Most of the stuff I read about blogging talks about the wonders of Web 2.0 and social marketing. The need for you to have a blog if you want to keep up with the pack, and how author bloggers are a dying breed.
Fortunately, I have absolutely no idea about any of that.
I have been writing this blog for almost 18 months seriously, maybe more. And to be honest I only really “got it” about 4 months ago.
I wanted to create a media property. Something that would help “brand Daryl”, create a consulting industry information source, and hopefully something that would help me to fulfill my desperate need to branch out from engineering and travel less.
What I got from the experience was totally different…
It has made me a better and more informed person. It has helped me to hone my writing skills – which still need work. And it has given me opportunities and possibilities that I could not have dreamed of before.
When I blog, I try to write stuff that other people will read. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It is hard.
I have written literally dozens and dozens of articles for magazines. But this is different. The people who stop by here read because they are interested and generally because someone told them about the blog.
Not because its in a magazine they always buy.
I had a chance to interview my greatest all time inspirations in business. Alan Weiss, Kevin Hogan, Seth Godin, Bob Burg, Ford Harding. I also had the chance to speak with real thought leaders like Dan Roam, Nancy Duarte, Paul Collins, Bill Caskey and Dan Pink.
This would never have happened if I wasn’t writing this blog. I would never have thought to try it, and I probably wouldn’t have had anything useful to say to them either.
Every day I get an email from someone somewhere in the world. Telling me how a post, a sentence, a thought or an idea has helped them to make a difference. That is really something, and really humbling.
And I am inspired enough to write again.
My last ever engineering book comes out next year, around June I think – and I am working on my first self published book. (As well as having enough inspiration to write at least two more)
What’s more – one of these books is being written in a crowd sourcing type of approach, using a group to help write a separate blog!
What transformational period in my life.
I go home to Australia in 3 weeks time. After ten years bouncing around the globe. And this experience has capped an already incredible journey.
