mytropicalescape.com

It’s the end of the year and everyone and their sister will be publishing their personal aspirations and goals for 2008. Well, of course, I am no different. However, I turned my goals and what I am planning for the New Year into a guest post over at NorthxEast because I thought it would get more readers (read: more exposure) over there.

If you would like to read the full post you can view it here: Good Bye 2007 - Blogging Goals for the New Year

For those of you that would like to cut through the content of the full NorthxEast post and get straight to the list, here are my online goals for the coming New Year:

• Set an editorial calendar based on my new MyTropicalEscape branding campaign which includes the following niche topics - | Living Overseas | Blogging | Inspiration and Motivation | Entrepreneurship
• Create a new look and feel to my site through an innovative theme
• Increase my reader base (maybe you would like to sign up for my RSS feed?)
• Set realistic financial goals (to reach $4,000 per month eventually)
• Seek and find a sponsor for my flagship interview series

How about you? What are your blogging, or personal goals for 2008?

Editor’s note: This is just a quick Humanitarian Friday post because my jump drive (with all of my draft posts) crashed and I am on the ferry from Culebra over to the big island (Puerto Rico) for Christmas shopping.

During the past week I published the post, “The Ten Most Inspirational Bloggers of 2007.” In the article the first person highlighted was Scott Rigsby, who was the first double amputee to complete the IronMan Triathlon in Hawaii.

Scott also runs a nonprofit organization that helps to support physically challenged athletes. During this holiday season, if you would like to support a GREAT organization that has been created by a truly amazing person then please have a look at the Scott Rigsby Foundation website.

For the specifics “the Scott Rigsby Foundation is a 501(C)(3), non-profit organization dedicated to the support of physically challenged athletes and their athletic pursuits. Founded in 2007 by double amputee and record setting triathlete Scott Rigsby, the Foundation will also promote education and awareness of physically challenged athletes and their use of prosthetics to help reduce barriers between individuals.”

I am impressed by Scott, and his foundation, because he chooses to focus on what people can do, instead of what they can’t.

See you next week – Mark!

Are you an employee at a company? Any company?

How do you know if you are a person who needs a boss?

I was eating lunch with a friend the other day and we were having a discussion about his career and the drama that can sometimes occur in the corporate workplace. He was lamenting about the fact that his vacation was over and he knew that he was going to walk into a firestorm on Friday (when he returned from vacation).

Specifically, one of his employees had received a less than favorable year-end review and the person on the receiving end of the review was not prepared for the lackluster work performance appraisal that had been laid out before them.

Our discussion continued throughout lunch about the corporate world and we talked about not only the negative aspects, but also the many positive aspects that employment within a company can bring.

However, during our dialogue it was becoming quite clear (to me at least) that now would probably be a good time for my friend to move on from this job. Fear is what is holding him back because he is a very well educated person and he has a tremendous amount of talent in his particular field.

So, while eating I threw it out for discussion that he should just leave his present job and start his own company. The response I got almost knocked me off of my chair.

He said, “I would love to start my own company but truthfully I need a boss.”

“What?” I said. “You need a boss?” For me this statement was beyond comprehension.

It was at that moment that I realized, contrary to my belief, not everybody wants to be self-employed, or an entrepreneur.

I could not fathom this line of thought. Really, I was shocked at his statement.

In all fairness, I have had many bosses, some good and some bad, and I might have a boss again someday if the right opportunity arises. Nevertheless, I can’t fathom actually thinking, “I need a boss.” Because his need to have a boss was such a foreign concept to my way of thinking I tried to come up with a creative list to help me understand how people actually discern that they need a boss.

I must say creating the “how do you discern that you need a boss list” was much harder to write than I had imagined.

Below is what I have come up with thus far:

· You crave structure
· You enjoy working in a team environment and reporting to you superiors
· You like the safety net of knowing there is someone else who is ultimately responsible

Surely there must be more ways to determine if you need a boss…but I need some assistance.

How about you? Do you need a boss? What are the tell tale signs that you are a person who needs a boss?

Editor’s note: yesterday my jump drive crashed and I lost about 70 post ideas (working titles) that I had stored on there so my publishing calendar might be askew for a week or so as I try to rebuild.

Today at MyTropicalEscape we have the third installment of the weekly ‘Ten Questions With’ interview series and I am pleased to have one of the fastest rising stars on the internet, Skellie, of Skelliewag.org, as my guest. If you missed the first two installments in this series you might also find my interviews with Leo Babauta and Cameron Low interesting.

