Our Best Version looks like yet another jewel Barbara. I just popped over there to check it out. That’s some gentle wisdom he’s sharing. Thanks Al and Bamboo Forest for the recommendation.

Davina’s last blog post..I Dreamt I Died

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I have been enjoying Ari’s blog for a couple of weeks now - I think he has a lot to offer. All the best with it Ari!

Robin’s last blog post..Reincarnation… A Scenario

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Hi All,

Thank you so much for supporting my choice. It’s not often I find a personal growth blog that meets or surpasses others I see/read, but Ari is giving them a run for the money.

Like all of you, I’m so happy Al and Bamboo nominated him.

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Welcome Ari, you’ve done a great job on your blog and provide intriguing writing. I’m sure we all are looking forward to future posts and insight.

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Welcome Ari,

I find that life is our best teacher. You needn’t hold a degree or license to live life and teach something you’s learned along the way.

How wonderful that you are able to reach out to others and help them.

Great choice Barbara!

Sheila

Dr. Cason’s last blog post..The Ugly Side of Being a Doctor

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Hi Barbara - you indeed have a community. Thanks for listening to our feedback for NBOTW

I’ve been following Ari’s articles recently and he really has some great thought-provoking posts. Congrats Ari!

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Hello Barbara and everyone –

Just a quick note to say hello and thanks! Glad to hear you found value in what I’m sharing. And extra special thanks to Al and Bamboo for their recommendation!

I must say, this kind of recognition gives me great motivation. I am originally a musician, and I always thought that audience plays just as much part as players in making performances memorable. We can play all the music we want to ourselves, yet it’s not the same if we don’t have anyone to play it TO and receive energy FROM. I write and make music primarily to please myself, yet magic happens when what I’m transmitting finds a recipient, and bounce back to me.

So thank you for giving me the energy to continue creating.

I look forward to getting to know you all, and being active in this community.

ari

Ari Koinuma’s last blog post..Blog Carnival: 10 Posts about Realizing Your Potential — August 2008

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Barbara,

This is exciting! Ari is a new find for me. I just wnet over there and read his about page and three atricles and subscribed. That’s for the recommendation! I look forward to meeting him here in your community and in his.

Hi Ari Welcome!

Wendi Kelly- Life’s Little Inspirations’s last blog post..For the Love of Words

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Congratulations Ari. And I’m happy you selected his blog for NBOTW, Barbara. And thanks for the link love.

Bamboo Forest’s last blog post..How to Live a Life of Freedom

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I’ve been subscribed to “Our Best Version” for a couple of weeks and Ari has a great blog. I especially like his post about setting process-oriented goals. Great pick Barbara!

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@Ari: You stated: “audience plays just as much part as players in making performances memorable.”"it’s not the same if we don’t have anyone to play it TO and receive energy FROM.”
This is SO true. I find that when I get up in the morning to make my daily post I am very affected by the comments that I had received from the night before. In other words, if I feel that “the audience” is showing interest through participation, I have more confidence and motivation to write clear, concise content. But it’s those days where it seems like no one is interested that I struggle the most with effectively getting what’s in my head onto my blog.

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I have one question (this is for anyone with an opinion on the matter). As a new blogger myself I’ve been bit by the blogging bug. I really enjoy it and seem to have ideas going off in my head all the time. As a result I started a second blog that is completely different than my current motivational blog. As I started working on it I realized how much time it was going to take away from my first blog. I do have just enough time each day to post on both and do some basic admin. But what I’ve found is that one of the differences between a good blog and a great one is the amount of time and thought that goes into it. I truly desire to make the best blog I possibly can and wonder if my second blog is just going to keep me from doing that. Or, playing devil’s advocate, are two good blogs better than one great one?
I’d love to hear your input. @Ari: Are you working on any other blogs or is this your only focus right now (as far as blogs go)? Thanks for any input and I hope this isn’t too off the beaten comment path. Eric.

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OK — kids tucked in bed, I have some time to reply! This is not my blog, but in this case, I feel compelled to respond to everyone.

@Davina,

Thanks! This is the first time I run into you — I’ll be by later to check out your blog!

