Jonathan’s Blogging Journey

I first heard of blogging in the Summer of 2008. I was really fascinated by the idea and concept. It was about the same time I began a personal mission to discover my true purpose in life. I had spent the previous five years building a start-up executive search firm with a few close friends.

Although I was enjoying the journey, I really wanted to find my “fit” in the world. I wanted to discover my personal strengths and use them to the best of my ability. One book that really helped me discover my true strengths was a book entitled StrengthsFinder 2.0

by Tom Rath.

A Turning Point

This personal mission and journey I was on took a major turning point once I read an old book called Acres of Diamonds

. It is a series of lectures that was turned into a book back in 1915. Russel Conwell, Founder of Temple University,  tells the story of an old man who sold his entire land to go on a quest to find riches and wealth. He ended up spending all that he had on his quest and came up completely empty.

In a real interesting twist in the story, the man whom he had originally sold his land to uncovered by accident acres and acres of diamonds on the very land that the old man had sold years earlier.

Moral of the story: What you are really looking for in life might just be right under your nose (or buried deep within).

I began to do more thinking: “What were the buried diamonds in my own life?” What was the passion of my life? The first thing I did was to write out a life plan that I would use to govern my life from that day forward. Once I began to look deep within, I came up with 4 “hidden personal diamonds” that I have used to direct my life since that day.

– Whatever I spend my time on I want it to be something I was truly excited about doing.

– I want what I do to have meaning and significance to my family and others.

– I want to spend my time on things that I naturally do well while improving the process and others along the way.

– I want to enjoy the journey, learn the art of balance and deepen those relationship most important to me (Money for me buys time, not things. I wanted to buy more time with my wife, kids, and friends and have freedom in this life to do whatever God wanted me to do).

In fact, my very first blog post on February 20, 2009 was on the very topic above.

My Personal Mission Statement – 2009

Not to long after this experience, I went to a local park alone to do some writing and thinking. To make a long story short, I walked away with a personal mission statement for my life that has been an inspiration to me ever since.

My purpose is to use my creativity and coaching to support and inspire others to reach their full potential for the glory of God.

That was my passion! I wanted everything that I did from that day forward to reflect that statement.

Blogging and Passion: The Dynamic Duo

Blogging seemed like the ideal vehicle for me in my journey so I started writing as much as possible. Honestly, I didn’t even care how many comments I got or how many people were reading my posts. I was just excited to have a voice online that others could stumble on to and be helped and encouraged. I was in it for the long haul. The income side of things was very slow for me for awhile as I really had no idea what I was doing in the beginning.

What Kept Me Going

What kept me going was that I had defined success and profit in a whole new light. My wife and I decided after reading In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

that our new mission in life was: to accumulate experiences not possessions. When I get to the end of my life the experiences in life are going to mean so much more to me than any earthly possession.

Things really began to take off once I understood the difference between taking massive action and just being busy. There are many things you can spend your time on when it comes to blogging but not all of those tasks move you forward.

Today, I run and manage several blogs all of which have to do with something I am passionate about. Launching this blog with Bob Lotich is really a dream come true for me. I still have a difficult time telling people what I do for work.

I normally get a blank stare when I tell people that I write articles online and make money with them. I see people from the window of my home office frantically commuting to work each day doing work they do not enjoy. As Richard Chang said in his book The Passion Plan

:

“We spend a lot of time doing things we don’t want to do in places we don’t want to be for no other reason than that we feel that we have to. We have to bring home a paycheck, please our friends and family, and meet the expectations that the world has set for us.”

I am dedicating this blog to help those who want to discover, pursue, and and develop their passion through blogging. Come join us on the journey. We will be providing many blog resources that you can use for your blog in the days ahead.