Ever since I joined the blogging community in January, I’ve found it to be the most inspiring journey I’ve ever been on.
I’ve come to believe you not only have to be self-motivated to be a blogger, but pretty darn optimistic too. Why else would anyone publish something they put their heart and soul into several times a week for no pay, and for possibly very few readers? It’s pretty incredible when you get right down to it.
I guess we’re the kind of people who might have built a baseball field on a corn farm in the middle of nowhere and said, “If you build it, they will come.”
And, that’s why I say it’s been an inspirational trip. To see all these talented writers and entrepreneurs cast their nets out each day and pull in schools of readers and new subscribers, and to know they all started just like me – with maybe a handful of subscribers, or less. It’s amazing, and it sure should give brand new bloggers a lot of hope too.
The other thing I find so inspirational about the blogging community is the helpfulness of bloggers. I’ve never experienced such openness, sharing and camaraderie in any of the work experiences I’ve ever had. I would never have dreamed that someday I’d call people I’d never met from across the globe – my friends, but I do now. I also could not have imagined that starting my blog, which led me to join the A-List Blogging Club, would’ve opened the door to my becoming the marketing director for The Daily Brainstorm – but, remarkably, it did.
That said, I’d like to introduce you a group of bloggers most inspiring to me:
Leo Babauta (who needs no introduction) – Zen Habits & mnmlist & Write to Done, co-founder of the A List Blogging Club – best selling author of, The Power of Less. How could you not find someone who set the standard for self-development blogs, and whose blog was named by Time Magazine as one of the 25 best blogs in 2009, inspiring? ‘Nuff said, right?
Mary Jaksch – Goodlife Zen – and co-publisher of The Daily Brainstorm & co-founder of the A-List Blogging Club, editor-in-chief of Write to Done – Mary’s personal story is very compelling. If you haven’t read it – you absolutely must. You will be inspired. Here’s the link: How I Met Good Fortune Half Way – and You Can Too.
Barrie Davenport – Live Bold & Bloom – editor-in-chief of The Daily Brainstorm. Barrie’s work ethic is unparalleled – I know this from the emails I receive late into the night. She launched her blog only 6 months ago, gave it her all, and now has over 2000 subscribers. That’s incredible!
Katie Tallo – Momentum Gathering – managing editor for The Daily Brainstorm. Katie writes beautiful posts – some read like poetry. I so admire how often she publishes. She was back from vacation one day and she had a post out. If she could bottle her energy and sell it – I’d buy it!
Jean Sarauer – Virgin Blogger Notes – managing editor of The Daily Brainstorm. Jean writes for new bloggers trying to master the techniques and technology that come with blogging territory. She writes incredibly funny, down earth informative posts that have me in stitches, and have helped my blog immeasurably.
Steven Aitchison – Change Your Thoughts – guest post editor of The Daily Brainstorm. Steve’s passionate about helping others and passing on his immense knowledge, and you can clearly see it in his work. He constantly comes up with new and fresh ideas to help his readers live more fulfilling lives.
Arvind Devalia – Make it Happen – editor for Self-development and Spirituality sections of The Daily Brainstorm. Arvind’s blog is so totally heartfelt. The first post of his I ever read about the loss of his father made me weep. Trust me, Arvind’s posts will be move you to tears and to joy.
Lisa – Privilege – editor of Lifestyle section of The Daily Brainstorm. Lisa writes about the high WASP privileged lifestyle – something I know very little about. Lisa’s blog absolutely fascinates me in the way I was captivated by the BBC series, Upstairs Downstairs.
Scott Dinsmore – Reading for Your Success – editor of Biz & Bucks section of The Daily Brainstorm. Scott consumes books like I eat Raisonets® and whips up book reviews for the fun of it. If I don’t have time to read a self-development book – I now just go to Scott’s site for a great synopsis!
Aileen Mahoney – Kaizen Vision - editor of News & Views section of The Daily Brainstorm. Aileen writes about small changes we can implement that have a big impact upon the quality of our lives. I’m the type who looks to make big sweeping changes – but I’ve learned the value of small steps from Aileen.
Farnoosh Brock – Prolific Living – photo editor for The Daily Brainstorm. Farnoosh writes about a myriad of topics in her lifestyle blog from communication to entertainment, my favorites being books and culture. And, she illustrates many posts with her own terrific photography!
I find many, many bloggers inspiring, but this group is particularly inspirational to me because of how much they give. Leo goes way beyond the call of duty in the A-List Blogging Bootcamps. He turns an hour session into 1 1/2, and sometimes a nearly 2 hour course where he allows us to pick his brain clean of blogging knowledge! Mary is a master juggler able to keep, what appears to me, an infinite number of balls in the air, while at the same time selflessly reaching out to offer help and advice to struggling bloggers.
As for the volunteer staff at The Daily Brainstorm who work tirelessly to put together a new edition each day, while still maintaining their jobs, relationships, responsibilities, and their own blogs too – I take my hat off to them. Can you imagine what kind of orchestration it takes to put together a publication of this kind when there are nearly 115 contributors, and each of the editors is located in a different time zone? It boggles the mind! (Of course, without the steadfast efforts and technical know-how of co-publisher Geri Langlois, who is truly the man behind the curtain, none of this would be possible.)
All these hard-working talented bloggers inspire me to be my best, and for that I say, Thank You. To be so inspired is truly a priceless gift.
Who inspires you? How has it affected your life?
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Tell that to the many people feeling the squeeze of this economic downturn and they’ll probably take a shovel to your head.
