Exploring a passion

Our inner child is foundational. It is the first thing we let go of, but the one thing that keeps us true to ourselves.

-Chelsea Wong, Passion Planner Team 2019

I came across some wonderful inspiration today I wanted to share and remember. Because I am a “Passion Planner” devotee, I always get an email alert when there is an update from the PP team. I found this article about taking a “Passion Week” and the inspiring result on the PP blog.

The idea of a Passion Week is to take your paid time off and allow yourself a small stipend to pursue a personal passion. What a refreshing idea! It really encourages re-thinking the idea of a typical vacation.

I was thinking about what I would work on during a passion week. I had a couple of thoughts and the ideas made me realize how lucky I am. One of the ideas that popped into my head was really devoting myself to PIAV–heading out in the van for some day trips with my sketchbook. It would be a great challenge!

Another thing I was thinking about was the idea of giving back-what can I offer to others that are part of my passions? I immediately thought about the shelter and what I could bring to the youth-mentorship, leading a group, doing a training. I remembered the experience of doing a housing workshop with the youth and how that felt rewarding. I think I really helped some of the youth with budgeting and navigating housing opportunities.

So, maybe it’s time to schedule a passion week! Thanks to Chelsea Wong at the Passion Planner team for sharing her incredible experience for her Passion Week! Check it out here

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.