Tag: Blog writing

I admit, I just love to write.

I get asked questions about blogging all the time. The questions often come from people who are thinking about writing their own blog. Usually they consider starting a blog because they are told they should for professional reasons. Or they believe there is some other great reward involved. Like money and fame. Like so many of us bloggers, they are often deciding between becoming a famous blogger, singer or professional athlete. And the other 2 require actual talent. But blogging isn’t something you should force yourself to do for personal or professional gain. You should blog if you love writing.

On Writing

In his book On Writing, Stephen King says he writes because he loves to. The money follows the love.

On Blogging

I can relate to King’s statement. Well, at least the first half. I love to write this blog. I love to share what I know. I love to help more people benefit from what I am benefitting from.

The simple process of writing helps me think through my own ideas, insights and philosophies. Which means that I learn by forcing myself to write. Which forces me to think. Which therefore forces me to am. Which is an obscure Descartes reference. And obscure references are actually my favoritest part of writing my blog. Along with making up words like favoritest.

It’s Not About The Benjamins

I don’t get paid to blog. And I never expect to. But I know that I am adding value to whomever decides to read what I am writing. Because I am offering ideas, lessons and stories wrapped in a touch of humor. Which is the literary equivalent of water chestnuts wrapped in bacon. And who doesn’t love bacon? (Pigs don’t love bacon.)

It’s A Small World After Albrecht

I am not worried about expanding my blog readership. In fact, I dig the fact that a small sliver of the world reads what I am writing. That’s fun for me.

I am posting this on the Sunday of a holiday weekend, at the tail of the year, when reading a blog post isn’t a top priority for most people. I probably could have skipped writing today and no one would have noticed. And there is a good chance that only a small number of people will read this post. But I love to write anyway. Which is the key to writing a successful blog, column, book or newsletter. Do what you love, and there will be people who love what you do too. Which leads to more good things, like the Fine Young Cannibals sang.

Thank You

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. And thank you for reading this post specifically. Today is a free day that you could use to do anything, or nothing at all. And you decided to spend a few minutes reading what I wrote. That means a lot to me. Have a great rest of your day. I hope you do something you love.

One day I started a blog. Now I have published 500 posts.

When I first heard about blogging I loved the concept. Thanks to the internet, suddenly you could write and publish your thoughts as often as you wanted, without having to own your own newspaper, magazine, or bathroom stall.

I knew this was a great platform for me. Because I could fill my writings with silly comments and there would be no editor to edit them out. Then again, there would be no editor to catch my spellng mstaks. And I have a type-O personality.

Over the following decade I took several good swings at blogging. I now have 9 random blogs to my credit. But to 7 of them I’m just the Bloggy-Daddy. You know, the guy who created that poor little abandoned blog and, like Tom Petty, don’t come around here no more.

Sailing The Entrepreneurship

In the fall of 2015 I began plans to launch my own advertising agency. I loved the idea of sharing my experience with the world through a blog. I figured the creative inspiration would be endless. So I began writing The Perfect Agency Project blog. I applied the same proven success formula to both my business and my blog. Which is to say I started and never stopped. #DontStopGetItGetIt

The Weaponry

Today, my advertising and idea agency, The Weaponry, is set to have our best year ever. Which is amazing considering that 2020 the year is nothing like 2020 the TV show.

What began in my home office in Atlanta now has offices in Milwaukee and Columbus. We have clients in Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Raleigh, Philadelphia, Manchester, New Hampshire, Columbus, Cincinnati, Madison, Milwaukee and more.

The Blog

This blog that began my entrepreneurial journey with me is stronger than ever too. Because I just keep writing. However, back in March, just before the world went sideways with Covid-19, I changed the name of this blog from The Perfect Agency Project to the Adam Albrecht Blog.

I made the change for two reasons. First, because I wanted to have greater latitude to write about my learnings, experiences and observations beyond entrepreneurship. Because entrepreneurship teaches you lessons that reach far beyond business.

Second, I wanted the blog to be easier to find. Now, anyone typing my name into a search engine will easily find this blog. Today, I am also working on a book. And connecting your name to your blog creates better connectivity to all of your writing. And some of your wronging.

