It has now been a good 5 months since I’ve last written about goal-making (see 1, 2). To be honest, the delay is probably due to my own sense of limbo about what I want to pursue as a career.

It has now been almost 1/2 a year since I’ve graduated college, and although I have been keeping busy diving into my own personal interests, I have yet to draw any clear path about where I want to be in the future.

Is this normal for a recent graduate? Maybe, maybe not.

Either way, I know panicking won’t do me any good, so I remain relax and focused.

It’s not that I don’t spend time thinking about the future – I do and I do it often – but I want make sure that when I find my niche that it is something I can become fully engaged in. The last place I want to be in 40 years is at some dead-end job with no love or pride for my craft.

Long ago I came to the conviction that there need not be a difference between work and play. That one can simultaneously do what they love and prosper from it if they put their mind to it. First, I need faith in my capacity to think, grow, and create value.

Believing I can achieve something must be the first prerequisite for actually going out and doing it.

Mission Statement

Throughout my life I have always had some desire to write. As a kid I remember thinking up short screenplays, reviewing video games online, and expressing my feelings about loved ones through lyrics and poetry. Today, I continue to make a conscious effort to improve my writing ability by blogging on sites such as this one and Libertarian Minds.

The past year has been an experiment to see if I can stay committed to blogging and still come out enjoying it in the end – I do.

That is why I now want to take my craft to the next stage. This, to me, means turning it into a profession.

First, I want to create a mission statement. Then I will write it above my desk, so I can recite it every morning. This one simple ritual will help me to maintain flow and keep my mind concentrated on the habits I need to adopt in order to be successful.

Here is a picture of my mission statement written on a dry-erase board:

To become a professional writer I will follow my self-appointed mantra of RAWA meaning “Read A lot, Write A lot.” In it there are 6 tenets: consume, digest, rest, grow, repeat, and evolve.

1. CONSUME A LOT OF MATERIAL

Lucky for me I love reading and I already go to all sorts of different websites on a daily basis. Over the year I have accumulated a list of my favorite and most informative resources:

Mainstream Media

CNN.com
MSNBC
FOXNews

Sites to follow the most up-to-date news of popular issues.

Libertarian Opinion/Blogs

Reason
Cato Institute
Ludwig von Mises Institute
Campaign For Liberty
Foundation for Economic Education
Anti-War.com
Center for a Stateless Society
Ayn Rand Institute
Capitalism Magazine
Libertarianism from A to Z: Jeffrey Miron’s blog
Think Markets
Marginal Revolution: Tyler Cowek and Alex Tabarrok’s blog
LewRockwell.com
Stephan Kinsella
Austro-Athenian Empire – Roderick Long’s blog
Free Advice – Bob Murphy’s blog
Ideas – David Friedman’s blog
Fringe Elements – Ryan Faulk’s blog
Economic Policy Journal – Robert Wenzel’s blog
Free Association – Sheldon Richman’s blog
Brad Spangler
Fr33 Agents

Professional resources and personal blogs to help build a comprehensive libertarian philosophy. More to be added.

Alternative Opinion/Blogs

Salon
Smithsonian Magazine
Huffington Post
New York Times
Bloomberg
WallStreet Journal
Alternet
DailyKOS
The Daily Caller
Politico
New Yorker
Fora.TV
Rolling Stone
The Conscience of a Liberal – Paul Krugman’s blog
Libcom.org

Other resources to stay knowledgeable about opposing opinions. This is important to help keep a well-rounded view. More to be added.

I will try to visit most of these sites at least once every week. The big ones like CNN.com (or ones I really enjoy like Mises.org), will probably be visited more frequently. I also go to reddit everyday where users post articles from all over the web.

The main point of building a huge list like this is to always have reading material available and to have access to a wide range of viewpoints and philosophies.

2. DIGEST IT ALL

It would be wasteful to read hours everyday but to never think critically about the content. I believe contemplation is one of the most important mechanism to human learning.

Studies have shown that when rats are given time to reflect, they learn faster than rats who don’t. Time spent introspecting on one’s thought patterns can help us better understand our beliefs. We may even discover that we have made a logical fallacy or a cognitive bias.

