Talent is Never Enough, Not Even for Your Blog

One book I always keep handy for personal and professional inspiration is John C. Maxwell’s Talent is Never Enough.

As I was flipping through the pages the other day, I realized how the Table of Contents could be used for many areas of life. So, I’ve SCAMPER‘d it to fit blogging, substituting the word Blogging in place of Talent:

1. Belief Lifts Your Talent Blog: Believe what you have to say is important. Believe that your imprint on a conversation already making the rounds adds to the mix. Believe in yourself.
2. Passion Energizes Your Blog: Let the passion in your heart be apparent in your blog voice. If your friends are tired of you talking about it, maybe you should blog about it.
3. Initiative Activates Your Blog: Just do it. Try something new. Take something old and make it your own. Great idea? Just do it.
4. Focus Directs Your Blog: A purpose-driven blog is one that is focused on the text, task, and talk. If you lose focus, check out Lisa Haneberg’s lens to regain clarity
5. Preparation Positions Your Blog: With so many social media & networking widgets available, don’t forget to adorn your blog with widgets that serve your purpose. (My recommendations are on my blog — take a look-see)
6. Practice Sharpens Your Blog:The more you blog (both reading and writing), the stronger your blogging muscles get. Sharpen those muscles with good blogging practice.
7. Perseverance Sustains Your Blog: Lack of comments, lack of visitors, writer’s block, disagreements, software issues. Even Twitter goes down once in awhile. Stick it out. Remember, even a diamond is just a piece of coal that stuck to the job.
8. Courage Tests Your Blog: Are you a Thrill Seeker or Fear Avoider? Love growth. Embrace change (or else it will tackle you), because it’s going to happen anyway.
9. Teachability Expands Your Blog: I say over and again (until I learn a new saying), Begin with a Learner’s mindset. If you’re not learning something from everyone and everything, you’re one stuck schmuck.
10. Character Protects Your Blog: Even super heroes are human, but a strong character will see you through every blog storm.
11. Relationships Influence Your Blog: Often, Your Visitors Hold the Answers to what should happen next on your blog. And listening is a big part of conversational media.
12. Responsibility Strengthens Your Blog: You’re probably going to make mistakes on your blog (if you don’t, you’re probably stuck in the mediocre zone). Own up, improve, and learn from them.
13. Teamwork Multiplies Your Blog: It is said that actor and audience both must take an active role for a play to work. Blog writer and reader play similar roles. Team is the theme. Eventually, roles may converge in larger projects, such as the Age of Conversation.

I’ll add one for good fortune:
  14.  Vulnerability Humanizes Your Blog: The conversphere is a forgiving community. We’ve all been there. And the sooner you trust the community, the sooner the community will trust you.

What other additions might there be?

Related Posts about Talent is Never Enough

– The Practice of Leadership
– One Particular Harbour
– The Fitness Zone

Follow Mike Sansone on Twitter or Facebook or on Google+

Find Your Social Media ROI

I hear it from a lot of business owners: “Where is the ROI with all this Social Media?“ If this is a question you ask yourself, maybe we should work together a bit more. We can work together solo, or via a professional learning community. Find and increase your ROI. There is a “there” there.