My First Blog Post

The last photo I took of WEW. Celebrating family in Calistoga, California.

Today marks the start of a new adventure for me, bringing to life a passion project I’ve been thinking about for some time. In my blog, I’ll be exploring the infinite ways spirit can work for us—and improve our lives—each and every day.

Today is also the day my dad (W.E.W.) would have been 90 years old. So it just seems fitting that my inaugural post acknowledges someone whose spirit touched my life in so many positive ways.

Like each of us, my dad was a perfectly imperfect being. But one thing he did almost constantly was to live each day practicing faith, love and joy. Of course WEW never went around spouting mantras 😉 so I’ve taken liberty in creating some based on what I learned during the precious 42 years I had with him. (I could write an entire post on each one—maybe someday I will!)

  • Lead by example.
  • Appreciate the small things in life.
  • Don’t be afraid to show your emotions. It’s okay to be vulnerable.
  • Whistle while you work.
  • Serve others.
  • See the world from the curious child that still lives within you.
  • Be open and accepting of others’ points of view—even if you don’t agree with them.
  • Never compromise your principles.
  • Sing your heart out.
  • Get fired up over things you strongly believe in.
  • Have faith, and practice it daily.
  • Play, and act silly.
  • Always do your best—no regrets.
  • Say “I love you” and mean it.
  • Honor your marriage and work on your relationships every day.
  • When something isn’t right, speak up.
  • Love without condition.
  • Believe that you can overcome the biggest challenges of your life, and never give up.

Thank you, Dad, for the shining example of spirit you forever will be. I learned so much from you!

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.