8 Secret Steps to Easy Blog Writing

Writing a blog should not be a difficult or arduous task. 

• Rather it should be a pleasurable outpouring of your position on an issue; 
• an expression of your strong feelings about a current event; 
• an exposition on a topic on which you have done some significant research; 
• or maybe just sharing a particular point of view on something you have some real interest in.

Blog Writing as a Release

As an independent consultant the writings I often do include writing reports, designing programs, evaluating programs, and developing proposals to acquire grant moneys along with helping new blog writers get off and running. 

Blog writing then is a release from that type of demanding writing. As I write this, I am experiencing a release from my normal and typical writing directly associated with making a living.

Blog Writing Simplified

Blog writing, simplified, can be broken down into eight specific and easy tasks:

1. Identify the substance of what you want to write about.

2. Work on the title of the blog. The title is extremely important. It will determine whether or not someone actually decides to read your blog. Make the title a catchy and intriguing one.

3. Develop a strong lead paragraph. This is important because, after the title, the paragraph must make the reader wants to further explore what you have to say.

4. Keep your main points you want to make to no less than three and no more than nine. Two are too few. Ten are too many.

5. Support each of your points with facts and data. If you choose to quote a so-called expert, keep it to a minimum. The important thing is to make sure that your facts and data are from reputable sources.

6. Keep your sentences short and concise. Write in the active voice. And, write to the reader. Let the reader know that you are talking to him or her.

7. Use bullet points if they are appropriate to your blog and avoid jargon unless you are willing to explain what it means.

8. Conclude your blog with a summary of your main points or a simplified restatement of the essence of your blog

There it is. Blog writing should be a release, but also valuable to the reader. Consider it to be therapeutic and have fun doing so.

I'd like to know your thoughts. Leave your comments below.

4 Secrets of Setting Goals in Life

We are all increasingly bombarded by events beyond our control. Wars, inflation, recession, and other outside stresses impinge on our emotions. 

When we add these events to career, family, health, financial, and personal problems, it is apparent why stress overload is such a common problem.

While these realities are here, with its rapid changes, our delicate human nervous system remains unchanged.  We continually search for firm ground on which to stand and meet our problems. 

Goals and Setting Goals in Life is that firm ground. 

Have a Goal Oriented Plan for Your Life
The truth is that if you don't have a goal oriented game plan for your life and personal development, you may well lose control of those events upon which you can exercise control. For example, you may feel reasonably secure in your career today, but are you prepared for a second, or perhaps a third career if circumstances make such a decision necessary?

Things happen unexpectedly - - career crisis, health problems, and family problems - - and, without planning you will end up being a reactor rather than an actor in life.  

Goal setting makes you an active agent in molding your life and enables you to be clear what you want. Keep in mind that not much of life is accomplished without specific, smart goals.

The pleasure of taking control of your life is, by itself, worth the effort. It prepares you for the inevitable changes that occur as you pass from decade to decade through marriage, children, career changes, retirement, and so on. 

It gives you a full perspective on your life. You can see, perhaps for the first-time, whether or not you are structuring your life to realize your potential and achieve personal fulfillment.

Here Then are Four Principles to Follow:
1. Define your goals clearly 
The failure to establish clear goals is one of the chief obstacles to achievement and personal fulfillment. The art of goal setting lies in your ability to focus on one well-defined objective at a time. A clearly defined goal is one that is specific and measurable and one that is set within a specific time frame.

2. Put your goals in writing 
Goal writing is the tool for achievement and fulfillment. Your goals must mesh with your commitment and your purpose in life. Successful people in all walks of life have found that goal writing can provide the energy and the will to achieve them. Writing down goals forces you to be specific. Your goals become more real and you avoid the dangers of vague, indefinite objectives.

3. Record baseline data 
In setting goals in Life, you need specific information about your present actions in order to establish a basis for change. It is important to have a complete and accurate record of where you stand now if you are to establish a goal for change. 

For example, if your goal is to double the amount of time you spend walking each week, keep track of the time you currently spend walking and figure the average. In setting baseline data, don't rely on memory. Make a record as it occurs and give yourself a long enough period of time to get a fair average. Good baseline information is the foundation for setting successful goals.

4. Break goals into sub goals 
Trying to make the transition from present performance to a desired goal in a single jump can lead to early failure and loss of confidence. Sub goals are stepping stones to success. A big goal is not a measure of your present status. 

It is a target -- something you need to attain ultimately. You shouldn't feel like a failure if your goal is not achieved tomorrow or the next day. You need the smaller sub goals that are just beyond your current ability but still within the realm of present possibility.

These goals can be very supportive as they help build your winning streak. Most importantly they can provide the foundation for successful activity.


Do you set goals? What has been your experience?

3 Things You Must Know About Depression

Blues or Depression?

Just about everyone gets the blues from time to time - that feeling of sadness or grief that usually
results from unpleasant life experiences.

While many people refer to the blues as depression, however, true clinical depression is as different from the blues as pneumonia is from a head cold.

Blues and Depression
The blues is a temporary and usually normal reaction to stressful life situations. Most cases don't involve physical symptoms, loss of self-esteem, or suicidal thoughts, and the negative state usually passes within a few hours or days.

Depression on the other hand, is an intense, pervasive and long-lasting disorder of mood that attacks the body as well as the mind, often resulting in serious problems in work, social, and physical functioning. 

Unfortunately, some people don't recognize depression for the serious illness it is. They think of it as a personality flaw, a sign of weakness or a character defect.

3 Dynamics of Depression
To go further in depth, depression occurs in at least 3 different dynamics:

1. People in the first category are chronically depressed. Depression is built into them and may be passed from generation to generation.
2.  The second dynamic concerns lasting grief that occurs after a severe loss. Its severity is entirely subjective but might occur with the loss of a child, spouse, or loved one, an amputation, mastectomy, a sizable career setback, or loss of functioning brought about by disease or trauma.
3.  The third dynamic involves loss accompanied by anger. People who have unresolved issues with a departed loved one often do not know that they are angry. This despair can set in after messy divorces or after a close relative or friend passes away. Since they are not able to deal with these problems by interacting with the object of their anger, they take their antagonism out on themselves instead.

Loss is the common element in all three dynamics. It could be a loss of time, an object, an idealization of an object, or a person.

Symptoms of Depression
Symptoms of depression often include disturbances with sleep, appetite and sleeping patterns, sadness nearly every day, sexual functioning, and difficulty thinking, focusing, or concentrating.

There is frequently excessive guilt, feelings of worthlessness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, and, in severe cases, thoughts of or attempts at suicide.

Some depressions are the result of a chemical imbalance and may only be treated by anti­-depressant medication, some require psychotherapy, and still others a combination of methods.

Chronic Depression
Those with chronic depression can't be helped except by antidepressants. In these cases, psychotherapy may be of little help and a poor use of time and money. 

Time helps a person who has suffered a severe loss as well as an involved other person who listens to the aggrieved as he or she gives words to the pain. 

This does not necessarily have to be a therapist, but if there is not a strong support system, treatment is very necessary. 

Finally, only a strong guide can help people whose loss is accompanied with anger move toward slow recognition and safe expression of their real feelings. This is usually the only path out of melancholy.

The Good News About Depression
The good news is that more than eighty percent of depression sufferers can be treated successfully. If you or someone you care about is depressed, seek help now by contacting a qualified mental health specialist at (773) 614-3201.

What is your views about depression? Do you accept the difference between having the blues and experiencing depression?

Add your comments below.