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Inspiration

Who says podcasts can’t inspire action?

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

I was on on a much needed lunch walk listening to one of my favorite podcasts when the words “A longing for home” were spoken and hit me right in the heart. I felt a rush of emotions – a sense of being understood, wanting to cry, wanting to call a loved one, wanting to sit down and write in my journal for hours. After the initial Looney Tunes-esque speed run through ideas, I peacefully landed on just the right thing.

I’m an avid listener of the Abiging Together podcast hosted by Heather Khym, Sister Miriam James Heidland, and Michelle Benzinger. This is a wonderful, wholesome, faith-filled, hilarious weekly podcast that feels like you are over at your friends’ house having coffee and great conversations about Jesus. While all of their episodes hold gems of inspiration and faith, the specific episode I was listening to this week is titled, “The Younger Son” and is Part 2 of their book study on The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.