@Scott,

Thanks! Well, I wasn’t aware of this blog until Bamboo mentioned it to me. I’m looking forward to digging around and getting to know everyone.

@Robin,

Thanks! I’ve been enjoying the little discussions we’ve had.

@John Hoff

Thanks! I’ll do the same to your site!

@Cath

Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment! Looking forward to getting to know you.

More on the next comment.

Ari Koinuma’s last blog post..Blog Carnival: 10 Posts about Realizing Your Potential — August 2008

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@Hunter,

Thanks! Well, the secret is that I am a web developer by day — though I suck at design — so I really have no excuse for having an unpresentable site. But like I said to Writer Dad, the site was looking terribly clattered until recently. One day I’ll hire a proper designer.

Incidentally, my music site, http://aries9.com, has a better “look” — though that site is much worse in terms of functionality. Knowing how is half the battle — having the time to actually make a great web site is another.

@Wendi

Thanks for visiting! I look forward to checking out your blog and getting to know you!

@Vered

Hi Vered! It’s good to see you here, too.

@Bamboo

Thanks again for putting in good words. Let me know when it’s a good time to return the favor.

@Jennifer

Thanks! It’s good to see you here as well. I do enjoy your blog, so it’s really easy for me to add something to it! I’m a terrible passive audience. If I see a good band playing, all I think about is “hey, I wanna play!” — and the same thing happens when I read a blog I like. It gets me excited and I just have to say something.

@Marelisa,

Thanks! It’s good to see you here. Yes, I do feel proud of my work on the process-oriented theme. The other post I consider to be my pillar post is the piece on self esteem. Check it out if you haven’t:

http://ourbestversion.com/2008/07/low-self-esteem-is-the-root-of-all-problems/

I really need to write a better pillar post for self actualization, as my first attempt became a sprawling mess, but before that, I’m working on telling the tale of my brush with depression.

@Urban Panther

Thanks! I have seen you else where on the blogosphere — you and your counterpart has an interesting scheme of screen name. I’ll be by shortly to check out your sites!

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@Motivate Yourself

Now responding to your 2nd comment — well, while the motivation to create ultimately comes from within, it’s hard to really develop and grow without that exchange of energy. Think of ourselves as knives, for example — we constantly sharpen each other, becoming sharper as we grow and more effective at cutting through.

That said, the first few months of blogging is really an exercise in believing in what you have to say, as you don’t get that feedback, isn’t it? So we do have to learn to create on our own. But once you learn to tap into your inner fountain, then you become able to overflow and fill others, while getting filled.

@Kelly

Nice to meet you! I don’t know you yet so I’m going to go off on some assumptions here, but I, too, have a bad habit of always getting ahead of myself. I have a pretty active imagination, so when I see 1 I can imagine 100,000. But next time I see it I see 1.1 and get discouraged about how far I still have to go. That’s why I wrote about the whole process-oriented paradigm. And I stopped watching my own blog’s traffic. (gasp!) Yes, it’s a business, but I really need to do it for the love of blogging and sharing what I learned — and I always feel ecstatic when I’m working on a post. It’s when I look at traffic numbers and being the beginner I am, start dismaying about how it doesn’t stack up against other blogs, that I feel my energy sucked out. The same thing happened with me and my music. With the process-oriented mindset now in place, however, I feel like I finally removed that road block, and ready to grow into a bigger version of me.

In addition to the post Barbara mentioned about path over destination, here’s a series I wrote on the topic:

http://ourbestversion.com/2008/07/7-reasons-why-you-shouldnt-set-goals/

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@Rita

Disagreements? Really? I don’t recall — rose-colored glasses don’t ring a bell.

Well, in any case, I’m greatly tickled to be considered “flexible” as that’s something I’m consciously working on. Thank you very much! I look forward to getting to know you.

ari

Ari Koinuma’s last blog post..Blog Carnival: 10 Posts about Realizing Your Potential — August 2008

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I think it’s another great example of “find your voice” and “help others find theirs.” I like it.

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Hi J.D.

You must have been commenting the same time I was. Ari has a good blog, doesn’t he?

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Aha - now, I have another great blog to check out. I particularly love the lovely quotes you’ve culled from Ari’s blog. I will check him out. Thanks.

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