Nomad Challenge

The place where everyone knows your name. (photo by Caitlinator/Flickr)

I must say, although I am still new to the world of blogging and internet marketing, I am very impressed with the blogging community, particularly with some well-established bloggers. And from what I can tell, the type of generosity they have displayed recently is more the norm rather than the exception among the community.

Two blogs that I often read, The Writers Manifesto and ProBlogger, recently included a list of links to pages of some of their readers. On The Writers Manifesto blog, Monika Mundell compiled a list herself of various posts from her readers in her own post titled “Success Principles As Seen By My Readers.” Then earlier this week, Darren Rowse ran an interesting experiment of sorts with his ProBlogger Social Media Love-In. He basically asked his readers if they were active on various social media sites, and if they wanted to network with other bloggers, told them to feel free to include links to their profiles.

I was pleasantly surprised to find my opening post included on Monika’s list, and all of us on it were very grateful to her. It was a very nice show of appreciation on her part to introduce us all to each other. After reading Darren’s post and seeing that a few people had decided to list their pages in the comments section, I decided why not and put links to my Twitter, Facebook and MySpace pages. I didn’t think much of it at the time, seemed like a nice gesture on Darren’s part, and yet little did I know what was in store…

It turns out the Twitter links were very popular as almost immediately my email was turning up Twitter follow notifications like there was no tomorrow! And the notifications are still coming in today! I hadn’t used Twitter very much before (it was still on my “to learn” list) and now I went from six followers to over 100 in a matter of a few days. You can find the complete list of ProBlogger’s 538 twitter users that blog here (I’m no. 175 on there).

What have these two acts of kindness done for my blog? Well a lot more in terms of bringing in visitors than I had been doing, that’s for sure! Admittedly I haven’t gotten around to doing much promoting of my website yet (shame Kevin!). Prior to these two listings, I only had a few visitors here and there from a few friends who I have talked to about it and a few others who I either contacted directly or may have seen me comment on another site.

And while my traffic numbers are still very modest, compared to what they were before they have skyrocketed (relatively speaking, of course). I even got a few encouraging messages from some of my new Twitter friends saying they checked out my blog and enjoyed it! All this has gotten me very excited. Being an athlete, I compare seeing this first wave of visitors and comments to scoring your first goal or winning your first match. I actually do remember the emotions from my first soccer goal from when I was six very vividly.

On a similar note, I would be remissed if I didn’t give thanks to a couple other bloggers, Penelope Trunk and Caroline Middlebrook, who recently took the time to answer an email I sent, in a very timely manner I must add. I’m sure they are very busy so I appreciate that they took the time out of their day to respond. It may be a simple act, and yet it has helped me with my blogging in these early stages. Little things like that do go a long way.

These acts of generosity have opened my eyes more to the culture of the blogging world while introducing me to many other fascinating bloggers of various topics, of which I may not have found otherwise. It makes sense, in order to succeed in blogging (or business for that matter), that one must provide value to their readers (or customers). I get the impression that this sort of collaboration and interdependence has been picking up steam among those on the cutting edge for some time now, which is a nice trend to see.

I mentioned Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People book in an earlier post, and I bring it up again as interdependence was a big theme of his. His seven habits are meant to guide people from dependence, to independence, to interdependence. What does that mean exactly? Dictionary.com defines the term interdependent as “mutually dependent; depending on each other”, while Wikipedia states that interdependence “can also be defined as the interconnectedness and the reliance on one another socially, economically, environmentally and politically.”.

I think it is important to note that like it or not, we are all interdependent of one another, and life itself is interdependent. Even more so these days with globalization and the power of the internet and other communication technologies. It’s comforting to see that more and more people, especially those who are in a position of influence, are embracing this concept.

Cheers, mates! (photo by gamma.amore/flickr)

Mentioning these folks on this blog will likely not have the same sort of impact on them as they have had on me and my blog. I simply don’t possess the same amount of influence at this time. This charitable attitude is something I intend to keep paying forward though as I go along. Generosity begets generosity, and that is a VERY good thing. Who knows, I could always buy them a drink should our paths ever cross in person! It would be the least I could do.

On that note, to Monika, Darren, Penelope, Caroline and all my fellow bloggers and readers out there; thank you, and here’s to all our success and happiness. Cheers!

The second bit of news that I wanted to share this weekend is that I decided to go on a bit of a domain shopping spree the other night after the .me domains went on sale to the general public. I admit, it was sort of an impulse purchase for me since I had actually just found out about it that day through TechCrunch (I guess I have been living under a rock for the past few months). I had gotten in on this later on that night so I never ran into any of the issues that a lot of people in that post’s comments seemed to be having.

So what is a .me domain anyway? Well, it’s not every day that new countries are created, so this is sort of a once in a blue moon event. To make a long story short, .me is the internet country code assigned for Montenegro, which recently became an independent nation. Each country has its own extension, often loosely based on the native spelling of its name (e.g. Australia is .au, Germany (Deutschland) is .de).

