Even the Tortoise has bad days

October 29, 2008 at 5:55 am (Baha'i, Entrepreneur, Faith, audiobooks)
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I’ve been feeling ungrounded lately.  Like one of those cartoon characters whose feet are running a hundred miles an hour, but because those feet aren’t touching the ground, they aren’t going anywhere.

I know I need to be patient like the tortoise, but I’m happiest when I know what I need to be doing.  Even the tortoise knew exactly what his next step was: his next step!

I prayed for assistance the other day, about what I needed to do next.  The answer was, “it will become clear.”  In other words, be patient! 

Last week, I met with my friend and mentor Kevin, and told him my problem.  He gave me some excellent advice: Make a list of all the things I need to do, then make a list of 5 things I would like to see done in the next week.  I made the lists last night because I was meeting with him today to report.  To be thorough, I also made a list of what I had accomplished over the past week.  I was surprised at how much I had gotten done!  And I’ve already gotten three big things done on my list for next week.  What a great tip – thanks Kevin!

I had a dream a few nights ago: I was in a house on the side of  steep hill.  We all knew it was only a matter of time before the rain washed out the foundation, and the house slid down the hill, so we were already looking for a new place to go.  Sure enough, first one end of the house tilted, followed quickly by the other, and there we all were, sliding down the hill in our house.  Fortunately, as dreams go, when the house finally came to a rest, it was still remarkably intact.  When I looked around at where we were, I saw that we had landed exactly where we had decided was the perfect location! 

I did a little research and discovered that the house is symbolic of self, and mud symbolizes being stuck.  Sound familiar?  I have definitely been feeling stuck lately!  When I realized this, I had that “Hand of God” feeling, and I knew that everything was going to work out just fine!  But then, I knew that already, didn’t I?

Oh God! Refresh and gladden my spirit.  Purify my heart. Illumine my powers.  I lay all my affairs in Thy hand.  Thou art my Guide and my Refuge.  I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved, I will be a happy and joyful being.  O God!  I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me.  I will not dwell on the unpleasant things in life.  O God!  Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself.  I dedicate myself to Thee O Lord!

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

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A new social networking site for Baha’is on the Internet

October 24, 2008 at 9:44 pm (Baha'i)

One of the things I learned while reading Problogger is that a good way to build readership for your blog is to either join in or create a community of like minded bloggers and support each other through comments and links.  I liked the idea, but I never got around to doing it.  Until now.

A little more than a week ago, I received the following email:

 Dear Friends,

 The Office of Communications recently launched the Baha’i Web Developers Network, http://www.bahaiwebdev.net, a social network online for Baha’is who are active on the Internet to share experiences, encouragement and technology tips. If you’re a blogger, a webmaster for a Baha’i community website, or just someone who is active online and is seeking ways to serve and teach the Faith on the Internet, www.bahaiwebdev.net is for you!  Start an account, create a profile and start chatting with other Baha’i techies all over the country and the world.

 

[...]

 

Thanks, and see you online!

 

 

Office of Communications

Baha’i National Center 

 This was exactly what I was looking for!  A centralized online gathering place for Baha’is who are interested in communicating through the Internet. 

One of the first things I discovered was a group called “Bloggers.”  Last weekend, there was a lively discussion on a variety of topics, not the least of which was what we as a group hoped to accomplish.  What I found most marvelous was the faint aroma of community wafting among the people posting.  I have high hopes for this group, and for the site in general.  So join us, and when you do, make sure to look me up!

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A Baha’i Website is Born

October 21, 2008 at 9:30 pm (Baha'i, Verdanta, audiobooks, business)
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Well, I’ve taken the very first, very small step towards building a brand new Baha’i website…

I’ve reserved my domain name!

I know, I said it was only a small step.  But a satisfying one nonetheless. 

A while back, I chose the name “Verdanta” for this little venture.  It’s Esperanto for “Verdant” which resonated for me on several levels, and it was a word without a lot of preconceived thoughts or feelings attached to it, allowing me to shape the meaning. 

In choosing a domain name I really wanted www.verdanta.com, just to keep things simple.  But when I went to try to reserve it, it showed up as taken.  I dug a little deeper, and discovered that this domain name was owned by someone who also owned a few thousand other domain names.  Clearly, my little domain had fallen victim to a domain scavenger!  This scoundrel had reserved the name in the hopes that someone like me would come along and be willing to pay for the privilege of owning it.   Well, I showed them!  I took the long view and said “if this business is meant to be, then this domain name will be mine, all I have to do is be patient.” 

Every so often, I checked on the status.  I watched it move slowly from expired to quarantined and finally, last month, to available!  Wahoo!  So for the low low price of $6.95, www.verdanta.com became mine!

[Sigh...] That was fun. 

Now I’ve got to figure out what to do with it! 

Let me start by saying I have ZERO web design experience.  I know so little about what I don’t know that I can’t even ask intelligent questions.  But again, I’m trusting in Providence.  If it’s meant to be, it will be. 

My husband is willing to build a full “bells and whistles” website for me, and my brother has offered to make it pretty.  However, neither one of them has a lot of free time, so if I wait, it’s going to be a while.  And besides, I don’t want all the bells and whistles right now.  All I want right now is a website with the name Verdanta on it, and a place to communicate with folks who want audiobooks as much as I do.  So I talked to mi esposo, and we agreed that I could take a first stab at it.  I want to learn enough to be an educated consumer, and for me, hands on is the way to go. 

As soon as I hung up with him, I called my neighbor to ask her advice about templates.  She owns her own web design business, and after answering a couple of my stumbling, awkward questions, she came out and asked if she could help me!  She said business is slow, and she’d love to help me get started. 

