One Life That Shines

Every week as I’m cruising along the internet I end up finding some really extraordinary things. Whether it’s a blog post that really touches me, a tweet that makes me literally laugh out loud, a tool that finally does what I’ve been trying to figure out how to do, I find all this great stuff. I generally tweet it to share it with other people, however, if you’re not on twitter during that 10 seconds you probably miss it.

I think part of being extraordinary is being able to see other people who are as well. So I’m going to take Fridays now and share my weekly examples of Extraordinary Personified.

This week I found a LOT of good stuff. It was a week filled with AHA moments, thanks to a lot of the things I’m going to share today. Please take a moment and look at the things I’ve found extraordinary this week. In the comments please, share with me the extraordinary things YOU’VE found this week. I’m always on the look out for wonderful things.

Extraordinary Posts

This week I read some really incredible posts. Some of them inspired aha moments, and other inspired an entire manifesto I’m working on! Here’s some of my favorites ~ and they may not all have been written this week, I may have just read them this week. (well one last week, but since I started this today, I have to share it with you anyway!)

@CorbettBarr is raising the bar for us all. His post last week titled Write Epic Shit was a turning point for me. As I read it I could feel a sense of  release, and relief and began to really step into this site more and more and allow it to be all that I had originally intended it to be. It’s fantastic.

I could actually link to every post Corbett’s written in the last couple weeks, but we want to leave space for some other people. I do want to mention one other post of his. The First Rule of Building a Thriving Online Audience. This post was a flat forehead moment for me. It was the moment I realized I had a dream, a vision for this site when I started it, and I’d mushed it down so it wasn’t as bright and shiny as it could be. This post is what made me change the tagline to this site and really step into what I want to do here. I wrote down all the questions he asked in this post in a notebook and I’m working my way through them as well as the guide from the next fella in line.

The next 2 posts on the list come from a blog I recently found and have immediately fallen in love with. The straightforward writing style, the way he mixes fitness and his interests into business. I love it. I first hit his site through a link from Corbett to his Goal Setting and Get Results Handbook, which I have printed out and I’m working through.  However, it was the post he did this week On Modeling the Impossible and How to Do Anything that created a true epiphany in my business. I realized I’ve been building my community by drawing in readers, however, I was doing a lot of reinventing the wheel. I didn’t have someone who I could look at really see what they were doing, and not doing to create the success they’ve had.

This realization led me to a couple things. It led me to identify some of the people who I admire in this business and would like to model elements of how they run their business. It also led me to realize that listening to podcasts and interviews with other people ~ learning about other people is not a waste of time. In fact, it’s probably a very important piece of the puzzle that I’ve refused to engage in all these years. I’ve been so nose to the grindstone, do my work, that I just didn’t realize how much easier it could be when you follow someone who’s already where you want to be.

This led to me listening to a LOT of podcasts the last half of  this week. I got a new mp3 player for Christmas so I loaded it up, and while I was outside playing with Hanna or doing the dishes, or spending time on twitter I would listen. Here’s a few that really made me think and gave me some great AHA moments.

Extraordinary Podcasts

You all know I love Charlie Gilkey. I use his planners and read just about everything he writes. It was a pleasure listening to him as well. I had numerous Aha moments during his conversation with Srini (from blogcastfm.com) about Turning your blog into a real business, networking and collaboration

I also listened to a podcast with Steve Kamb of Nerd Fitness ~ who is new on my radar. I love his site because he takes such a huge niche as fitness, and has made it specific to very specific people. I love his enthusiasm and his writing as well. This podcast was a great reminder about creating community as well as calling people by name.

I also really enjoyed the interview with Tyler Tervooren from Advanced Riskology about building a rabid fanbase. It really drove home the idea that you’re going to alienate some people, and that’s ok. I definitely recommend it.

Extraordinary Projects

I’ve only got one project this week ~ but it has captivated me. I have subscribed to the site feed and look forward to getting my email every evening to see what’s going on with this project. Kristy M Hall has decided to create a piece of artwork using a jar every day of the year. Not only does she create the jar, but she puts it out in the world, somewhere. This is where it gets really fun and interesting. People are FINDING the jars. They come back to the site and report their finding, where the jar is now and other information about the experience. It’s like a treasure hunt, and art all rolled into one. There are some jars that are missing and haven’t been reported yet, and there’s one fella who’s out there actively searching for the jars. It’s very fun to watch,  and the jars are amazing. I’m astounded by Kristy’s ability to create every day, and stick to it. You can follow the project at 365jars.com.  You can also follow Kristy on twitter.

Extraordinary Twitter Folks

I’m following all the people listed above and want to highlight a few more really interesting folks this week. Here’s a few you might like to take a look at and follow.

@ProlificLiving ~ Amazing insights into Yoga ~ great yoga videos, very inspiring to be more.

@VtFarmGirl ~ transplanted from the city to a dairy farm. (A girl after my own heart). Fun and lighthearted, food, and life related.

@DaveUrsillo ~ business and personal development. Friendly and outgoing.

@SoUncivilized ~ sustainable living, and a great article about worm towers.

@SarahRobinson ~ Teaching me how to escape mediocrity. Starting her 28 days to Getting Your Shit Together challenge Febuary 1st. Can’t wait!

Extraordinary Tools

I have to add this category today because this week a tool came out that has solved a problem I’ve had for a long time. I’ve had a facebook fanpage, but I find it very difficult to use because there’s no way to be notified when people interact with you on your page. Well that’s over now. Now there are Hyper Alerts. All you do is create an account, tell them the url of your fanpage and they will automagically send you an email every time someone participates on your page ~ in real time. woot.

Well that’s what I’ve got for this week. I’m sure there’s more, and I’m going to start writing them down through the week so I don’t forget anyone. I’d love to know what you found that was extraordinary to you this week. I’m always on the lookout for amazing folks so please share in the comments area. Thanks!

image credit: Beverly and Pack