taking time

sometimes i long for those cold winter nights when we get away to the northwoods of wisconsin.  its those times when we have a cozy cabin tucked away in a quite corner of the forest, covered deep in snow, that i find the muse most often.

its those times that i can actually get my best creative work done.  in fact, its anytime that we get to some northern getaway that i work the best.  i so wish i had the ability more often to do that, to get away, to find that lodge, the quiet corner in the big snow.  to let the mind wander and unleash the creativity that resides there.

oh when will that time come again?

forgive me

forgive me father for i have strayed.  my posts are few, and words fewer.  i have lost the path and lost the will.  i wish it were a dream, but it is the truth.  i’ve lost my way on my blogging journey and must find it anew.

what is this path i’ve chosen?  why do people believe me to be an expert in a field that barely exists.  how did i get to this point? why do they look to me for leadership? what is the purpose of this torture? how do i satisfy their curiosity, thirst for knowledge and desire to learn?  can i fulfill the promise?  am i the one?

why me?

is social media “it”

why is there such fascination with social media? it is simply another tool for communicating and building relationships, and while that is exciting and fascinating in its own right, there is little more to it. its just a collection of tools.

i often wonder at the number of folks clawing at social media for a chance to mould it into some new career. the reality of course is that there is a limited number of opportunities for folks as a social media specialist as they’re calling themselves. another reality that these folks don’t understand is that “social media” and “social networking” are quickly approaching critical mass.

while these “social media specialists” may applaud that eventuality, i don’t think they fully understand what that means. the number of people who are going to be required to be “specialists” or “experts” in social media are extremely small, and most of those are already doing the work now.

so I wonder, why all the excitement about social media. its true that it is a great development of web 2.0 expansion of the internet, and it does enable a whole new level of communication between people, businesses, customers, and clients. however, as it quickly becomes mainstream, the uniqueness of social media becomes less. it is quickly becoming a component of nearly every service and a target of every marketing department of the enterprise.

i do have to admit the level of passion these folks exhibit is astounding. i have also found a level of commitment and innovation from a number of people on the social media circuit that i wouldn’t have found elsewhere. so the creativity of these really committed folks is amazing.

still, as time goes on social media itself will dissolve from the exciting medium it is today into just another channel that people use. it’s happening right now, and will accelerate as time goes on. i plan to find my niche and work it into a profitable business to support my family. past that i don’t care what the perception of social media becomes.

contemplation one

its another weekend, and another time for nothing new to take place. it’s strange sitting at the local coffee shop waiting to get back home, but there is time for contemplation.

contemplation is an important thing i think because it helps a person figure things out.

what i’m thinking about is how to really take my brand to the next level. you won’t find my brand here on “a place for words” because its not the focus of my blogging and career-oriented work. that stuff is all on my main blog that i’m not going to link to from here. call this a separate project from that work entirely.

like many, i’ve worked hard to establish my brand in the new media/social media economy. while i’ve succeeded in some respects, i’ve not made the progress i had hoped for originally. of course, it’s my responsibility for not staying on track and it’s my responsibility to correct that mistake.

so it’s back to some planning work, to see exactly what direction i’ve veered off on and how to correct that.

sorry for not having much point to this post, but it’s really just supposed to be a springboard, a starting point for thinking and doing.

random thoughts while watching the river

i sit by the river watching the water and the clouds go by.

i wonder at the scope and grandeur of it all – how do i fit in?

the constructs we’ve created are small in comparison.

moving and flowing through our time, our lives become larger than we imagined.

watching and waiting should not be part of the plan.

making and doing are what’s needed at this time.

how to motivate my fellowman, that is what i want to do.

working my way back

i’m working my way back to you; to my blog that is. this could easily be my third post here on a space for words about losing focus, but it won’t be this time! my emphasis of late has been to work hard on getting back into the writing groove.

to this end, i’ve spooled up more tunes, some old, some new, that help me disengage from the goings-on around me and help to induce that inner contemplation that helps me start thinking and dreaming.

