They say never start with an apology. Well, try as I might, I can’t see any way around it. If you’re one of my valued (and currently somewhat elite) Subscribers, here goes:
I’M SORRY!
Not me, in case you’re wondering
You received an email from me recently taking you to my Blog, where if you clicked through you got to see me in a horror movie talking about the work I do. This was not intentional, and I’m sorry to clog up your Inbox with it.
Thing is, I was in a state of high excitement because I am learning something new and finding that I can do it, beyond my wildest dreams. I have decided that after several years of vaguely exploring how to raise my profile on the Internet, I should be a bit more focussed and learn how to do it properly. To this end , I have taken some expert advice, and am starting by reading a fantastic book called SEO for Dummies.
The book shows you how to make yourself more searchable on the Web, and step by step guides you in how to do this. The fact that I have zero technical expertise, wouldn’t know a piece of HTML code if it slapped me in the face, and think of myself as far too creative and Intuitive to get into details of how to use Google Adwords, submit a Sitemap or edit a <TITLE> tag, appears to be irrelevant. The book is superbly written ( weirdly, I haven’t enjoyed a read so much in a long while) , and slowly but surely I am getting there, and I actually think that I can do it potentially as well as anyone else.
And so the accidental email happened because I was experimenting with Vodpod.com, and trying to insert a small video into the sidebar on this Blog. When I accidentally published it, you automatically received the email.
This whole experience is reminding me once again that you are never too old to learn. EVER. I remember so well the joy I had teaching a mother of 2 how to play the saxophone, from zero (i.e couldn’t read a note of music let alone get a sound out of the instrument) to jazz band in just over 2 years. A close friend of mine has just gone self employed after 30 years or so in IT, and is learning the guitar from scratch. It is so rewarding, and as we all know, important to literally rebuild those broken connections in our brain which have lapsed through disuse. You can almost feel them reconnecting.
When I have saved enough from my humble efforts as a business skills trainer, I plan to buy a grand piano and relearn my technique, right from the start. Grade One to Grade 8 in 2 years, I hope, and then beyond. I used to play Debussy Preludes rather well, and Brahms’ Intermezzo in B flat minor (listen to Glen Gould here for a bit of treat): why would I want to let all that work slip away?
So this week’s call to action is to think of something that you have said you want to learn, but haven’t got round to yet, or to revisit something you used to know how to do and recover it.
You know the saying we trainers keep trotting out:
“Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you’re right!”
Happy learning.
