There are plenty of things you have to do in life. Pay your bills. Take care of your kids (if you have kids). Drive at the correct speed limit. Show up to work on time. You know, the basics.
I have a lot of “have tos” in my life because I’m a parent, a wife and a homeowner. Blogging, for me, is one of the few things in life that I do because I want to, not because I have to. If I never wrote another blog post in this lifetime, very few people would notice and it would be of very little consequence.
People blog for many different reasons–money, recognition, creative outlet. I’ve blogged several times about why I blog…in short, not for money or recognition, but for the creative outlet. Sometimes I start stressing because I know there are things I should/could be doing to increase my readership: use more photos, re-design my blog template to make it more visually appealing, etc. etc.
I read two great posts lately that serve as good reminders to not stress about doing it “right” when it comes to blogging:
- Danny Brown about the PR Blackout
- Penelope Trunk with the most TMI/off topic blog post I’ve ever read.
Granted, most of us couldn’t parlay recollections about being molested as a child into a relatively on-topic post on a career advice blog–but the point is, that’s the beauty of blogging. You can make up your own rules.
Still need more inspiration? How about Dooce being number 26 on Forbes’ list of the 30 most influential women in the media world? Not bad for someone who once got fired for blogging at work.
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