus, the urgency to blog as soon as you can. Can’t get any fresher than that, right?

The Master Plan.

At any given time, in any given situation, your actions have to be governed by your Master Plan.

You do have a Master Plan, don’t you?

The Master Plan is more than just a plan- it’s really more of a roadmap of where you want to go with your life, or probably more appropriately, what you want to do with it, and what you want to be.

Just like any map, there are a number of ways to get to your destination.  What truly matters is the end goal, and the choices you make getting there.

My Master Plan

No, I don’t see myself slaving away at a 9-to-5 job when I hit, say, 40- which is a mere 6 years from now, incidentally.

Obviously I would like to do the things I want to do.  Blogging is obviously one of my newfound passions.

I like my job now- I definitely like what I’m doing. But in the not-too-distant future, I’ll probably have a number of people doing things for me instead.  So yeah, I would very much want to have a few companies under my name.

I’ve already started on that- I do have my own marketing communications company now, and an events group.  But I’d also want to have my own online stores, get into the toy retail business, set up a pet supplies shop, probably my own grocery store.

I also started my travel agency, but I still haven’t quite decided how to position it.  Besides, I got my hands rather full at the moment- so maybe it will have to be shelved for now.

What’s The Point?

Of course, there must be a point to the Master Plan.  I want to break away from depending on regular employment.  Not that it’s a bad thing- heck, if you can have both, go for it.

But there’s nothing as fulfilling as having your own thing going on.  And success is intoxicating.  You taste a little, and it just fuels your ambition, urging you to do more.

The point really, is to get to a point when your money and reputation is working for you, that you can spend time doing the things you want.

I sure would love to spend more time with my loved ones, my family, my friends, heck even my cats.

I would like to enjoy leisurely afternoons of gaming, reading, playing the guitar, or doing whatever I want to do.

I would like to have weekends out of town- whether at a spa or a resort, and maybe have the occasional vacation outside the country.

I would love to build my collection of books, toys, music and movies- and actually have time to enjoy them.

The Final Word

In short, I’d want to be able to take it easy when I hit 40.  Do the things I want, and spending time with the most important people in my life.

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my humble blog! This web journal is entirely dedicated to keeping track of the efforts I do to live life a little healthier and a lot more stress-free. I’m not getting any younger, and seriously, I feel the excesses of my decadent life slowly catching up with me.

Join me as I try to fight back the extra poundage, hop from one spa to another, make a low-carb (but very tasty!) meal, and pretty much whatever else is needed to rebuild my body into a better, stronger, faster me.