Blogging to learn, teach, and grow

[caption id=”attachment_588” align=”alignright” width=”202”] Photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com via Foter.com / CC BY[/caption] I started the blog so long ago (2004!) that I’ve kinda forgotten why I got started. In the beginning it was the novelty of blogging and sharing ideas. Then it turned into a place for me to document some of the technical things I was learning and discovering. I had visions of it becoming something like a window into my mind as I did programming and entrepreneurial activities… but as the last few years show there wasn’t much going on.

Be the change you want to see in the world

If you are not happy with the way things are going then you owe it to yourself to make a change. I wanted this blog to more than just “the” spot to learn about Java’s LinkedHashMap so I started paying attention to blogs that do get attention. That’s when I found The Simple Programmer. Talk about a one stop shop. Everything I’d like my blog to be was right there! And even better, there’s a free course for programmers on how (and why) you should start a blog. I signed up for that and I’ve got to say, it was just the kick I needed. The biggest lesson the course teach is that of focus: you need to niche down and become an “expert” on a topic with your blog. And if you aren’t an expert yet, blogging as you learn will help you to not only become an expert, but advertise to the world that you are the expert. There is a little bit of irony here for me, when I first started blogging this is something I was doing unintentionally. Taking this great course opened my eyes to this obvious truth: I can use the blog to not only teach others on a topic, but to also teach myself! The other major lesson of the course is that you need to communicate with others. Communicate your ideas, your value, you. Blogging is the perfect medium for that. The action of blogging forces you to write better so that you can communicate better. Who doesn’t want that?

Blogging for a better tomorrow

The course from Simple Programmer is very easy to follow. Its spread out over 3 weeks and in you’ll learn everything you need to start blogging, but more importantly you will learn why. The lessons resonated very strongly with me, I felt like the course was written just for me. There is work required to make those lessons come to life, but it is nothing outrageous or terribly time consuming. The biggest investment it requires is for you to TAKE ACTION. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to be done. Since I already had a blog I was able to take the lessons and look at my past actions with a critical lens and see how I could improve things. And then I was able to take action and bring the lessons to life. I already am beginning to notice improvements in my actions and thoughts.

Take action. NOW.

Here’s what you need to do.

1. Go to Simple Programmer and sign up for the blogging course.
2. Take action on the steps in the course
3. Become a better writer and developer.

Its that easy. :) Now go out there and do it!