Life Happens
September 27, 2016
I got serious about this blog last year and kept at it for a few months with great intent. I had friends holding me accountable and received great feedback from readers. I was amazed to hear from friends who told me that they started reading from a single post and went back to read every other post, even from years ago. It gave me such encouragement, and I personally was getting much out of being able to write down thoughts.
But then I stopped.
I had started to think about how I spent my time and, because we had a growing toddler and a baby on the way, wanted to eliminate everything that wasn’t directly benefitting my family. Blogging was out, along with martial arts, learning new skills, and others. I told myself that I might get back into the activities, projects, and goals when things slowed down a bit. It turned out that much was in store as time marched. We were blessed with a baby girl, we sold our townhouse, we bought a house, my grandfather passed away, we moved, I changed jobs, we moved again, my father-in-law passed away, we welcomed a nephew into the world, and my cousin got married. So many things were happening at the same time that it was difficult to think straight at times. It was constant change and adaptation through which we’re still going.
Even though we’re now getting settled into our new place and my new daughter is a year old (and a bit easier to manage), life will continue to happen and bring with it unexpected surprises and challenges. There will always be something coming up and it will be all we can do to take it in stride and re-evaluate priorities. I still want to focus on things that will benefit my family, but now I believe this blog can be one of those things.
Even though a fair bit of traffic comes through that would make putting up advertisements an income generator over time, I believe it would take away from the experience and trust. For example, it would be very odd to read a post about minimalism and how I’ve reduced the number of shoes I own, but see an advertisement for shoes on the side. At the same time, I know there are those who wish to support me. This is why I’ve signed up for Patreon.
Patreon is a service where you, as a “patron,” can pledge a dollar amount per month to support writers, podcasters, artists, etc, and receive a reward for your support. In my case, even a dollar per month would help and you would get early access to my posts. As time goes on and if I’m blessed with more patrons, I will add more rewards. I am holding myself (and will find others to also hold me accountable) to a minimum of 3 posts per month, and build up over time.
Thank you for still being here.
Let’s continue the journey.