Editors note: this week I am spicing things up a little bit. Last week’s interview with Leo Babauta drew 14 comments and as a way of increasing that number this week, everyone who leaves a comment about the Skellie interview below will be entered to win one of four prizes: a link to your site in next week’s interview, a Culebra Animal Welfare t-shirt, a post card from the Caribbean, or a small vial of sand from, Flamenco Beach, one of the top five beaches in the world.

For a little background information, Skellie’s site, Skelliewag.org, launched a little over four months ago in July of 2007. She lives in Australia where she is a university student and ‘ProBlogger.’ Skellie is a frequent freelance writer and guest poster at ProBlogger, Daily Blog Tips, Freelance Switch, and NorthxEast.

Recently named one of “The Ten Most Inspirational Bloggers of 2007” because of her in depth writing style and rapid ascent to the top of the blogosphere, Skellie also plans to release an ebook in the coming months. Once again, for ease of readability the questions have been listed out and linked to the answers below.

1. How did you get into blogging? Were you working around the internet or websites before? When you started was it with the intention of making money?

2. Your site contains some of the most well written, practical, and applicable information for bloggers looking to improve, where do you draw your inspiration?

3. What do the terms Skellie and Skelliewag represent about you, your brand?

4. Your posts make you come across as a very optimistic person, in your daily non-blogging life what brings you joy, and how do you turn that into innovation?

5. Do you have a background as a professional writer and do you have any tips for people who would like to become more proficient in the art of creative writing?

6. Does Australia have some sort of secret blogging club that the rest of us mere mortals do not know about? Why is there so much blogging talent in Australia?

7. Your content has a remarkably smooth and flowing style to it. What is your typical writing process?

8. In one of your latest posts (which actually had an impact on me) you tell bloggers that if they want to be successful they should adhere to Seth Godin’s formula for achievement, which is, “Be Remarkable.” What do you do to follow the “Be Remarkable” mantra everyday?

9. Aside from your obvious hard work and dedication, did you have any mentors helping you in your fairly rapid ascent to blogging fame? Are you currently mentoring or assisting any new bloggers?

10. You state on your site that you would like to get involved with women’s issues, what causes are you most passionate about? How do you plan to apply your writing and communication talents to those causes?

Question 1: How did you get into blogging? Were you working around the internet or websites before? When you started was it with the intention of making money?

Skellie’s answer: I’ve been blogging for a few years, but the blogs were always fun little diversions for me and not intended to get popular. Before that I was mainly working with various websites. It’s always been a hobby for me. I only started to learn about making money online within the last year or so.

Question 2: Your site contains some of the most well written, practical, and applicable information for bloggers looking to improve, where do you draw your inspiration?

Skellie’s answer: Thank you! I get inspiration from everywhere – it’s a collective thing, rather than getting it from just a few sources. I read all kinds of blogs and websites, mainly outside the niche I blog in. These inspire me on a regular basis, particularly when I puzzle out how I can transfer the best ideas of other niches to my own niche.

Question 3: What do the terms Skellie and Skelliewag represent about you, your brand?

Skellie’s answer: I was brainstorming unique names for the site and that’s what I came up with. The meaning and connotations of the name seem to have evolved with the site, rather than existing before. Considering that I focus a lot on uniqueness and innovation, I think it’s appropriate that myself and my blog go by such weird names!

Question 4: Your posts make you come across as a very optimistic person, in your daily non-blogging life what brings you joy, and how do you turn that into innovation?

Skellie’s answer: I try to be a rational optimist in everything I do :). There are about a million things that bring me joy, most of them incredibly different to one another. I’m a person with a strange combination of interests, but that’s what helps me innovate. If you’re bringing together knowledge and experience from a dozen wildly different things, you’re bound to bring that together into something that hasn’t been seen before. When it works, that’s great. When it doesn’t, it’s another learning experience to add to the melting pot.

Question 5: Do you have a background as a professional writer and do you have any tips for people who would like to become more proficient in the art of creative writing?

Skellie’s answer: Growing up I was always a creative writer. I remember tapping out stories back in the days when MS Word was black and green. Over time my interest switched over to journalism, particularly after I realized that, while it’s hard to make a living as a journalist, it’s even harder to make a living as a wannabe author. I studied journalism at university for a while and decided it wasn’t for me (mainly because I’m a terrible journalist). Some of the things I’ve learned have transferred comfortably to blogging, though, so I’m grateful for the experience.

Question 6: Does Australia have some sort of secret blogging club that the rest of us mere mortals do not know about? Why is there so much blogging talent in Australia?

Skellie’s answer: I have no idea. Blogs have really been embraced by the media here and are considered quite cool, so that could be one influencing factor. Alternately, maybe we all just have too much time on our hands? ;-).

Question 7: Your content has a remarkably smooth and flowing style to it. What is your typical writing process?

