TWKM Blog

I am fairly in-touch with what is going on in the world wide web with new products and services, I’m constantly hearing about the newest start-up via twitter and various blogs I read on a regular basis. 

These start-ups pop up so fast I have a hard time checking out all of the services and products I want to, but I still try.

Here’s The Problem

The problem with this is that I have an account on nearly every new social media and web 2.0 service that exists, and I rarely use any of them. I am taking services and trying to make them fit somewhere, rather looking at new services and seeing if they actually present me with any sort of value.

I have a blog (obviously) and I have a Twitter account, FriendFeed, Socialthing!, orkut (I think, I’ve never used it), Facebook, MySpace (never use it)… Well, you get the picture.  When I hear about something I sign up, check it out, and rarely do I ever return. I am the epitome of the ADD super-connected web service junkie with the attention span of a gnat.

Case in point: I heard about Tumblr, which is a great little micro-blogging service that I was able to find some application for within our company. It is simple to use, and allows me to post short messages with a nice interface excluding the clutter of a more feature-filled service like WordPress. It is all I needed to solve a problem and nothing more. 

I decided that I should start a Tumblelog personally as well. I created it and started posting alongside this blog. My justification was, “I will use this to flesh out my ideas before posting them to the blog. Posts to Tumblr will be more reflective and will be a spring-board for full blog posts.” My Tumblr account turned into a personal journal and I wasn’t comfortable with juicy details about me on the interwebs. Plus, I already write in a journal. Regardless, I didn’t need a separate blog to flesh out blog ideas in the first place, that’s what drafts are for.

Here’s The Solution (Not Earth-Shattering, Mind You)

I was looking at my Tumblelog today and thinking, “What was I thinking? What am I going to do with this?” and I realized that I need to stop signing up for everything that crosses my path if there is no specific, immediate application for it. If I don’t need it, I don’t need it.

This epiphany also applies to other areas of life as well; I don’t need a new car, a bigger house (just yet), a Mont Blanc pen, a Rado watch, etc. Mass-marketing has turned me into a consumer and I hate myself for it. I already have far more than I need or in some cases have any right to, so I’m going to try and tone it down a bit.

Starting with my infatuation with new web services that I don’t need.

I hate New Year’s resolutions. I think that they are a band-aid, quick-fix, fly-by-night way of improving your life. At least it’s a band-aid approach to feeling better, that you are making some sort of effort to improve your life.

Something about the fact that everyone everywhere is creating new resolutions that they are feigning commitment to cheapens the whole underlying idea of self-improvement that New Year’s resolutions represent. If you really wanted to improve on something you would decide to do it on March 23rd or August 5th, not just because everyone else is doing it. Not just because that is the socially agreed-upon time to make some change (or state that you want to make some change).

With all that being said, I have some New Year’s resolutions but they have come about only coincidentally along with the new year. I recently bought and started reading “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. It’s a great read and it has some information and ideas that are truly ground-breaking for me, especially the idea that our lives should be lived based on principles rather than based on people’s expectations or our personal goals.

Our goals should be a reflection of our principles and ultimately this is the only way that we can find satisfaction in achieving our goals. The importance is placed on identifying and committing to sound principles and one of the ways to do this is to create a “Personal Mission Statement”, “Personal Creed”, “Personal Manifesto”, etc. Tonight I began mine and I would like to share it with you.

This is my manifesto. I like “manifesto” because it sounds aggressive and underground and important. Where this manifesto differs from New Year’s resolutions is that these values or actions can always be improved or can continue all my life. It’s a work in progress and you can consider these as my New Year’s resolutions if you so choose:

• Get to know and love my God better.
• Consider people’s feelings.
• Consider my impact on the lives of others.
• Build deep relationships.
• Speak honestly, with sensitivity.
• Communicate early and often.
• Ask questions.
• Seek solutions.
• Do everything I can with what I have.
• Listen twice as much as I speak.
• Wake up before I NEED to, leave before I NEED to, arrive before I NEED to. Basically do things before I NEED to.
• Consider tomorrow today and next year this week.
• Make and keep commitments.
• Be available to others.
• Be supportive of others.
• Improve myself every year.
• Learn something new every day.
• Do something outside my comfort zone as often as possible.
• Express my creativity.
• Live transparently.

How about you? How do you feel about New Year’s resolutions? Do you make them? Do you keep them?

About a year ago I read about To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) in the Prodigal Son Magazine. I checked out their site and the story really moved me. I think we all have known, know or have been someone who has gone through serious depression. When I read the story, I thought of my sister and how important it was to me that she knows how much I love her.

Ever since then it has been something in the back of my mind that I would love to support. I plan on supporting their work by buying some of their merch. They have stylish shirts and hoodies that stand out and make a statement.

You can support them too. Join me and nearly half a million other people for the 2nd annual TWLOHA Day today by writing “Love” on your arms. This is not an official TWLOHA event, but you can never go wrong by spreading the message of love.

Check out the Flickr Group, Facebook event and the official To Write Love on Her Arms website. Here’s some art that I did for the event:

Freedom Breeds Procrastination

I have to say that my single biggest struggle at this point in my life is probably procrastination. I put things off for far too long before ultimately deciding it must be done so I can get on with my life, or before it decides that it must be done before the world unravels around me due to my lack of action.

• Voicemail… I’ll check it later.
• Letter to send… I’ll send it tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.
• That email doesn’t need to be dealt with now… I’m going to have a coffee now, I’ll deal with it after. (more…)