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Have You Read the Book Behind This Blog?

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It’s still shocking to me how much a few wrong turns could change my life. Read the story behind this blog. And the book that started it.

It’s still shocking to me how much a few wrong turns could change my life.

I married, graduated , got a job, bought a house, fathered two children and attended the same church for nine years.

Then everything disintegrated.

To make a long story short, that disentegration drove me to the cross. And for the first time in my life I finally met my redeemer.

The Reformed Reader

Before my conversion, I was a book reader. After my conversion I was still a book reader. Of different sorts.

I leveled J. I. Packer’s  in two days. Made short work of Tozer’s . Even crawled through the first volume of Geisler’s . 

All books I highly recommend.

But I’m not here to tell you about those. There’s another book I want to introduce to you.

The Book in Question

It was this book–a book I read during my 10th anniversary with my wife–that planted the seed for this blog.

The book I’m talking about is Ravi Zacherias’ 

In this compelling defense of the Christian faith, Zacharias demonstrated that how we answer the question of God’s existence will infect every inch of our everyday lives: Our relationships. Our integrity. Our morality. Even our perception of truth.

It was, indeed, the essence of the human condition. My friend, at that point the direction for this blog was born.

Pre-Blogging Angst

However, as you might remember, it took me a year to launch this blog. And for the first four months of that year–before I read Zacherias–I knew I wanted to launch a blog. . .I just didn’t know what to write about.

Imagine you’re me for a minute.

You want to write. Share your faith. You see blogging can move you down that path. But you’re not sure what you can write about that will distinquish you from 17 gazillion other blogs.

Then imagine you wrestled with this idea for months. On end.

The Cover Is Lifted

That’s why reading Can Man Live Without God? was such a fanatical boost to my brain and soul. It was truly an a-ha moment.

Immediately I knew I wanted to call this blog  The Human Condition Blog. But there was a problem:  was taken.

I then considered Young American Christian. That URL was way too long.

It wasn’t until I heard  describe the condition of man as “fallen and flawed” that I knew I had my name.

Funny thing is, that was four days before I launched this blog.

Here’s What I Need from You

So, I pretty much got the overall flavor for this blog. What I don’t have is a . In fact, for the last year I’ve been toying with this blogs tag line. Even to this day I tinker with it.

Currently I have “A curmudgeon’s guide to conquering the human condition.” It’s also been “Curmudgeon’s guide to living a vivid, meaningful life.”

What I need from you is this: tell me what you think the tag line should be. You’ve been reading the content for a month, week or day. How would you describe the content in one short sentence?

Why I’m a Little Reluctant to Do This

It’s only been two months. I may not have enough momentum or content to give you a fair shot at this.

But, you know what? I’m a firm believer in the strategies  and. That means I’m counting on you to contribute.

So, when you got a few seconds, let me know what you think: Is my tag line and content out of synch? Is there something I could do better? More of?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

5 Reasons Why I Waited a Year to Launch This Blog

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This might sound strange to you, but  I waited over 365 days before launching this blog. Why I waited so long. 

The ability to launch and run blogs is so easy. I could have launched my blog within hours of getting the idea.

But that was part of the problem.

The ease with which to get into blogging: Low entry, means very little planning. Very little counting of the cost.

I wanted to avoid that.

Over the years I  jumped into two other serious blogging projects without much thought. My passion for these projects faded quickly. And I eventually bailed.

I didn’t want that to happen again. I wanted this to work.

Plan and Prepare with Purpose

The idea for this blog came to me shortly after November 30, 2007. That means I could have easily launched this blog in January 2008 at the latest.

Instead, I decided to launch this blog on December 1, 2008. And during that time I was waiting I decided to develop a business and marketing plan, write articles and learn as much as I could about blogging.

Share My Plan with Others

One thing I discovered is that creating a business and marketing plan for blogging doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, my plans evolved over a handful of emails to my wife. I simply explained to her what I planned on doing.

Sharing your idea with someone will help you refine your idea, too.  do this all the time.

In this case, my wife was my sounding board. She pointed out blind spots in my idea. Expanded areas I neglected. But most importantly, she pointed out my competitive advantage.

Discover My Competitive Advantage

Halfway through 2008 my blog idea cystallized. My wife and I saw how my blog could fit into the blogging community.

By discovering my competitive advantage I saw how I could exploit weaknesses and distinquish myself…something I needed to do if I were going to thrive in a competitve place.

All I did was read as many blogs as I could in widely different fields like politics, social media and Christianity.

But that wasn’t all.

Sustain the Passion for a Year

Another part of me wanted to see if I could simply  before I launched the blog.  Having two failed blog projects under my belt, I was concerned I couldn’t.

Turns out I could.

In the course of six months I wrote 33 articles and generated 44 more titles and topics. Darren Rowse says this a good signal that I .

Naturally, when December 2008 arrived, I was ready to roll.

Abstain from Distractions

However, the most important aspect of waiting so long was that I wanted to abstain from writing, audience chasing and pursuing the approval of men.

Up until November 30, 2007, my life was consumed by writing, chasing audiences and pursuing man’s approval.

This is what got me into trouble to begin with.

Great blogging is only part writing. The other part is participation. Participation like:

  • Reading blogs.
  • Commenting on blogs.
  • Replying to comments.
  • Networking with bloggers.

In essence, great bloggers build relationships with people. This includes seeking approval.

I knew first and foremost I needed to seek God’s approval for my blogging idea. And if at the end of that year, if I still had peace with God on this topic, move forward.

You know the end of the story–I believe I found God’s favor.

What Did You Do Before You Started Blogging?

Let me know what you did before you launched your blog. Did you plan for months, weeks or days? What inspired you to launch your blog? How do you keep the blog fire burning?