Another week has passed. I trust it was a good week and you moved closer to your goals of living freer and happier.
The last week and a half have been very busy for me as I've worked on some gradual and ongoing upgrades to the blog's appearance. At the same time, I've been revamping the blog content with a new format and schedule of posts. Based on the immediate increase in page views and readers, I'm making an assumption that my efforts have had a positive impact. Keep tuned for continued improvements to the blog's appearance and navigational functionality. And, of course, I'm open to your comments and suggestions.
The Week That Was
The week has been interesting on both the national and global scene. While I do my best to not use this platform to rant about the general discord and sometimes utter stupidity of the decisions and actions or our leaders, but occasionally I'll slip. I do not endorse any of the current batch of presidential hopefuls from either side of the aisle. Several of them have expressed some of my feelings and views, but there is no one candidate who stands out as anyone I would support, at least not yet.
The Donald is still being his over the top, bombastic, irreverent and not politically correct self. I can identify with much of that, though I am not ego driven, don't brag about how smart or rich (which I'm not) I am and so on. Meanwhile, as he seems to continue to rise in the polls, his primary opponent on the other side of the aisle is sliding down the polls as she continues with her arrogance and condescending attitudes. She has mastered government double speak very well and says little and blows off legitimate questions and concerns raised by the public and the press. It's an interesting field. Is there a real leader among the bunch? Maybe, but probably not . . . or at least not one person who will have both the charisma and capabilities of bringing together a very divided nation.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world a group of barbaric, primitive, radical, supposedly, religiously motivated people continue their evil inspired decimation and desecration of history and any religious beliefs other than their own warped version of religion. They use beheadings (lately of an 83 year old archeologist attempting to protect historical artifacts and treasures), rape, torture, slavery, beating and all forms of inhumane defiling of the human body, mind and spirit. Nothing new here. It just seems to be business as usual.
The Power Of Duplication
My point here is not to editorialize or recap the news, it's simply to illustrate how important it is for each of us to continue pursuing our personal freedom, however we define it for our lives and our families and friends. It's my continued effort through this blog to provide you with ideas, suggestions, insights and, maybe, from time to time, a little friendly advice. While I don't necessarily seek an audience of millions, I do feel I have a message that can reach and inspire thousands or, perhaps, tens of thousands. This is only a tiny percentage of the world's population or even the U.S. population. However, each person has a sphere of influence.
Having been in, both, the audio cassette duplication industry and the book publishing industry for a good part of my professional career, I understand the concept of duplication. I would take one master tape or one manuscript and turn it into many iterations and each of those copies reached more listeners and readers. Those cassettes and books entertained, educated and informed millions of people over time and those people touched other people's lives.
In the 1980's I created my own audio (cassette) magazine called SuccessTrax. The theme was personal and professional development (the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?) and it reached people in all walks of life who wanted to improve their personal and professional life. Corporations used it to train, motivate and inspire their employees. It was listened to by people in all 50 states and five countries. Twenty-five and thirty years later people who were subscribers back then find me on LinkedIn and Facebook. When they realize I was the creator of the program, they still thank me and sing praises about how the information contributed to their lives and even changed lives. It's gratifying to know I left a positive mark in people's lives and, through them, in countless other lives. That's why I'm currently working on several books of my own and to expand the blog into podcasting.
Commitment
So, as I wrap up this week, I hope I'm informing and inspiring you to pursue your personal freedom and happiness. I know if I am, you'll touch other lives along the way. However, as I've said before, I need your help to make this blog grow and help many others. Together, we may actually have some influence in changing and, maybe even, saving a very mixed up and violent world. It always starts at home with one person and grows from there. Share this blog with others. If you will, include it in your blog roll. Like the Living Free Facebook page. Tweet about it.
I am committed to writing whether I have 5 readers, 500, 5,000, 50,000 or 500,000 thousand. I don't write for money, though any funds I may earn will go to the continuation and improvement of the blog. I write because I have a message and I've been carrying this message since I was a young college student. I'm not a guru or prophet or "know all, be all." I'm simply a person with a lifetime of experience, knowledge and wisdom I can share in the form of the message about living free.
One final note - you'll begin to see a pattern to the blog posts and the kind of information coming your way. One thing I'd like to do is expand the voice of the blog through guest posts. So, if you are a writer and have some ideas, thoughts or insights you believe are relevant to the scope of this blog, please drop me an email (the contact info is on the contact page) and let me know what you have in mind. I know there are many wise people reading this blog. Also, if anyone would be interested in a guest post from me, I'd be delighted to entertain the possibility.
So, that's my wrap up for this week. Below I've found several blog posts and articles I commend to you for weekend reading.
Weekend Reads
I follow a lot of other bloggers. I gain great ideas and insights from them all. Some are here in the U.S. while others are abroad. We live in a global society. The Internet has made someone halfway around the world almost like a next door neighbor. People around the world deal with the same or very similar challenges to those we face. We are never alone, although sometimes we may feel we are.
These four links have enough information and extra links within them that you'll easily have plenty to peruse anytime you have some spare moments over the weekend.
TheOne-Hour-A-Day Fast Track to Goal Achievement by Marelisa Fabrega from her Daring to Live Fully blog. Marelisa always has some great info and ideas in her posts.
25 Things I Learned Selling My Life Possessions by Adam Jowett. This is a guest post on the Becoming Minimalist blog. I learned a lot of these lessons myself when I started downsizing - the hard way.
10 Money Lessons Learned the Hard Way by Holly Johnson. This is a guest post on The Simple Dollar blog. It's full of links to other posts. There's something for everyone here.
10 Adventures that Prove Experiences Bring More Joy Than Stuff by Courtney Carver from her Be More With Less blog. I've been following Courtney for a number of years and she always delivers great stuff.
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