Skellie’s answer: Thanks! I tend to start by encapsulating each key point I want to write in one sentence. Then I flesh-out each point. I usually turn the sentence into a sub-heading and most of the time I’ll write the introduction last.

Question 8: In one of your latest posts (which actually had an impact on me) you tell bloggers that if they want to be successful they should adhere to Seth Godin’s formula for achievement, which is, “Be Remarkable.” What do you do to follow the “Be Remarkable” mantra everyday?

Skellie’s answer: When it comes to blogging, I try to pursue being remarkable by giving more than I receive. It’s important for me to give readers everything I can and to avoid acting out of self-interest, even if it might benefit me financially or otherwise. I also try to be remarkable by treating readers as individuals and never turning down a request for advice.

Question 9: Aside from your obvious hard work and dedication, did you have any mentors helping you in your fairly rapid ascent to blogging fame? Are you currently mentoring or assisting any new bloggers?

Skellie’s answer: I learned a lot about what not to do through the various mistakes I’ve made over time. Making mistakes is really important – though you’ve got to be willing to acknowledge them, rather than making mistakes and convincing yourself that everything is fine. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not progressing as a blogger. In other words, my most significant mentor has been that part of me that really sucks at blogging. It’s always struggling to get out!

I learned the basics from Darren Rowse at ProBlogger (like most of us). It’s a surreal experience to now be a staff writer at his blog. Seth Godin has also revolutionized the way I approached blogging, though neither of them have been mentors in the personal sense (except Darren more recently).

I do a lot of one-on-one mentoring of readers via email. I’m also doing more in-depth consulting with some people. That’s a lot of fun.

Question 10: You state on your site that you would like to get involved with women’s issues, what causes are you most passionate about? How do you plan to apply your writing and communication talents to those causes?

Skellie’s answer: While freelance blogging is something I’m really enjoying at the moment, the work in women’s issues is what I hope to be my ‘real’ job, so to speak. I’m mainly interested in helping women in the Third World, particularly in the areas of domestic violence, human trafficking and education. I’m still not sure how the skills blogging requires will transfer to that pursuit, but my experiences with Skelliewag have given me the confidence to be much more audacious in pursuing the most important goals I have.

Skellie, THANK YOU for your time, and I wish you peace, happiness, and tremendous success in the future!

Please come back for another installment of the ‘Ten Questions With’ interview series next Tuesday when I will be talking with the orginal blog mastermind, Yaro Starak. Or better yet, subscribe to the MyTropicalEscape RSS feed.

This interview has been powered by the kindness of Skellie, the Culebra Blog, and the Palmetto Guesthouse.

Have you been inspired by someone this past year? For me, 2007 has been GREAT! I quit my job, bought a small business in the Caribbean, and have gone down the path of entrepreneurship after more than ten years of planning and working toward these goals.

Personally, I started out blogging last year as a way to keep people informed of my life overseas, and to hopefully inspire people to get off their butts and pursue their dreams, goals, and aspirations. After a long year the site has taken a slight turn to include more topics but it still remains quite true to its original purpose.

Many people have had an impact on my life this past year and since the holiday season is upon us I would like to highlight Ten People who have truly inspired me during 2007 through their blog or website.

image source: Lush.i.ous

Without further adieu, here are my selections for the Ten Most Inspirational Bloggers of 2007:

First, I would like to highlight three amazing people, two of whom are athletes and one who is an online entrepreneur, all of them also happen to be bloggers. By virtue of how they conduct themselves and live their lives, they have been inspirational to me.

Specifically, they do not let physical setbacks get in their way and they face fear and everyday challenges in ways that most of us should aspire to. These people are truly inspirational and are listed in no particular order.

1. Scott Rigsby - Scott’s Website or Scott’s Blog

Do you have a hard time getting off the couch just to go for a walk or a bike ride? If you have not heard of him, I would like to introduce you to Hawaii Ironman competitor Scott Rigsby. Next year, let Scott Rigsby’s story inspire you to do better. He is the first person to complete the grueling Hawaii Ironman Triathlon as a double amputee. Reading an article on his life story in Runner’s World magazine recently two of his statements really stood out. When it comes to facing challenges Rigsby states, “If you tell me I can’t do something I am going to find a way to do it.” Additionally, Rigsby’s view on life is equally inspiring:

“I want to stay the course and show people that you can take the life that you have been given and you can use it to do something extraordinary.”