Humans are infallible but they are also self-correcting. There is no need to be alarmed when a belief of ours has been challenged. Instead it should be seen as an opportunity for growth. Those who deny their mistakes will always remain fixed where they stand, but those who are willing to weigh other alternatives are more likely to progress their understanding and step forward as intellectuals.

Digesting material means to put a conscious effort into reflecting on what we have learned and how it fits into our worldview.

3. REST

Between all this reading and thinking I am going to need some leisure time. This means things like nap-taking, hanging out with friends, listening to music, watching Mets games, and going out to dinner. Life stuff. Stuff less mentally-intensive so my mind has a chance to rejuvenate itself. After all, variety keeps the mind healthy and balanced.

Including rest in your routine is the difference between hard work and smart work. Also, one positive thing about actively taking your mind off of your work is that it lets your unconscious mull over ideas as you engage yourself in other activities.

4. GROW

Once I have consumed, digested, and taken a healthy break, I am then ready to apply my knowledge into the form of writing.

While the digestion phase was about breaking down information, the growth phase is about integrating information into an article that conveys a coherent theme. All writing, whether fiction or non-fiction, is the process of connecting old ideas and transforming them into something new, something more contemporary, and something more aligned with the zeitgeist of the times. It is the process of moving knowledge forward.

To fulfill my goal I must write each and everyday, even if it is just for a little bit. If by the end of the day I am not happy with what I have written – and it never gets published or even posted on a blog – it is still a worthy exercise in critical thinking and creativity. I think of it as analogous to a professional baseball pitcher: although it may not always be there day to start a game, they still go out in the bullpen and throw some pitches everyday, because that is how they keep their skills sharp.

If you want to be good at something you need to live and breathe it. It needs to be a part of your daily routine. By aiming to write everyday I am setting a precedent to continuously improve until I reach that next plateau.

5. REPEAT. REPEAT. REPEAT.

We all have certain habits which we repeat day-in and day-out. They become automatic or “second nature.” One beauty of the human mind is that we can consciously choose to replace existing habits with new ones – to reinforce “positive” behavior and punish “negative” behavior (however an individual may come to define those terms).

Over the last year I have built up a habit of reading, thinking, and writing about political philosophy, economics, and society at large. It is something I have developed a passion for which is why I now picture myself doing it as a career.

I don’t want to be simply good at it but great at it. I want people to read what I have to say and walk away more educated, more independent-thinking, and more inspired by life around them. I want them to think, “this is so good, I want my friends to read this.”

But this kind of value can only be created if I am dedicated to my craft, which means: practice, practice, practice. I believe that the more I immerse myself in an activity, the better and faster of a learner I will be.

6. EVOLVE

Evolution is a series of adaptations and changes over time. In many ways, it is spontaneous and unpredictable. Often the order is not clear until you look back on it.

This post marks a starting point for my pursuit as a professional writer, but only time will tell where I will end up a year, five years, or ten years down the line.

While I may not know the specifics of where this path is heading, I do know that if I stay devoted to my mantra of RAWA (“Read A lot, Write A lot”), and its 6 tenets, that it will lead me somewhere productive and fruitful.

The human mind can facilitate positive evolution by identifying value and producing it over time. Only by adding value to our lives and the lives of others do we progress as humans and make life worth living.

ENDING NOTE

At its core the RAWA strategy is simple: get emerged in reading and writing and I will soon build the skills to enter the professional domain.

Of course, this is not all one needs to be successful. Along with actually having the ability, one also needs to know how to network, market their product, and land opportunities. These will be issues I will try and resolve in later posts.

For now, my main focus is thinking of myself as a writer, reinforcing these positive rituals (consume digest, rest, grow, repeat, evolve), and eventually building a portfolio of my best material to send to editors.

People who have never blogged before may not realize how much of multi-faceted activity it really is. Every individual post incorporates brainstorming with research, writing (obviously), editing, and marketing. Then you have to account for all the behind-the-scenes work of updating layouts, formatting posts, adding pictures, and working on the whole “aesthetic” of the blog.