Now that’s Providence!

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Bahá’í Audiobook Publisher Says Beware! of Distractions

October 9, 2008 at 5:35 am (Baha'i, Verdanta, Work, audiobooks)
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My blog is going through growing pains. 

I’ve been reading ProBlogger by Darren Rowse, both his book and his on-line blog.  He has so much great advice for a new blogger like me that I allowed myself to get sucked in.  “If I just do all the things he suggests,” I thought, “I can get thousands of people to visit my blog every day too!”  I think that’s what my last post was really about.

In my last post, I said that I was going to write a series of posts about what public speaking can teach a blogger.  It was basically me trying to put his words into action.  Here are some of the ways I incorporated his advice:

1.    I carefully crafted the title to try to get people to read the opening lines of my post

2.    I carefully wrote the opening lines of my post to entice people to “scan” the rest of my post

3.    I wrote with the reader in mind, trying to offer them (you) something of value

4.    I included a list

5.    I intended to use the list as the jumping off point for a series of blogs which were basically about blogging. 

 

But here is what I forgot to think about while I was taking his advice:

1.    Who my targeted audience is (Bahá’ís around the world)

2.    That based on some of the well crafted, highly considered comments I’ve already received on my blog, my readers don’t scan, they READ!

3.    Why I was writing (to connect with the people who might want to listen to the sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith in audiobook form.)

4.    That Darren Rowse has already covered the basics of blogging far better than I ever could

5.    That I didn’t start blogging for page hits any more than I started blogging for money

6.     That I don’t want to spend all my time building an award winning blog.  I want to record audiobooks!

That last one hit me last night.  I’ve had several failed drafts since my last post.  My writing wouldn’t flow, and I couldn’t figure out why. 

Until last night. 

I prayed about it, and the answer was so simple I was embarrassed I hadn’t figured it out earlier:  I had allowed myself to become distracted! 

I should be recording and editing, not blogging about blogging! 

The truth is, I’m afraid.  Up until this point, it has all been theoretical.  Now that I have to lay down actual tracks and then (ultimately) try to sell them, I’ve frozen up.  When this book showed up, I jumped at the chance to learn something new, something that didn’t require me to put so much of myself “out there.”   And I have been afraid to put myself out there, which is why I’ve been using a pseudonym instead of my real name. 

To be sure, I had plenty to learn from ProBlogger:  I definitely wasn’t using my blog titles correctly, and I’m going to rethink my entire Category scheme, but that’s totally different than throwing myself into a ten part series on basic blogging skills!  (Although if you want to know my thoughts, let me know.  I’ll happily share.)

But here’s the thing: eventually, I am going to have to put myself completely out there, whatever “out there” means.  And I think the sooner I do it, the better. 

Which is why I’m coming out from behind my pseudonym right now.

Hi, my name is Leanne Eleff.  I live in Phoenix, Arizona, in the Southwestern part of the USA.  I’m a Bahá’í, and I want to make audiobooks of the sacred writings of the Baha’i Faith, so you can listen to and study the Healing Prescription for Mankind everywhere you go. 

If you want this as badly as I do, leave a comment and let me know.  Or subscribe to my blog here or here.  I can use the support!

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10 Lessons Public Speaking has for New Bloggers

October 5, 2008 at 11:05 pm (Baha'i, Entrepreneur, Faith, Passion, Verdanta, audiobooks, business)
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I’m a blogging newbie, but a relative veteran when it comes to public speaking.  I’ve been in Toastmasters for three years, serving two years in executive officer positions, and I’ve even taught public speaking at the community college level.  I know what differentiates an average speech from a great one.  And yet, it never occurred to me to apply what I knew about public speaking to blogging. 

Last week, I received an email that a book I had put on hold was available for pickup.  I put books on hold all the time, so I wasn’t too sure what it might be.  I was surprised to find ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income sitting on the shelf, because I didn’t remember reserving it.  Looking at the title, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to check it out because money wasn’t my primary motivation for blogging.  Still, I thought maybe there would be some tips on how to make my blog better.

Am I glad I did!

Yes, the book was very interesting, but what really got me excited was a post I found at the ProBlogger website: How to Craft a Blog Post – 10 Crucial Points to Pause.  As I read through it, I realized that most of what Darren Rowse suggested were things I already knew – from public speaking!  That’s when I realized, blogging was nothing more than a Toastmasters speech in written form!

I sat down and in five minutes thought of 10 tips that apply equally well whether writing a blog entry or a speech:

1.    Know your general purpose

2.    Know your specific purpose

3.    Write with your audience in mind

4.    Answer the question “So what?”

5.    Know exactly what you want your audience to walk away knowing

6.    Realize that your audience is voluntary

7.    Use metaphors, personal stories, anecdotes, and quotes to add depth, interest and credibility to your story

8.    Make statistics accessible to your audience

9.    Choose a topic about which you are passionate

10.  Don’t try to cram too much in

In the interest of not violating #10, I will spend the next several weeks exploring each of these tips in its own post.  I know this list is by no means complete, so I encourage you to comment on other similarities that I may have left out.   I could be adding your tip to my list!

If you’re not a Baha’i, feel free to stop reading here.  If you are, or you are a prior visitor to my blog, read on!

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My previous readers know that this blog is about chronicling the conception, gestation, birth and development of my entrepreneurial baby, Verdanta, a business that will record Bahá’í audiobooks.  A discussion of how to improve one’s blog may not immediately seem relevant.  I would posit, however, that since a blog is such a wonderful way to spread the word about something, and that the Bahá’í Internet Agency encourages Bahá’í bloggers, then learning to blog well is exceedingly important, if for no other reason to represent our Faith well.

 

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