This is my third attempt to make some kind of blog with some kind of content. None of my previous projects actually got made. All of them got abandoned shortly after the planning stage.
A short history of failure!
The first idea for a blog was inspired by the micronation Molossia. I was fascinated by the idea of making my own micronation, blogging about my daily events as if I was prime minister of my own little nation. The plan was to declare my apartment as the exile embassy of my nation where my wife and I live until we can afford to found our nation on real land. Our daily lives should be converted into interesting blog posts of acts of state.
Well, I told my friends excitedly about my project, got some affirmative nods, and as the actual work started...I failed. First I couldn't decide on a name, neither on a flag...and finally after I started to create the webpage for our nation I realized I will need more pictures for it...and lost interest.
2nd try!
After the idea of the nation failed because the amount of personal dedication exceeded the expected gain in personal satisfaction, my wife and I decided to create a blog where we reviewed anything that had an impact in our life. Starting from movies, to food, restaurants, electronic gadgets, hotels, etc. The idea was inspired by the Website ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com and especially the nostalgia critic. I really enjoy his work and the fact that the people on the website seemed to be everyday normal people like you and me and not some outer worldly celebrities which have lifestyles that can only be fathomed by someone as average as I am.
The ideas for things to review were plenty and after I told everyone about the project some friends even wanted to join and make reviews of their own. I actually got as far as creating the blog, but than not much content came from my friends and I myself found it hard to make some quality-posts while working 40-50 hours a week. So the project was also declared a failure (even if I still don't want do admit that completely).
Hopefully this time it works!
The inspiration for the new project came from the website Ted.com where there are tons of interesting videos with inspiring ideas and information. Two videos from this site were the starting point for my new project. The first of them was a talk about 30 Day Challenges from Matt Cutts. His idea is to try something new and possibly life improving for 30 days. The timespan is short, so you probably won't fail, and it makes daily life more memorable. In addition to that you might get to know yourself better and probably create a habit that improves your life. So all in all there seems to be little or at least manageable effort and a lot of benefits.
The other talk that came to me as a revelation was Keep Your Goals to Yourself by Derek Sivers. His theory suggests that you are less likely to achieve a goal when you tell everyone of your friends in advance. Because than you already get some of the credit for having the idea and the plan and are less likely to actually make the hard work to reach the goal.
Looking back at my previous projects I believe this is totally true for myself. Every time I have an idea for a project I tell everyone and then fail.
The Plan!
So this time I will not tell the world what my next 30-Day challenge will be. I will keep it to myself, write down how it went for me day by day, and only after completing a challenge will I blog about it with a time delay of one month. For you the reader it makes no difference, but for me it probably is the key to finally succeeding in at least some of my projects.
Vienna, August 2011
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