Grand Re-Opening
If you’ve heard of me, then you’ve heard of Merlin Mann. Please tell me you’ve heard of Merlin.
Whereas I am but a small drop in a large ocean, Merlin is a pretty good-sized pebble, to put it mildly. Owner of 43folders, Merlin’s humor and helpful wisdom have spared many thousands of people from the bowels of a boring, monotonous, unproductive worklife, not to mention the all-too-common attempts of the “I’m the new productivity guru on the block!”, please-let-this-blogging-thing-make-me-money crowd.
So, if you haven’t seen what Merlin has been writing lately, and if you’re wondering why I haven’t posted in so long, you really have to go take a look. Seriously.
Now, I’m not about to pawn the explanation of my silence off on Merlin’s shoulders, but he so eloquently puts into words a whole bunch of my feelings about blogging, attention, and the social-media-crack that’s running rampant these days, that it just wouldn’t make sense for me to try to do it any better than he has.
Read it? Good.
Now, on to my side of the story.
When I stopped writing over at Viverati (my old, old site) in June `08, it wasn’t really a planned hiatus. I just woke up one day and realized I didn’t have anything else to say. At least, for the time being.
As faithful readers know, I transitioned from Monk at Work to Viverati with the intention of expanding my scope, to include all kinds of stuff about all kinds of stuff, and not just about spirituality and personal development, and how they interface with our work life.
But, as it turns out, expanding my scope meant losing my focus. And that exposed an underlying issue that needed to be dealt with.
Namely, that I was blogging for the wrong reasons.
When I got into blogging, it seemed like a great marketing idea. I thought, “I’ll write about healing, personal development, and spirituality, and people will like it so much, they’ll hire me as a healer, take one of my workshops, or buy one of my products. Yeah, that’s the ticket!”
Did it work? A little. Not as much as I’d hoped, and it turned out that feeding the blogging-and-social-media-beast took more out of me than I wanted to admit. Arbitrary (and sometimes grueling) publishing schedules, and the pressure to post!post!post! took precedence over listening to the inner voice than wanted to speak. It ended up taking more than it gave, at least on the outside.
But what did come out of it was priceless; the realization that community is really important to me. That people come first, and everything else second. And that I no longer wanted to hawk my spirituality for money.
Sound harsh? Maybe it is. But the deeper I got into realizing what worked for me on a heart-level, the more I saw that I wanted to separate my income from my searching. And, since I had been deriving my family’s income from being a healer for over ten years, there was a lot to unravel and rework.
Hence, the hiatus. I couldn’t put words to what I was going through, and I still don’t know if I can. But what ensued was a complete re-tooling of my business, my spirituality, my interests, and my writing here.
On the other side…
As you can see, I’m now putting a many-year hobby into use and doing web work full-time. But, once a teacher, forever a teacher… the focus of my work as a webdesigner is less about designing, and more about teaching people how to use their sites to do whatever they want to do (which, from what I hear, is a far more precious commodity than webdesign).
And the blogging? Yep, I’m back to blogging, but no longer am I blogging to feed the beast, and no longer will I hold myself to someone else’s standards of what I should be writing, or how often, or the number of links per post needed to get to the front page of whatsawhoosit. Screw all that.
If I can’t write authentically, in every way, then I can’t write.
If I’m writing by rules that aren’t my own, then I can’t write.
And if I’m not writing something that matters to me, then I doubt it’s going to matter much to you, either.
So thank you, Merlin, for once again paving the way, for helping me open the door that I’d closed and held shut for so long.
So, what now?
We’ll see, really. I’m not pretending to know how this is going to go, nor am I promising that everything is about to go back to how it was. Quite the opposite, really, in case you couldn’t guess.
What I do know is this: I’m committed to writing about what I care about. It’s going to be from my perspective, as all writing is, if the writer is being honest. Some of you will stay, and some will go, and that’s fine. Community is a fluid thing, and I get that.
And, as Vitor helped me to see, it’s about the person, not the URL. Monk at Work, Viverati, whatever… the door has opened again, and I’m walking through it.
Image by mrhayata.
Potentially related posts:
Welcome back, Adam. Reading your post was like sipping ice water on a very warm day – refreshingly pure. It’s good the hear your voice again in the blogosphere.
Thanks, Barry. Good to be back.
And with any luck, that voice is going to keep growing stronger.
Adam,
I’m thrilled that your voice is back, man!
Right on Adam! I totally agree – i blog when I want to AND when I (hopefully) have something to say that is on benefit. Period. Social media crack – yes! It’s like high school all over again. Screw that.
And I LOVE that i got to be one of your first web clients. Thanks for the great design. Still want to tweak a few internal pages but to HAVE FINALLY done the redesign – your kindness was huge helping that breakthrough happen.
And yes for not hawking your spirituality. I made that choice 8 years ago and while I have to make it again and again, it’s good to know someone else is too!
Adam – I simply loved what you wrote. Viva authenticity and clarity of self. Go for it man. Self-authorship all the way. warm thoughts, Hilary
Welcome back! I was a loyal reader of your posts…I even bought some of your products to encourage you…but to me it seemed you were prostituting yourself by trying to sell your spirituality. You were much better than that. I know, my comments sometimes feel like attacks, but that’s not their purpose.
Anyway, I’ll continue to watch this site. And, no, I had never heard of Merlin and he’s not my cup of tea. But I’m glad he’s inspired you. Good luck. I’m still rooting for you.
