Tag Archives: blogging
A Family that Blogs Together Stays Together
Posted on 16. Feb, 2010 by Daniel Dessinger.
Facebook friends: Please read this whole post at DanielDessinger.com and leave your comments there.
My wife (Heather), my mother-in-law (Barbara, aka “Gigi”), and want to do something new. We want to blog. Together. On one site. That’s right. A family blog. Wait! Don’t click away! It’s not as boring as it sounds.
We are an unusual family, to say the least. Husband, wife, daughter, unborn child, and mother-in-law all under one not so roomy roof. We eat organic, make our own deodorant, co-sleep with our children, make our own tortillas (and even our own noodles now), wear foot-shaped shoes, and occasionally get a little friendly with the great outdoors. That’s right. We can be…. how do you say…. less than “normal.”
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Shamed into Blogging
Posted on 31. Jan, 2010 by Daniel Dessinger.
I’m watching Motherhood (starring Uma Thurman and Minnie Driver) with Heather. We’re holed up in my mother-in-law’s room while Gigi does her very best to keep Katie entertained for two solid hours.
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What I’m Up To These Days
Posted on 08. Jan, 2010 by Daniel Dessinger.
I’m determined to share more of my life in my blog this year. It’s been a back and forth proposition over the past few years. I’ve gone from full disclosure to secret anonymous personal blog to professional disclosure only to never really updating to now.
Here we are. It’s 2010. Time to stop the flip flop. I can’t share everything like I wish I could, simply because the Holy Spirit keeps forbidding me. I’m all for staying within the shelter and protection of His wings.
So, having said that. I’m in that spot several people I know are in: finding the balance between full disclosure and never blogging personal stuff.
Here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve been up to:
[...]
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What I'm Up To These Days
Posted on 08. Jan, 2010 by Daniel Dessinger.
I’m determined to share more of my life in my blog this year. It’s been a back and forth proposition over the past few years. I’ve gone from full disclosure to secret anonymous personal blog to professional disclosure only to never really updating to now.
Here we are. It’s 2010. Time to stop the flip flop. I can’t share everything like I wish I could, simply because the Holy Spirit keeps forbidding me. I’m all for staying within the shelter and protection of His wings.
So, having said that. I’m in that spot several people I know are in: finding the balance between full disclosure and never blogging personal stuff.
Here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve been up to:
[...]
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Celebrating Four Years of Blogging
Posted on 29. Dec, 2009 by Daniel Dessinger.
I missed a significant date in my history, and I can’t move on until I’ve given it 20 seconds of fame. Just over four years ago, I became a blogger.
Though I can find a few instances of “blogging” I did years before, I consider my official beginning as a blogger to be November 1, 2005. That was the day I wrote my first post for CultureFeast.com entitled, “Welcome to CultureFeast”. It was the beginning of something greater than what it was. It was the beginning of my engagement with the social Web.
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Don’t Wait for a Book Deal
Posted on 02. Nov, 2009 by danielthepoet.
Write what’s on your heart NOW. Take advantage of this amazing technology called blogging and put your heart into the expression of what you care most about.
You don’t have to wait until there’s “Free Time” – whatever that is. Do it now. Do it today. Write a paragraph. Write a sentence. Publish it.
The purpose is to practice the art of consistency. Use the talents and gifts God has given you. If there’s a special message on your heart, share it! If you like to tell stories, break them down into daily installments. Just use what God’s given you and be faithful to practice it and hone it into something beautiful.
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Blogging Question #1: What IS My Passion?
Posted on 16. Oct, 2009 by danielthepoet.
If you have to ask yourself this question, you might already be screwed. OR, you might be just like me. I don’t automatically know what I “love”. I don’t know what my passions are. There are things I love, but I don’t want to talk about them all the time. There are things I am passionate about, but I don’t think anyone else will appreciate my take on them.
To this point, blogging has served more as a resume builder than a dream lifestyle creator. I am very grateful for the position I have because it’s better than I expected for myself five years ago. But every step of success has led me to the inevitable conclusion: I must continue to grow. I cannot stop here.
