The Difference A Year Makes

Approximately one year ago, I wrote a blog post that changed my life.  You won’t find it if you check the archives.  In fact, I deleted it some time back.

At that point in my life, I was going through negative experience and negative mindset.  I would not have admitted that second part if you had asked me.  I would have simply said that I was going through negative experience.  I would have said that I was the only positive person involved in the experience.

This was not the only blog post that I was negative in, but it was probably the tipping point of some things that were to come.  It was the one that pushed me past the edge of where I needed to be.

I caused myself some pain and heartache.

I caused my family pain and heartache.

But that is not what this post is about.

I hit rock bottom in some areas in my life.  I needed to.

Why?

It was the only way that I was going to be able to begin the climb back to where I needed to be.

It was the only way I was going to take that particular area in my life and become positive.

It was the only way I was going to be able to make my blog posts positive.

It was the only way that I was going to actually see where I was and where I needed to be.

Thanks to all of those who stuck with me.  Thanks to those who encouraged me.  Thanks to those who were honest with me.

It made all the difference in the world.

Have you ever looked back over a year and seen the difference that was made?

What I Learned From Blogging In 2011

2011 is when I became a blogger.  I have been blogging since 2008, but it wasn’t until May, 2011, when I began the Deuceology blog that I actually became a blogger.  I’m still in the learning stage (I actually hope that I don’t ever get completely out of this), but I don’t know if I will ever learn as much from my own blogging as I did from May until now.

I learned about persistence.  From having hardly anyone read my blog to having grown to where a few read, I learned that you just don’t wake up and have a hit blog.

I learned about being positive.  Some of those early blog posts were negative.  I was going through a negative experience in my life and I let everyone know about it on my blog.  Bad move.  Bad move for my blog.  Bad move for me personally.

I learned that you don’t find your voice immediately.  It takes some time.   I think I’m getting closer.

I learned that you can’t blog alone.  You need to network.  You need a tribe.  You need to make friends.  You need people like Rob, Bill, Chad, Arny, Matt, Jon, Rhonda and many others in there helping you.

I’m sure that I learned more this year and I’ll learn even more going forward.  Thanks for going on the journey with me.

If you’re a blogger, what did you learn in 2011?  If you read blogs, what did  you learn?