The conversation

[Barrett Dorko]

I write a daily blog and I’m well over 800 days into it.

Does anybody ever read it?

I guess so. I always hear from the same 6 or 7 though. That hardly accounts for the numbers I see. Maybe the rest are robots or something. I don’t really know.

Is it hard to do that?

It’s killing me – grinding my bones into dust a little bit at a time. I can’t seem to stop though. Now I’m dreaming blog posts.

Whose idea was this?

Mine, but I seemed to have been moving in this direction for a while. It started with a weekly column in ’89 and started to snowball after the Internet possessed me.

Possessed you?

Yea, possessed me. It’s an unconscious thing. Read the blog if you don’t believe me.

Oh, I believe you. I just can’t figure out why you’re doing something that you know is killing you.

Can’t kill a dead man, I guess. That’s another story.

Well, sorry you’re feeling so down about what you do for a living.

Living? Who said anything about living?

[keithp]

Originally Posted by Barrett Dorko

Does anybody ever read it?

While reading this posting, I placed myself in your shoes and paused when I read this question.

Should it really matter who reads it? Does it really matter how many people check in, or how many times? Shouldn't writing be something that you do for yourself?

Then I remembered, how when I was an active blogger only a few months ago, I would check my site "stats" just to see if I had received one additional visitor compared to the day before. I would look to see where they were from and how they had found my site. I remembered how excited I was the first day that I exceeded 20 visitors, only to find that 18 visits had been one person/robot searching Google for a "squiggly line" graphic.

So...never mind...no hypocrisy here.

Originally Posted by Barrett Dorko

Can’t kill a dead man, I guess.

The cool thing is that you can't silence one either.

Respectfully,
Keith

[Barrett Dorko]

As Seth Godin says, human beings always want numbers to grow in the right direction. Every time I look at the numbers (and they're pretty good today) I want them to grow larger.

This reminds me that I am human, though while obsessing over the next blog post sometimes I may act otherwise.

[Barrett Dorko]

As of today, with two days to go, my web site stats indicate I've had 12452 pages viewed this month.

On one hand, that's pretty good, but combined with the # of invitations confirmed to speak/teach (zero) I have to wonder what it could possibly mean.

[byronselorme]

I know that I am one of the 6 or 7 here. I have to admit to feeling a little proud of that. I don't know why that is or what it is worth ultimately.

I try to catch your Blog every day if I can and I look forward to the way it is shaping my thinking (and make no mistake about that, I have been massively shaped). To that end, the words that you write end up reaching others through me through the contact I have with them. This could probably be said of the other 200-300 people who read your blog.

I also have to admit that I like that so few contribute. It makes me feel privileged to have the interaction. I'm not sure what that says about me. Perhaps that I want to be the holder of secret knowledge? Or that I want to be a member of the elite? I think there is something to that for me. It may contribute to why I try to read and learn as much as I do.

So perhaps those that read but don't post feel that they learn from what you have written but don't have as big a need to be heard or debate it? Perhaps the questions that are asked and comments that are written manage to get to the heart of what most are thinking anyway?

I am really glad you write regularly. It is one of the most interesting and challenging things in my day.

[Barrett Dorko]

Thanks Byron.

The silence of our colleagues makes our voices a bit louder. I work hard not to judge it, and I know that additions such as yourself are rare. I for one would never suggest that there was something "wrong" with your willingness to speak publicly.

It's a courageous act.

[Curious]

I am one of the many(unless everyone else is just a bot) who just reads your blog posts at least every once in awhile. Most of the time I feel like I would not contribute enough to the discussion so I do not post. Another thing is that I might not internalize your thoughts well enough to take part in. Probably partly being lazy and the amount information here so I still bounce somewhat from one thread to another(lack of focus?).

[byronselorme]

Originally Posted by Barrett Dorko

It's a courageous act.

Maybe. I don't really feel I have to overcome anything in order to post though.

cou·ra·geous/kəˈrājəs/Adjective:Not deterred by danger or pain; brave.

Perhaps if I had invested thousands of hours and dollars and had a thriving practice I would hesitate much more.

Currently the under a dozen people I see each week probably wouldn't flinch if I changed 180° overnight....again...for the third time .

I know that when a client asks me a question that is body related I hesitate now waaay more then in my past Ashtanga Yoga will fix everything world. I may even get silent about it and even wish that I would shut my mouth more often upon reflection of the silliness that can still get said by me .