Flag of Montenegro (Courtesy of www.mysona.dk)

Montenegro used to be part of the former Yugoslavia, which then split up. It actually remained a part of a smaller Yugoslavia for a little while, along with Serbia, which would then later become known as “Serbia and Montenegro”. Montenegro then formally declared its independence in 2006.

Anyway, it seemed like a good opportunity to get some good names in some topics that I am interested in anyway, so I figured why not. And .me seems to have a unique branding potential (I did get kevinhassett.me for instance, how cool is that!). I’m not quite sure what I am going to do with them all just yet so right now they are just sitting empty and doing nothing. Maybe I’ll sell some, or maybe I’ll use them for some niche pages that I have in mind.

Who knows what sort of success I’ll end up having with this… nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Maybe there is some value to these .me domains or perhaps they may just be hype and end up being a waste of time and money for me. Time will tell. In the meantime, I am keeping an open and positive mindset about it and will focus on its potential benefits rather than any downside there may be. Oftentimes the downsides are just our minds playing tricks on us anyways.

This weekend I will post a couple quick updates on some things that I have going on that I am excited about.

Today I want to discuss the Thirty Day Challenge. I had vaguely remember seeing something about this a while back, and then as I was starting to create this blog and I got into following various other blogs, I found others who had taken up the challenge before. It seems as though it has helped a lot of people who were getting started with internet marketing and such, so I decided to give it a shot.

This is the fourth year that Ed Dale and Dan Raine are running the challenge. The goal of the 30DC is to help people make their first $10 online. Appearantly a few people who have gone through the challenge have gone on to make well into the six and seven figure range. Right now I’ll just be excited to see that first $10!

Currently the challenge is in “preseason” mode, and will officially kick off on August 1, so there is still time to get involved if you are interested. The entire program and training is completely free. It seems as though it is not just for beginners, but veterans can also benefit from the course as well.

I found Caroline Middlebrook’s posts about her experiences with last year’s challenge to be very helpful. Click here for a link to her post about this year’s challenge. You can also go to her archives as many of her early posts discus the 30DC.

This should be a great experience for me, and it comes at a good time as I am just starting out. Also with no job at the moment, I should have plenty of time over the next month. I guess in that regard, I am in a similar circumstance that Caroline was in at this point last year, so it is encouraging to see how far she has come in 12 months.

I’ll be sure to blog about the 30DC and let you know my thoughts as I’m going through the program. Have any of you ever taken part in the 30DC or are planning to do so this year? Let me know what you think about it.

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(Disclaimer: Yes, I do get a “point” if you sign up through those Thirty Day Challenge links above, which could lead to winning prizes. I’m really not too concerned about trying to win any prizes with it, so you can just go to http://www.thirtydaychallenge.com if you like. I am simply writing about this as it is part of my plan to achieve my nomading dreams, and perhaps others will find it beneficial as well.)

Since I’m likely moving back in with the folks (temporarily at least) in a few weeks time, I decided this past week to take some time off to do some nomad practicing, if you will. I figured, I’m not working right now and there are a few things I would like to do in Florida before I left.

I’d been meaning to go some of the theme parks in Orlando and just never set any plans, and trying to coordinate with friends who are working would’ve been too much hassle, so I just up and left on my own one morning and decided to just wing it. I figure I’ll be doing a lot of that anyway in the future, so might as well get a little practice in now.

I drove up with no hotel or tickets purchased, and decided to just figure it all out once I got there. I guess I was inspired a bit by Rolf Potts’ Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel book, which I am currently reading, as he more or less suggested that taking this sort of approach really adds value to the adventure.

The other reason I decided to go last week was because of a seminar that was in town that I had been to before (past attendees can go for free), so I was going to see if I could get in at the last minute and just combine a little business and leisure. The seminar didn’t work out, so I just did a couple theme parks instead. Afterall, I’ve been wanting to go before I left the state anyway.

The first day I went to Sea World and then I went to Disney’s Epcot the following day. I’m not really into roller coasters and other thrill rides of that ilk, so I tend to gravitate toward the educational-type entertainment (I know, I can be a bit of a nerd sometimes!). It felt a little weird just going there on my own at first, but it was also very liberating. No having to deal with family or small kids and different people wanting to do different things – no offense to my family and friends

Gotta love pengiuns!

Overall it was enjoyable, plenty to do for the adults at these parks. The shows at Sea World are amazing, especially Clyde and Seymour (the sea lions). Very funny! Plus anytime you have a chance to see penguins, I think it’s a good thing. The Shamu and dolphin shows were also great to see, one has to appreciate the training that it takes to put these shows together. Of course I would be remissed if I didn’t mention the free beer at the Anheuser-Busch pavilion!