2. Sarah Reinertsen – Sarah’s website or her blog

Another world-class athlete, I initially saw Sarah Reinertsen competing in the 2005 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon as the first female amputee to enter the race. I happened to turn on the TV late into the telecast and she was already well into the bike riding stage. For the first five or ten minutes while I was watching the race they did not show her from the waist down, only from the shoulders and up. The commentators up to this point had made no mention of any disability so I continued watching and assumed that she was in the spotlight because she was a frontrunner in the race. However, a few minutes later the camera panned down and I saw that she had one artificial leg. Amazing, I thought. Most of us put mental blocks on what WE think we can achieve and here was this woman, who was missing one leg, competing in an Ironman Triathlon and she was even smiling. Sarah continues to race and train and she is a shining example of what we can do!

Sarah’s motto is “fear less and live more” which is a statement that we should all strive to live by in 2008.

3. Jon Morrow - blog On Moneymaking

Jon is not an athlete but the example he sets with how he chooses to live his life is just as inspirational. I first came across Jon’s blog, On Moneymaking, about a month ago and I have been fascinated with his story and success ever since.

According to his website, Jon has Spinal Muscular Atrophy. As stated on his ‘About’ page, “it’s a degenerative neuromuscular disease, meaning I’m supposed to get weaker and weaker until I’m finally dead.” Jon is inspiring because he refuses to let his disease define him, rather he is defining his disease and LIVING EVERYDAY. He retired at 25 to become a fulltime philanthropist and he fully expects to walk again within the next ten years.

Editor’s note: Next up I would like to highlight two bloggers who have experienced a meteoric rise to the top of the blogosphere this past year by providing well-written content and easy to digest posts which add tremendous value to the lives of their blog readers.

4. Leo Babauta – blog Zen Habits (read Leo’s recent interview on MyTropicalEscape)

The blogging success that Leo has accomplished this past year is truly amazing. Back in January he started a little site with a killer title, Zen Habits. Well, since then the blog, which is listed in the Technorati Top 100, has dispensed a daily dose of ‘simple inspiration and motivation’ that has some 25,000 subscribers (and growing) coming back every day. Recently, Leo released his first ebook, “Zen to Done – The Ultimate Simple Productivity System” and it has received great reviews.

5. Skellie – blog Skelliewag.org

The second upstart “Problogger” that I would like recognize and who has had remarkable recent success with her blog is Skellie, of Skelliewag.org.

Unbelievably she did not launch her blog until the end of July, which is only a little over four months ago. Skellie’s straightforward posts about how to be a better, more productive blogger have made her a great success in a relatively short period of time. She has become a fantastic inspiration for many bloggers. Some of Skellie’s keystone posts over the past couple of months include 110 Resources for Creative Minds, 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog, and 25 Headline Formulas That Have Plagued and Blessed Web 2.0. Editor’s note: If you would like to learn more about Skellie, I will be posting a recent interview that I conducted with her for the ‘Ten Questions With’ series tomorrow.

The next three blogs (and bloggers) have been around the internet for a while and each one has inspired me during 2007. With the millions of blogs that are out there these days, each of these sites below has managed to teach me a tremendous amount about personal finance, blogging in general, and how to make money online. Like the other blogs above, they are listed in no particular order.

6. J.D. Roth – blog Get Rich Slowly

Roth’s no nonsense website ‘personal finance that makes cents’ currently has almost 40,000 subscribers, and provides daily information about personal finance and related topics. Personally, I find his posts about removing debt most inspiring. As someone who has accumulated higher education debt (loans from undergrad and graduate school) I found his post “Free at Last! Saying Good-Bye to 20 Years of Debt” particularly uplifting. Recently, J.D. has been able to pay down all of his debt except a home mortgage, which is a goal that I am aiming for myself. One reason I believe his blog has mass inspirational appeal is because of his philosophy, “that personal growth is systemic, that in order to improve financially, you have to improve in other areas of your life.”

7. Darren Rowse - blog ProBlogger

Darren is the man who has inspired legions of bloggers to quit hacking around and get serious. His posts and articles are always stimulating and I remain in awe at the number of daily updates he does. Of course, he is a fulltime ‘Problogger’ but he posts multiple times a day on his site and the consistency and quality are always of the highest caliber. According to his about page, Darren’s site “is dedicated to helping other bloggers learn the skills of blogging, share their own experiences and promote the blogging medium.” If you are looking to start blogging, or to bring your skills to the next level, there is no greater inspiration than this site. Just remember to check back often for his insights because he is always posting new articles.

8. Maki - blog DoshDosh

Maki’s site, DoshDosh, is what I like to call a ‘thinking man’s blog.’ His typical posts are much longer than most blog articles that you will find about making money online. He writes in a dissertation-esque style with a depth and breadth of topic coverage that always makes you feel like you have learned something new. Additionally, he has a way of investigating money making and marketing topics from viewpoints that I would never think of. Recently, his post, “