Adam,
I can’t tell you how much I appreciated reading this post. I have been totally stressed out about my blogging and have lost contact with what I loved…just writing and letting it go. Your post reminded me to STOP and let things happen as they are supposed to. I loved these 3 lines from your post and have saved them:
If I can’t write authentically, in every way, then I can’t write.
If I’m writing by rules that aren’t my own, then I can’t write.
And if I’m not writing something that matters to me, then I doubt it’s going to matter much to you, either.
I’m glad you’re back and thanks!
Sara
Adam,
You know, silence is better than mindless blabber, so I’m glad you kept away from posting as long as you didn’t have something powerful to say.
It’s great to have you back!
Vitor
Hey Adam,
I have one word for ya……Amen!
I haven’t used that word in years, but it just came to me.
I’ve been through a similar journey the past few months and came to similar conclusions you did regarding authenticity.
I lost my focus for a while and seemed to let my head lead my path instead of my heart. I’ve found my center again and am connecting to my true essence and am caring much less about what others may think. I’m letting my zanny self show when it does and I’m lovin’ it.
Best of luck with your new ventures and glad to have you back around.
blessings,
Gina
Thanks, everyone. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
And Vitor, you nailed it again, brother.
Adam! I’m excited to see what’s next… and thrilled that you took the time needed to discover YOU.
Thank you for sharing your story. I suspect your vulnerability will help a lot of people
~J
Hi Adam:
I loved reading your story – thank you for sharing what’s been happening for you. I look forward to reading whatever feels worth sharing for you – I love your heart and wisdom.
Char
Adam — I’m so glad to see that Monk at Work is back!!!! Also want to tell you that your perspective, whether it’s Monk at Work or Viverati, is so helpful — I’ve been inspired, challenged, comforted and moved to action by your perspective on work, life and spirituality.
One of the things I most appreciate is that you pretty consistently remind me that the “path” part of my spiritual path can be earthy and messy, even as my heart is flying with angels.
Welcome back, my friend — I look forward to seeing both your business and this community grow.
Love & blessings,
Kathy M.
Adam, I’ve been thinking about you so much of late. Wondering what has been transpiring during your hiatus-knowing that your absence was shedding light on your own path.. But you have been missed. I often think about the first time we chatted on the phone, during a very difficult period in my own life of having to make a change…and how fortunate I was that your wisdom gave me a sense of moving forward, secure in listening to my own heart. What you gave then, surely you were able to give yourself over these past months.
Welcome back to sharing with us in community spirit. Good to see you! and I welcome your newsletter whenever the spirit leads you to share with me your thoughts.
Blessings, Maralene
Oh man am I pleased you’re back here at Monk at Work- welcome back! And thanks for being so real about it all.
And I am so grateful that we’re a client of yours- the new design is almost ready to launch… almost… almost… woo-hoo!
I’d only just started reading Monk at Work (thanks to a recommendation from Slade) when you disappeared… and boy am I glad that I didn’t delete my subscription to your site from my RSS reader.
I am so stoked to see you back!
You write with clarity, and lucidity, and connection… and it’s authentic. Coming from the heart I guess they call it.
These are interesting times in our world, and something tells me that your perspective on life, and the community that connects around it, is one voice(s) that we will need to hear.
Yeah!
This is the first time I’ve read your blog. As someone who is new to blogging I’ve felt the pressure to post! post! post!
I noticed though that I only ever feel that pressure when I’m writing about something that isn’t fresh, isn’t newly inspired. Such writing becomes work while when I’ve got the fire in me the words flow flow from my brain to my hands and onto my website with ease and satisfaction.
Following our individual passions makes “work” into joy.
Adam
I love this metamorphosis – your memorable teachings, spiritual insight and web design all make for a magic potion!
Welcome back — you were much missed.
Your no-time-or-space-for-BS attitude is so refreshing, and inspiring, like going for a walk on a beautiful day, after being cooped up indoors for too long.
As I write to (re)connect with those I’m called to serve, I am keeping your 3-point test in mind:
-*- Is it authentically me?
-*- Does it try to follow someone else’s rules, or is it true to my own?
-*- Does it matter to me?
It is likely that other blogs, ‘zines, etc. I’ve subscribed to will also start being filtered thru similar criteria for me as a reader:
-*- Does it speak to my heart, rather than pander to my ego?
-*- Does it align with my own values?
-*- Does it matter to me?
Imagine a whole community of internet publishers — and readers — who adhere to such criteria!
AmpleHugs & SunflowerSmiles,
-Anne
Welcome back Adam,
As someone who has had 6 different blogs in 5 years looking for, and discovering my voice I get your journey. Write what you want to write about. If we are drawn, we will come! If there is an attraction, a connection or curiosity, we will come. If we care about you, we will come! And if we don’t come? It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with us and where we are…
So, I’m here. Nice to see you.
…From one teeney bitsy nutter to another…I hear you loud and clear and it is indeed refreshing and inspiring to hear your words and see you back on the wicked wonderful web. I am frequently overwhelmed – like today – trying to decided what to write, where to write, who to write for and what site to direct it to, having purchased several every time I thought of a good title. I am still pondering. Your words have given me real food for thought! Thank you.
Greetings from Pittsburgh Monk,
Thanks for your authentic voice, your inspiration and the link to Merlin Mann. I’d read him before but his voice was different then as well. You gotta love evolution.
I’ve been re-thinking the whole purpose thing myself lately and it’s nice to have trail blazers that you trust to offer perspective.