Lack of Change Makes Me ill

13 August, 2008 - Blogging, Motivation - 1 Comment


Photo by Nicora

July 2007. Sat in the passenger seat on the freeway heading out of Ohio. As I sat there blogging and arranging our schedule for our days at a conference in Chicago, we passed through “America’s Hell Hole”. That’s how my business partner described it.

It was dark. Smoky. Dirty. Industrial. Full of factories billowing smoke. Everything was black with industrial waste built up over the years.

As we passed through this place, past a factory, I had an image of hundreds of sweat ridden, dirty middle-aged men, sweltering in factory temperatures, choking on factory fumes. I almost felt guilty. Here I was, 19 years old and sat in a comfortable car, on my way to a conference full of suits and Black AMEX cards.

“It makes me feel sick.”, I said. I didn’t mean to say that. It just came out. When I realised what I had said, I wondered whether my business partner would relate with me and understand what I meant.

“What? The jobs those guys have to do, you mean? I know how you feel.” he said.

I felt ill for those people who toiled away nine to five, in no doubt appalling conditions. Most had probably never stepped foot outside of their city, but what was really bothering me was most of the men in that factory probably didn’t even realise how much better their lives could be. They probably didn’t realise how valuable their skills were.

It’s the same in Blogging.

I was reminded of the story above after reading a message on Twitter earlier today. It was from a semi-famous blogger. It was probably eight months since I last read a post or Tweet from this blogger, but this Tweet today struck me hard. So hard it hurt.

After eight months of blogging, this persons view on life had not changed at all. Sure, the blog may be larger. The subscriber count may have gone up. There may be more income coming in to the bloggers pocket. But eight months later, the person was still doing the same exact things as was being done eight months ago.

“Squidoo lens this. Ebook that. 30 day challenge this. Monetize that.”

The words from this bloggers mouth hadn’t changed in eight months. That makes me sad. I don’t know why. I don’t know how. But it does.

After eight months of no contact, the first contact I hear is almost exactly the same as the last contact I made with this person. It all seems so small. So insignificant. Ebooks and Squidoo lenses. Money challenges and monetization.

To some people, it seems to be their life. It’s that which makes me sad. Sad for them, not because of them.

Do you always try to progress, or do you stand still? Does your life revolve around the meaningless, or do you set out to achieve great things? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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Posted on 13 August, 2008 by Jamie Harrop
Filed Under Blogging, Motivation |

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1 Comment»

Comment by Dr. Richard
2008-08-15 05:02:28

That’s funny about the Twitter comment. It’s the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over again. Hopefully he could make himself feel better because he was working on a different Squidoo lens or a new ebook. In some ways there is huge variety in this kind of work, but in others it’s immensely repetitive.

As you say, the challenge is to do something different.

Dr. Richards last blog post..The Long Tail of Your Vacation Rental

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