So I’m reteaching myself as I share these principles with you. In order to “Crush It” and score big with your blog or website, you have to have or quickly develop the following 5 things:
#1 You have to have a passion.
#2 You have to be knowledgeable.
#3 You have to listen
#4 You have to work hard.
#5 You have to be consistently creative and interesting.
For tonight, let’s stick with #1. This should be the most automatic, right? What IS my passion? I like many things. I have several hobbies. But what do I LOVE? Let’s look at the immediate short list:
- I love observing and figuring out people
- I love discovering new thoughts and analyzing them
- I love journaling
- I love blogging
- I love playing basketball (when I’m not injured)
- I love drinking caffeine and feeling euphoric
- I love explaining complex ideas and principles
- I love being the voice of clarity that resolves misunderstandings
- I love helping people see new possibilities
- I love receiving revelation directly from God
- I love sharing revelation with other people and seeing them encouraged
- I love (some) challenges
- I love my wife
- I love my daughter
- I love being a mentor to young men
- I love sitting in Starbucks
- I love my Vibram FiveFingers shoes
- I love making truly good decisions that make me healthier
- I love Twitter
- I love the idea of my upcoming Motorola CLIQ
- I love brainstorming new ideas
- I love creating new strategies for others to implement
I can’t let myself worry about what combination of these passions might be “successful” topics. That’s the wrong way to go about this. It’s NOT about how to game the system. It’s not about what formula will resonate with people.
That won’t work here. Because if I don’t come from the heart, I AM GOING TO FAIL. So let’s not even go there. What I think about what will work or not work is out the window. Because what do I know, realy? If I REALLY knew what people would like, wouldn’t I already be selling my soul to give it to them? It’s precisely the point. I don’t NEED to know what people want UNTIL I’VE ESTABLISHED MY CORE PASSIONS. The time for listening to what the people want will come. But people on the outside of me can’t tell me what I care most about. Instead, I’ll move on to answer Question #2:
What am I knowledgeable about?
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If You Hate the Phrase Content is King, You’ve Already Failed
Posted on 15. Oct, 2009 by Daniel Dessinger.
I hope you took the time to watch the video I posted a couple days ago. If you haven’t, put this article on pause and go watch it (just click the link in the first sentence.
You’re back? Okay. So let’s discuss today’s topic: the beloved (or loathed) cliche that “Content is King.” You either hate [...]
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My Blogs Have All But Failed
Posted on 14. Oct, 2009 by danielthepoet.
This is one of the saddest and simultaneously most exciting times of my life. I’ve been pumped all week after watching some video clips on Gary Vaynerchuk’s website. For a secular web-based entrepreneur, he’s my hero. He’s passionate, articulate, unique, and he works REALLY hard. Gary has convinced me that my blogs are a failure.
(On some level, I can find fault with all of his advice because it IS secular, after all, and ultimately I can’t condone the kind of obsession with and idolization of “the Hustle” that he has. But I love his passion. Check out any video on his wine video blog to see what I mean.)
I’ve been SO PUMPED this week. I watched several of his videos / presentations and I finally got what I’ve been doing wrong. It’s like the light bulb finally went off. Why this didn’t happen two years ago, I have no idea.
Here’s the secret I’ve been missing:
Find ONE thing you’re most passionate about, write/draw/paint/video really good quality content about it, and network like crazy on blogs, forums, social networks, etc.
Can you believe it? For the past four years, I’ve been so split in my attentions that I’ve never honed in on a niche. It’s one of those things you ALWAYS hear about, and I kept saying to myself, “Yeah, yeah, niche smitch!” I had so many ideas for sites and domains that I never focused on ONE. My efforts were all kinds of flawed.
- I was taking my ideas, buying domains, and starting too many blogs
- I was only blogging on my latest, newest sites
- I was picking my domains and topics based on external circumstances
- I was repeating this cycle over and over and over again (I own 50 domains now)
So you see, it’s been a VERY frustrating process for me. I keep seeing opportunities and I buy the domain before it’s taken by someone else (serious early bird syndrome). But then I don’t have the willpower or interest to keep it going because I’ve invested in an area that’s NOT a primary passion in my life.