After one dedicated year I feel as though I am on a new plateau in the blogging world. I slowly, but surely, began to discover my voice, and I am now more focused on the ideas I want to convey to my readers. I have become a better writer; take a look through my archives, read one of my earliest posts and then go to something more recent – you will notice the change.

More importantly, blogging has become a rigorous exercise in self-discovery. It has helped me better define my interests and to integrate those concepts into my life in a practical and effective way. As I mention in my article “Writing As Meditation,” writing is a form of contemplation and critical thinking. It makes our minds stronger and better able to function in the real world.

If you think of your mind as a muscle then writing becomes a “mental gymnasium.” We need creativity to maintain healthy cognition just as much as we need a proper diet and exercise to maintain bodily health. If you find yourself lacking in creative hobbies considering dusting off that old guitar, writing a poem, or going to the park on a nice day to take some pictures. A good hour dedicated to self-expression adds a healthy dose of meaning to our existence and promotes mental health (sometimes even in those who have severe disorders like schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder).

Blogging has helped me cope with some of my own mental handicaps like anxiety and depression. As someone whose mind often wanders and races, blogging became a way for me to put my life into focus and re-assess what makes life worth living; it made me ask, “What do I value in life? What should I strive for?”

Aside from my intellectual improvement, I also have some objective measures to show for my blogging efforts.

Over the past 364 days, I have accumulated over 100,000 visits. That is an average of over 280+ visits a day and an average of 735+ visits per blog post (for those following the math: I have written over 136 posts within the past year).

Assuming only 10% of my readers actually read a full article that is still over 70+ “full readers” per page. That may not sound like a big influence compared to a Paris Hilton or a Michael Jackson but that is 70+ minds I have affected (in some large, small, positive, or negative way) simply from writing my thoughts on some quirky website. For my first year that is a pretty good foundation to build upon. The best part is anyone can do this with a little time and effort.

In the pursuit of any endeavor we can’t ignore the fundamentals. Knowledgeable, aspiring young bloggers know that you need to build relationships if you want to establish a loyal fanbase. This means visiting other blogs, replying to comments and e-mails, making your site look presentable, and providing consistency in content.

However, the fundamentals alone won’t get you the success you want, whether it is with blogging, starting a business, or with life in general.

Don’t get me wrong – the fundamentals are crucial – but you need that X factor if you want to take your work to the next level. In fact, with the competition, it is almost as if we need a Y and Z factor too.

So what do X, Y, and Z stand for? Well…that is for you to figure out. If I could tell you, then they would no longer be X, Y, and Z; they would just be any old information that any hack could get a hold of.

Risk-Taking

Pat Flynn at SmartPassiveIncome.com makes a healthy living off blogging. He says he is not a millionaire, but he does make enough to support his wife and new baby boy. As a successful businessman, he says if you want to up the ante then you need to take bold actions.

In business or in life you really only have two choices:

A. Do you want to blend into the background?

B. Or do you want to stand out from the rest?

When asked this question, many will jump to their feet and scream, “I want to stand out from the rest!” But it isn’t that easy.

Standing out can be painful. It requires us to step out of our comfort zone, take risks, experience failure, and then still have the conviction and will to get back up again. Many won’t be able to get back up on that horse after only their first time falling. It can be that hurtful and dispiriting.

Mindful Persistence

Some folks believe that as long as you are strong and persistent in spite of your failures, then you can make it through anything. I’ve written about this before and I certainly still believe that commitment is a strong value to have during any endeavor.

But what if your failure isn’t due to you or any lack of skills? Maybe you keep getting thrown off because there is something wrong with the horse? How do you know when a failure is due to your lack of commitment or if it is the pursuit in itself that fails?

That is why I propose mindfulness, a concept I discuss very frequently on this blog. Mindful persistence means knowing when to be persistent and knowing when to ditch an idea completely.

We need to know when to attribute a failure to our self and when to attribute a failure to uncontrollable circumstances. If the problem is something inside ourselves, then we need to stay persistent, do research, keep failing, and eventually learn the tools of the trade. If the problem is an uncontrollable circumstance then it is time to accept a change in strategy.

“Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast.”
- Tom Peters

What risks am I taking?

