I decided to start a blog. Actually, I meant to begin blogging about 15 years ago… or was it longer? I’m not really sure, but here it is. I have absolutely no idea where I’m headed, my point, or what I want out of it- I just want to feel like I’m doing something.
I bought this eponymous domain name years ago, and now GoDaddy is telling me it’s worth $1013. I sure hope I get at least that much use out of it. So why would I start blogging instead of cashing in? Because I need to do SOMETHING. I have been idle creatively for too many years- to the point where I find myself regretting how a good portion of my time is spent.
Being an atheist has its drawbacks- it makes regretting wasted time much more intense. If I had an eternity of existing in some form or fashion, it wouldn’t be a big deal that I spent the last 20 years working on nothing creatively; but now I’m 39 and certain my life is halfway over. Given climate change and how poorly I’ve treated my body, I’m probably actually a bit past the 50% marker.
So what got me into gear and influenced me to start writing? I guess it started with a random TED Talk wormhole I fell into on YouTube. Somehow, I eventually ended up watching videos of this guy named Ali Abdaal. He’s someone a previous version of myself might have hated out of envy or found an excuse to blow off, but he’s really a quite impressive lad. Abdaal is a junior doctor from Cambridge that is obsessed with productivity and rakes in over a million a year from various projects he does online.
It is during one of his videos that Abdaal introduces a book by Austin Kleon titled “Show Your Work.” Having been stricken with an unending cold, I read the entire book as I sat up in bed coughing. I immediately purchased the preceding book in Kleon’s trilogy “Steal Like an Artist,” and read that one, as well. It is equally inspiring and gives great direction to one that wants to create but doesn’t really know how or maybe just needs to feel reassured that it’s ok to move forward on a project of some sort. The third book of the trilogy, “Keep Going,” is what I’m on now, and it seems to be the one that might provide the most guidance as far as routines and consistency are concerned. I highly recommend all three.
My primary focus at this time is to figure out a way to get in front of the computer to write, record, talk…. whatever, for an hour every single day. So far, it’s mostly just been staring at a screen or watching a documentary I found on YouTube about They Might Be Giants.
So will anyone read this? Probably someone will at some point. More than likely me in several years. If you are reading this and are not me, well then, congratulations on not being me!