the dreaming is the important part. i remember as a teen back in the early 1980s driving around, listening to some of these tunes, with the windows down the breeze blowing my hair and the world before me.

i had the good fortune to grow up out in the country – western wisconsin to be specific. these good times defined who i was ultimately to become, and more importantly shaping the very foundations of my beliefs.

one of those beliefs is in hard work. i believe it’s time for some of that hard work, getting back to where i want to be.

a loss of focus

it happens to the best of us. it’s not about getting too busy with things, though that too contributes to it, but many other factors. i’m finding that i have less to say about things than i did a year ago. part of me wonders if this is because of not wanting to get into debates with folks.

i say i write about social media, the enterprise, and other such topics, but since i set my blog up to be focused on these things, (it’s not this one) i find that i really don’t have much to talk about on it at this time. i built up a reader base that was about to hit the 400 mark, only to stop writing so often and i watch the readership dwindle down, day after day feeling like i change anything.

i know this to be false, all i have to do is get back to writing the useful content that brought folks to my blog before. my problem is inspiration – i just feel that there isn’t any in me right now, or that there isn’t the interest out there to read what i feel i should be talking about. it is a difficult position for me to be in, and i do need to decide whether i continue blogging at all or not – it’s that frustrating to me personally.

deep down, i’m sure i’ll continue, but wonder if i should post about taking a break or just post infrequently on marginally-related topics when i feel like it. hard to decide.

losing focus

i’ve done it again. i’ve lost focus on my goals and my agenda. i’ve not posted about this on my real blog, but feel that i need to very soon.

it started over a year ago when i had money issues when starting a business. since then, things have gotten better on the income side of things, but i had to “shelve” the idea of working for myself as a professional blogger. i here some of you laughing, and sure, it’s a difficult if not improbable goal for the most part.

but to me it seems that i have much to say, many opinions to help people, and really want to succeed as a teacher and communicator rather than an information technology professional. i have a good career in technology, but wish to do more things on my own.

i’ve lost the focus that i started with a couple years ago with my blog. the desire is there, the ideas continue to stream, but the time and ability to gain traction in simply doing is missing. there are many other things going on as well, with conferences and events that i’m part of and working on making happen. people are counting on me to come through and perform in these areas. that alone is stressfull to me as well.

so, here i go, to sort through the last year and find the time, the ability to focus on what needs to be done. here is where i restart my agenda, my initiatives and regain the momentum i feel i’ve lost. now is the time, today is the day i start my plans anew.

corporate automatons

automatons, every one of them. the average corporate working stiff is nothing more than an elaborate programmable robot that mindlessly goes through it’s pre-defined rule set endlessly. it’s disappointing to say the least. do these people not have dreams and aspirations? are they not capable of thinking for themselves and taking risks? do they not want to be happy in life?

it troubles me that we keep producing more and more intelligent automatons that simply follow whatever programming they are given. sure, for corporations and governments, that is exactly what they need. Machines capable of carrying out instructions with some simple decision making ability based on pre-programmed rule sets. it is quite sad when you stop and actually watch them all.

like mice in a cage, they scurry about without much thought past what they want to do next. few long term ideas or plans. some can play the system and simply have patience to live within the maze, but most are little more than lemmings.

the human mind is capable of so much more, experiencing thoughts and ideas that expand the comprehension of existence. at least that’s what I’m seeing, and for me, that’s enough.

silence, more or less

often, i wonder at the amount of noise that we endure. day in and day out there is sound generated from everything we do and is everywhere we go. most of it is needlessly excessive, causing distress and trepidation. this goes on without our notice quite often, and i wonder at the cost.

is it possible for modern humans to function in a quiet environment? can we reduce the unnecessary noise that fills most every space, inside and out and find contentment? i know we can, but is there a desire by enough people? everywhere i go there is noise, and on top of the self-induced stresses that we all work to attenuate, it’s as if the noise is tipping point.

many times before, I’ve found happiness in a quiet moment. deep in my own thoughts. on a walk in the woods. while paddling my canoe. sometimes simply sitting amongst the pines waiting for the wind to bring them to quietly whisper nature’s secret of contentment.