The things we love, we make time for. We FIND time for. We do them automatically and without effort. So the goal has been restructured. Despite my failures, I have learned so many lessons about blogging and web marketing that I can’t regret a moment of it.
In fact, a few years back, I actually got a job because of my blogs. So in one respect I can’t call them a failure because they landed me a decent position. On the other hand, I HAVE to call them a failure because they didn’t accomplish my goal: to become independently wealthy writing about my passions.
So it’s time to change. Out with the old process. In with the new. More details to come. And if you want to buy a domain, I may have one to sell.
*This post was originally published on DanielthePoet.com. Please visit the site to leave a comment.
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Gary Vaynerchuck Just Might Change Your Life
Posted on 13. Oct, 2009 by danielthepoet.
After watching this CNN interview with Gary V, I’m inspired all over again to go out and make it happen. Are you still contemplating what to do with your life? Watch this video and let the endless possibilities wash over you like a nice, warm wave of caffeine infused adrenaline.
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Why ShoeMoney is a Genius, But I Still Won’t Do What He Says
Posted on 07. Sep, 2009 by danielthepoet.
You may not have ever heard of ShoeMoney, but he’s been making lots of money from blogging for a long time now. His recent post, Why Nobody Reads Your Blog, makes some very astute observations I can’t help but agree with.
In his oh so eloquent way, he makes his point:
If I have an opinion about a topic I write about it.
If I think someone is an asshole I write about it.
If I think some company sucks balls I write about it.
One of the biggest things is you have to be willing to stick your pecker out. Quit being so scared. Quit trying to be what you think people want you to be and be yourself.
Yes, he’s a tad vulgar. Yes, he’s often annoying. But, as you can see, people write about what he says. He’s real. He’s honest. He’s not going to win the Presidential election anytime soon, but he IS effective in what he does.
He’s similar to the kind of guy I would be if I weren’t at all concerned about my reputation. And, to his credit, he’s right: not many people read my blog. I don’t say anything terribly original. I’m just me, minus the controversy and arrogance people get when they talk to me in person. 
I would LOVE to say what I think and just spout it out as it occurs to me. I used to do this all the time. The DOWNSIDE to this approach, and it’s a doosie, is that people in full-time ministry need favor to minister effectively. It has been my experience that when I say what I think without editing, I may get people’s attention, BUT I DON’T EARN THEIR RESPECT. If I have a prophetic word for you, and you’ve read my blog berating some person’s idiotic tendencies, how powerful will that word be to you?
I’ve received at least two hundred prophetic words in my lifetime, and I can tell you that the character and esteem of each person HEAVILY affects the way I receive what they say. A friend of mine who’s indulging in pornography can come to me and tell me that God showed him XYZ for me, and that’s great. But my level of trust in the purity of his words is affected by my knowledge of his character.
If John Paul Jackson, on the other hand, gives me a prophetic word, I pay very close attention to it. I know of his reputation, you see. He guards closely the words that come from his lips. He tries not to waste them on frivolous things. When he speaks, I know it’s because he’s exercised wisdom and patience and discernment, and he’s delivering to me the most accurate word possible. This affects the impact of his words. When I don’t have to second guess his motives or his maturity, I can receive the words with a more open heart, because I know I’m hearing the Lord speak with very little mixture diluting the message.
If someone says I love you, but your heart is guarded because you think everyone lies to get what they want, you won’t be impacted by the message. If you know the person doesn’t say things they don’t mean and they’ll stick to their word to the death, hearing them say “I love you” really means something. They don’t throw their words around because they’re emotional or caffeinated. This is real. They really love me.
My point is that as much as I’d love to shoot off my thoughts and opinions every day and attract MANY more readers, the future cost is too high. I am laying the foundation today for tomorrow’s ministry. And for that, restraint is wisdom.
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Pic of the Day