As a 21 year old, my biggest resource is not money or experience but how I spend my time. I graduated college a semester early so that I could get a jump-start on what I wanted to do. Even before I chose to major in psychology I knew I wanted to make a living being self-employed, without any concerns for bosses and strict deadlines.

My biggest risk thus far is my decision to remain unemployed and devote my full-time towards this site. I am now working on my first ebook, which is going to be my first bold step forward in monetizing my work.

Some may think I am naive or foolish, but I see things in my future that I cannot expect others to see for me. That is a big part of what makes a risk a risk. I am willing to step out on that limb.

Ask yourself, “What risks am I taking?” What things are you looking to put on the line and what do you think you can achieve in return?

Join me for the ride

This blog is as much about improving myself as it is about improving the world. That is one of the major themes throughout my writing. I provide a lot of free and useful content on this site and I want to encourage people who have a similar attitude to join my newsletter, where I share my latest posts along with articles and videos from all over the internet. If you click on that link you can also check out the latest issue of my newsletter and get a taste for the types of things to expect in the future.

What’s wrong with that? Well, some may say that blogging distracts us from our “real work” or our “real job.” Blogging in this case is seen as just a hobby, and thus it is considering a pleasure, not a mode of productivity.

But is this even true?

I believe blogging actually makes us more productive, not less. Just because we aren’t making a lot of money doing it doesn’t mean that we aren’t being productive. And just because something is self-serving doesn’t mean it can’t also benefit others. Blogging exemplifies both of these points.

This is why I have compiled five main reasons why having a blog makes you more productive. These reasons include:

Each of these will be expanded on below:

1. Organizing Your Thoughts

A blog is basically a diary with a public audience. It provides an outlet to share our experiences and expand on our thoughts.

When we write about these aspects of our life we are allowing our brains to better organize our mental world, to make better sense of it, and to think more lucidly about our life situations. This can lead us to better problem-solving skills, a more goal-oriented lifestyle, and a clearer understanding of what we really want out of life.

2. Exercising Creativity

Our blog is our creation. Sure, we may have a default WordPress theme, we may have borrowed some pictures from Flickr.com, and we may even quote from different news articles and blog entries. But when it is all said and done: it is our creation! We were the ones who found all the resources and put them together in a way that we envisioned.

Some are more creative than others, but there is virtually no limit to the things we can do while maintaining a blog. We can write, take photos, record videos, design, manufacture products, and so much more. Blogging is what makes it possible to combine all these elements all in one place.

3. Networking

If we are consistent with what we do then we are bound to cross paths with others who have similar interests. This can lead us in all sorts of productive directions. We could run into someone who gives us a helpful suggestion regarding a current endeavor. We may even run into our future business partner.

Nowadays good networking skills can get us almost anywhere in the workplace. Even if we don’t connect with someone directly through our blog, the skills we develop while networking with others will carry over to other areas of life as well.

4. Better Spent Freetime

How would you be spending your freetime if you weren’t blogging? Would it be watching TV, playing videogames, or surfing YouTube? Which do you think is more productive: blogging or what you would most likely be doing if you weren’t blogging?

You could be writing about anything and I would wager that you are being more productive, and that you are provoking reality to a much greater extent, then if you were just sitting in a near vegetative state passively consuming various mediums of entertainment. This isn’t to take anything away from the enjoyment of a good movie or a hilarious Youtube video, but – in terms of productivity – blogging is the better choice.

5. Visiting Other Blogs

If you are like most bloggers then you probably also like to visit other people’s blogs too. And of course, just like your blog provokes the interests of its readers, other blogs are going to provoke your interests as well. The blogosphere is filled with quality, thought provoking, and mind expanding material. I have only been blogging for 6 months and I already feel much smarter because of it.

There is a blog for just about anything you could possibly be interested in. Do you like obscure music? Do you need business tips that come from the heart? What about advice on how to pick-up women? The blogosphere has it all, no wonder it is the newest and most popular way to disseminate information across the net.

Conclusion

I hope you are now convinced that blogging is an activity that can benefit anyone. Whether you plan on creating a business out of it or just pursuing your own personal pleasure there is something to gain if you are willing to dedicate the time.