Learning to Have No Shame

Embrace being different, even when it’s hard is the simple message of a young man’s poem. It’s followed by an upbeat song about how breaking up isn’t always as hard as it seems, and then continues on with an unusual mix of masculinity and flag twirling. A few more acts perform and the night is rounded off by a little improv that includes a skit on “What would Chuck Norris do?”

This is a typical Friday night at the No Shame Theater in Columbus, Ga.

Being somewhat of a poet and musician myself, I can understand the need to want to express yourself, yet feeling as though there isn’t a welcoming environment to do so. Often times, embarrassment or even shame can stifle not only our creativity but our willingness to share that creativity with the world. So what the No Shame Theater has essentially tried to do, is to give people a safe haven in order to express themselves in whatever way they choose.

I find it amazing how many people would be willing to share themselves with others if they were simply given a safe space in which to do so. But this willingness to share is not limited to the arts. It could be something as simple as teaching others a new skill, such as a marketing strategy, that they may have already learned. Or maybe sharing their personal story with those they meet both online and off.

It can sometimes be scary to allow others a glimpse at who we are, whether it be in person, through our writing, or even on video. Yet, it can also be an extremely freeing experience that not only lets people get to know you better, but that can help you grow as a person.

Everyone that I spoke with who had performed at the No Shame Theater told me that they felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, even those who had made some sort of mistake in the process. You see, it’s not always about getting it right but rather about getting it done.

So my challenge to you is to find your own No Shame-like safe haven in your online world. It could be your own personal blog where you feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and ideas. Or maybe
if you feel more comfortable on camera, building a youtube channel would be the way to go. Whatever you safe haven is, find it and put it to use for you. Learn to let go and express yourself in whatever medium you prefer.

You’d be amazed how well others respond when you simply allow them into your world, if only for a moment.

Quickly Install Ads to Your Blog’s Sidebar

So I’m sure that you’ve seen blogs, such as this one, that have ads in their sidebars and you may be wondering how you can do that too. Well here is a great little plugin called WP125 that will handle everything for you.

Simply input a few pieces of information and you will have a sidebar with cool ads in no time! Check out the video below for my easy to follow tutorial.

P.S. If you found this helpful please use the Green RT button at the top and be sure to leave me your thoughts in the comment section! Thanks!

Moving From Blogger to Wordpress the Easy Way

If you were like me when I first started online, then the thought of starting up a wordpress blog seemed a bit daunting.

It felt as though there was simply too much of a learning curve to deal with, so better to try something a little easier. That something turned out to be a free Blogger site which I figured could handle all of my blogging needs.

However it quickly became apparent that Blogger was simply not up to the challenge of running a professional blog. So I decided it was time to move on to a hosted Wordpress site instead, though this is where the problems came in.

How to move from blogger to wordpress without losing my precious page rank and alexa ranking?

Well here is how I successfully moved this site over without you even noticing! (admit it, you didn’t notice did you?)

Read more

Daydreaming Your Way To Success

Have you ever sat down and really envisioned what your life might be like in the future if you took one path over another? I don’t mean what it would be like if you won the lottery, but rather if you started your own business, or finished getting a degree, or maybe moved to a new city. So something concrete that you have complete control over.

You see, it’s something that I do alot of and I’ve frequently been told I’m a bit of a daydreamer. Yet I feel that being a dreamer gives me a slight edge over those that aren’t, because you will never succeed in anything unless you can envision yourself succeeding.

I know it’s a bit cliche, but I finally broke down and read Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich and the biggest thing that I got from it is that you become whatever you most believe that you will be. It’s all about being able to completely envision, in every minute detail, where it is that you want to go. So in this respect I am ahead of the game because as I said, I am a daydreamer.

The problem however, that many daydreamers have is not in the creation of an idea but rather in its execution. There’s only so far a dream can take you if you never do anything to make it come true. Sadly, having a dream is only half the battle, because if it wasn’t then we would all be filthy rich, famous, skinny, and living in paradise. The truth of the matter is that to make our dreams come true we need to create a plan of action and actually follow through on the steps to get it done.

This is often were I stumble. While I’m great at creating a vision and even creating a plan of action, I’m horrible on the follow through. I tend to get just far enough into a plan to feel as though I’ve done something then procrastination sets in and my dream fizzles away. I’m sure that I’m not alone in this or else we would have no need to continuously create new resolutions each and every January.

My point is this, with the dawn of a new year lets all try to do things a little differently than the last. Lets find the daydreamer within ourselves and envision every detail of the life that we truly want to live. Then once you can see every moment of your future with clarity, put into place a plan of action and do something to make it happen. My resolution for this year is not to create a new dream for myself but rather to act upon the one I already have. So that is my challenge to you: find your dream and make it come true.

Let’s make 2010 the best year yet!

Merry Christmas!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I hope that you all enjoy the time with your families and make it a Christmas to remember!

Stay safe and let’s all look forward to a new year better than the last.