The 3 A's of awesome for you, your life and your blog

50,000 blogs are started a day.

Neil Pasricha's blog 1000 Awesome Things was one of them, off to a slow start like most. At this moment it boasts 30,786,253 hits.

Inspired from multiple tragedies in the author's life, 1000awesomethings won Webby's World's Best Blog award. This 18 minute video covers its inspiration and inception.

Highlights
 

--Attitude
“It ain’t gonna go according to plan”

--Awareness

A sense of awareness like a 3-year-old and why it works.

--Authenticity

Take a lesson from Rosey Grier – The Rams & needlepoint.

There are thousands of the things to be happy about, with only 100 years or less to enjoy them.

I am going to grab a copy of Pasricha's first or second book.
(Read twenty pages here.)

By nature, I have the attitude and authenticity down, imperfectly, but what I miss most is awareness.

It is detailed observations, finely-honed memories or recollections that often makes a gifted storyteller and a grateful, interesting life – and who knows, maybe an awesome blog, too.

...

From the book:

“But when bad news washes over you and when the pain

sponges and soaks in, I really hope you feel like you’ve always

got two big choices:

1. You can swish and swirl in gloom and doom forever,

or

2. You can grieve and face the future with newly

sober eyes”

And, then: remembering, reading and thinking about awesome things from “batteries are included” to being reunited with an old friend.

,,,,,,,

What's your awesome of the day?

Today, after two days of struggling with it, I wrote an editorial, in part criticism of, April's National Donate Life Month. After thinking, man I shouldn't go there emotionally, the tone, message and voice came together...to be more than a opinion piece. To be what I wanted it to be.

After the 15th edit, it hit me.

It's done and the ball is in the stands. I heard the pop. 

Teary-eyed I smiled, that I did my best. Jim agreed. 

Sorry, otherwise it would be chocolate related.

Planning ahead for your blog; interview with Darren Rowse

This video is aimed at bloggers serious about longterm monetization efforts and advertising strategy. In other words, not niche blogs designed to pull in $15-50 a month. If that is your strategy and it works, run with it.

Image by  comedy_nose

Otherwise, Google Adsense has dried up for many bloggers, and more innovative methods are required to make money. Product sales are hot. People who can sell an in-demand product, like some crafty Etsy people I know, possess an advantage. Yet, this doesn't mean content providers are doomed. (More on that soon).  

Here Michael Stelzner from SocialMediaExaminer interviews Problogger's Darren Rowse as the well-known, well-paid blogger provides an overview of changes he's witnessed in the industry in the last year.

For those interested, Rowse has a professional 4-week blogging course. To include one on (ahem) "voice" (inside joke). It's called (free plug) ProBlogger Academy and is located at Sitepoint.com.   

Note that most anything you want to learn about blogging and marketing (to include that located at Problogger.net and Copyblogger) is free on the web. So, paying for content is not necessary if you have the time to sort through and find what you want to know.

Meanwhile, I'm going to wait for some reviews on this (no offense to the authors) and explore other options first. Still with Rowse's reputation, it's worth mentioning. 

Related: Check out Brad Sylvester's recent post on keywords and titling.