Mr. 500

The post that you are reading right now is my 500th post on the Adam Albrecht blog. I have shared a considerable collections of experiences, ideas, learnings and observations since the fall of 2015.

What I have enjoyed most is that the process of writing this blog forces me to think. It makes me think about what I am learning and experiencing. It makes me think about my life and career and the journey I am on. Which means that life isn’t simply passing me by. I’m evaluating it, studying it and appreciating it every day. And like a tech-enabled Elvis Costello, every day I write the blog.

Thank You!

Thank you for reading this blog. I know your time is valuable. The fact that you have spent some of your time reading my blog means a lot to me. I appreciate your support, comments, likes and shares. I appreciate it when you challenge my thinking. I appreciate it when you find a spelling mistake for me. And I appreciate it when you let me know that you picked up on the obscure reference I dropped in the story.

Key Takeaway

The key to success is simply starting and never stopping. If you do those 2 things, you can build a business from dust. You can write 500 blog posts. And you can do anything else you set your mind to. Far too many people come to the end of their days and regret the things they didn’t do. Don’t let that be you. Start today. And just keep going.

*If you know someone who would benefit from this message, please share it with them.

Why it is so important to just keep swimming.

I recently had the chance to work with Olympic Gold medalist Blake Pieroni.  Blake won a gold medal at the Rio Olympics as part of the 4×100 freestyle relay. He is such a strong swimmer that he recently became a Mizuno sponsored athlete. Which is saying something, since Mizuno makes the best racing suit in the pool.

While filming with Blake I asked the Indiana native, and Indiana University student athlete about the major breakthroughs in his career. I was surprised to hear this world-class athlete say he really hasn’t had any.

Slowly Getting Faster

Blake said his progress has been steady and incremental. Day after day he continues to invest time in his training and preparation. As a result, he has slowly gotten faster. Which is a ridiculous thing to write. Yet it’s a proven, oxymoronic formula for success.

Blake’s career is a testimony to the power of slow and steady progress. It is not showy. Or gimmicky. It’s not based on shortcuts, or nepotism, or your mama paying to get you into USC. This is a get rich slow scheme. And if you are willing to put in the work it takes, it is the most certain way to continuously reach beyond your previous best.

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Blake and photographer Lucian McAfee. See if you can figure out which one is the 23-year old Olympian.

My Business

I launched my advertising and idea agency, The Weaponry, in 2016. I bootstrapped the business, which is an Arkansas-sounding way of saying the business was self-funded. We have not grown by adding one giant account. Our growth has come by steadily accumulating great clients, and steadily growing our businesses together.

I was looking at numbers related to The Weaponry’s revenue yesterday when I noticed something interesting. At just 2.5 months into 2019 we have already generated more revenue this year than we did in our entire first year. Yet we haven’t acquired an Amazonian client. We didn’t go Uber-style and quadruple our pricing due to heavy rain and an umbrella plague. We have simply accumulated 17 active clients. And they all matter to our success.

The Blog

I also started writing The Perfect Agency Project blog when I launched The Weaponry. My goal was to tell the story of my entrepreneurial journey. I wanted to share my experiences and challenges, so that others could benefit from my learnings.

Coincidentally, I noticed an interesting statistic about this blog yesterday too.  As of March 20th, in 2019 I have already surpassed the total number of visitors and viewers I had in all of 2016.

Perhaps the blog is getting better too. Because my posts have already generated 14 times (14X) more likes than the entire first year. (And by likes I mean signs of social appreciation from readers. Not likes written into the body of my posts, because I write like a 16-year-old, like, kid from Likesylvania.)

The Reward

The business and blog growth are both very rewarding. Especially because they are growing too slowly to notice on a daily basis. But when I look at the year-over-year data, the results are clear.

Key Takeaway

Just keep swimming. Keep doing what you know you need to do to get better. Whether it is swimming, writing, growing a business, studying or any other pursuit worth pursuing. The progress might never be obvious, or dramatic. But keep at it anyway. Because if you do, eventually you will turn around and notice just how far you have come. It is the cumulative progress that matters. Not the speed. Not the attention. Just the results.