Epcot was also good. Where else can you go through Mexico, China, Norway, Germany, America, Morocco, Japan, France, the UK and Canada all in one afternoon? I particularly enjoyed the circle-vision videos on China, France and Canada. The French one I think is the same from when I was first there probably 15-20 years ago, but the classical soundtrack with the likes of Debussy and Saint-Saenz adds a great touch. The scenery of China and Canada was awesome. I did a lot of the attractions in Future World, although I didn’t get a chance to do Soarin’… lines were too long (80-120 minutes). Some people I was talking with while I was there said that was the single best attraction in all of Orlando.

Entering "China"

I decided to drive back that night after leaving Epcot, but got tired on the way back home and stopped at a hotel for the night. I knew I was nearby some friends of mine so the next morning I gave them a call and spent the day with them, then went back home the next morning. Not a bad little trip.

Now that I’ve had a few days to reflect, I’m thinking that going to those theme parks was a good reminder of how to be a kid again. Among the themes at these two parks are following your dreams, believing in ourselves and taking care of our environment. Of course when we are little, everyone tells you to never give up on your dreams, which is exactly the opposite of what many of us end up doing once we reach adulthood. I hope the kids are able to learn the lessons in all the messages being delivered about culture, attitude, science and the environment. I know I did when my parents took me there when I was little.

So yea, all in all, it was a good experience and good nomad practice, albeit on a very small scale. Nothing really like the mini-retirements I have in mind for the future.

First off, Happy Independence Day to all the readers out there from the USA!

Ahh, Providence… No, not the nice city pictured above that’s situated on Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, home of the prestigious Ivy League school Brown University as well as a famous big blue bug alongside the highway! Gotta love that critter!

The Big Blue Bug “Nibbles Woodaway” Photo by: Jonathan Baker
Taken from I-95 N-bound in Providence, RI

The sort of Providence I am talking about is illustrated in one of my all-time favorite quotes, which comes from W.H. Murray when he refers to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in his book The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951):

“Until one is committed
There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
Always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation),
There is one elementary truth,
The ignorance of which kills countless ideas
And splendid plans:
That the moment one definitely commits oneself,
Then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one
That would never otherwise have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision
Raising in one’s favor all manner
Of unforeseen incidents and meetings
And material assistance,
Which no man could have dreamt
Would have come his way.
I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
‘Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it’”

Absolutely Powerful! Perhaps it sounds a bit too wishy-washy for you, I understand. And yet I believe that no matter what your beliefs are about the universe, religion or life in general, that this advice is golden. Experience has shown me, and I am sure every person can relate, that life sometimes has a funny, seemingly magical way making things happen. This is why I think it is important that when you are planning to reach a certain goal, rather than keeping to a strict course of action, it’s best to leave some room for the unknown to happen.

If you have a real big proper goal, and by that I mean something that you really have to reach and grow for, something that is a true challenge that you have not accomplished yet, then you shouldn’t already know what the absolute best course of action is. If you did, you’d probably have already done it, and it probably isn’t going to help you grow that much. That, or you wouldn’t do it at all because it wouldn’t push you enough. Sure, having some idea of what to do is helpful, but just get started already!!! The rest will come to you as you go along, I promise!

In my previous post, I mentioned that just getting started was a huge step for me, one that unfortunately many people never get past. And committing to my goal on such a public forum just magnifies everything many fold. It strengthens the force of Providence, if you will, as well as my motivation. I’ve crossed the line of no return, there is no “chance to draw back.” Heck, if I draw back now, that will make me look bad in front of all of you!

Leo Babauta, who writes an an excellent blog called Zen Habits, referenced committing publicly in a recent post called The Ultimate Guide to Motivation – How to Achieve Any Goal. Leo gave eight beginning motivation suggestions, and number five was:

“Commit publicly. None of us likes to look bad in front of others. We will go the extra mile to do something we’ve said publicly. For example, when I wanted to run my first marathon, I started writing a column about it in my local daily newspaper. The entire island of Guam (pop. 160K) knew about my goal. I couldn’t back down, and even though my motivation came and went, I stuck with it and completed it. Now, you don’t have to commit to your goal in your daily newspaper, but you can do it with friends and family and co-workers, and you can do it on your blog if you have one. And hold yourself accountable — don’t just commit once, but commit to giving progress updates to everyone every week or so.”

Awesome! A great example of what Goethe said, “Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”

What have you always wanted to accomplish that you have been putting off for a rainy day, or for when you have more time, or out of fear? Leave a comment and let us know. Perhaps by stating publicly, you too will take actions toward that goal which will start the chain of events in your favor.

The unknown is nothing to fear, and the perfect time will never come. Get started now!!! I’ve always wanted to have the freedom to set out and see the world, and I knew if I didn’t start to do something about it now, I may regret it for the rest of my life. Two things, you must be clear about what you want, and you must take action. C’mon already! Now let’s get started!!!