The Daily Grind

Last week, in my shameless plea for a book deal of my own, I noted that blogging had become “mainstream” because it’s now being written about in the NY Times Style section.

Today, we went beyond mainstream - blogging made the FRONT PAGE of the NY Times!

That’s good. What wasn’t so good was the subject matter. Here was the headline:

“In a Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop”

Our big debut “below the fold” focused on the recent deaths of two prominent bloggers of heart attacks, and their possible connection to a greater blogger health hazard caused by the “around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment“.

Not the most glamorous way to introduce ourselves to the non-blogging universe, is it?

While I certainly understand the strain and pressures that those who blog for a living are under, I don’t think two deaths constitute a good enough reason to make this front page news. There are millions and millions of bloggers, and I’d be willing to bet that the overall health profile of this group is no different than what constitutes the norm for the general population.

If major newspapers like the NY Times are going to introduce blogging to the masses, why not talk about something more positive (and more easily proven) - the huge contribution of this medium to meaningful and fulfilling social and business interactions and relationships.

I continue to be absolutely amazed by what blogging has done for me in that regard - a great example was my attendance at this weekend’s “Blogger Social” in New York City. Here were 80 people from 20 different states and a few different counties, getting together because of only one reason - they were bloggers who “knew” each other virtually, and now wanted to meet each other face to face.

I probably NEVER would have met all of these wonderful people if it wasn’t for the fact I was a blogger just like them.

One of the founders of Blogger Social, Christina Kerley, put it best at the event when she said that because of blogging, the “world isn’t getting flatter, it’s getting smaller“.

Of course, SOBCon, the other blogger event in Chicago that is dear to my heart (since I’m a founder), has also enriched my life in a hundred ways because of the connections I’ve made there (and will continue to make at this year’s event from May 2-4).

Blogging is shrinking the world and adding an incredible social dimension to millions of lives.

Now THAT’s a front page story!

Over the course of my time on this planet I’ve tried many different ways to shut down my very active mind. There’s always some kind of dialogue going on inside my head, a reflection of the incredible processing power of the human brain.

(Side note: I’d heartily recommend the book “This is Your Brian on Music” if you are interested in finding out more about this)

I figured that in order to “stop” this processing I needed to engage in complicated mental maneuvering, more or less cutting off my neurons at the pass, as it were. This approach wasn’t really getting me very far - I got to the point where I could “quiet” things down pretty well, but thoughts would always leak through.

Then my wife started practicing yoga a few years ago, and started telling me about how she was achieving relaxing and meditative states through her practice. I was skeptical at first, not really understanding much about yoga at the time. How can a bunch of stretching and posing clear my head?

Eventually, when my wife became a yoga teacher earlier this year, I decided to try it, since I was so bored with my then-current forms of exercise (I wrote about my first lessons back in June). It was great for me in terms of physical fitness, but it also showed me a path to that elusive goal of the blank mind.

Granted, it’s taken several months of trying, but last night I got there - finally. I was at a yoga class at my wife’s studio and we ended our class, like all classes do, with the “savasana“, or corpse pose. Our instructor artfully got us to relax by telling us to focus on our breath, and suggested a mental image of “sinking into the earth” as a means to to release our minds and go even deeper.

While I had gotten close to “ultimate stillness” in other classes, this one was going to be different - this time, I got to blankness. Nothing but me and my breath, and the soothing sound of the background music the instructor played.

It was awesome. As we ended the class and my brain reengaged, I was struck by how elementary the whole process was. I guess it took me a long time to submit to the utter simplicity of the relaxation process, and it’s focus on the breath.

I’m realistic enough to think that this kind of nirvana will continue to be somewhat elusive (and of short duration), but this discovery has me determined to continue on this quest to find that quiet (and rejuvenating) place when I need it.

Because even my dear old brain needs a rest every now and then.

Last Saturday I was enjoying a leisurely stroll in Boulder when I passed a restaurant that had ESPN’s “Sports Center” showing on its TV over the bar. They were showing highlights of a baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals.

I stopped in my tracks, almost like it was on command, and stared at the screen. I’m from Milwaukee, so of course “my team” has always been the Brewers. The highlights showed the Brewers taking a two run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, but ultimately losing the game when the Cardinals staged a three run rally.

At the moment I realized they lost, particularly in this fashion, my mood suddenly changed. I caught a wave of bad vibes. I lost the spring in my step.

It was yet another attack of what I call the “Sports Gene” - this seemingly uncontrollable ability for sports to affect my mood depending on whether my adopted teams won or lost. The gene is particularly present during football season, when the Green Bay Packers play.

In every other time before this one, I’d gradually shake off the bad vibes and go right back to ESPN and the daily sports page for my next dose of uppers or downers.

But this time was different. I got mad at myself. “Why do you get so worked up about something that has absolutely nothing to do with your life and your happiness?????”

I decided to do something about it. I was going to go on a “sports embargo” - for as long as I could I was going to avoid any contact with sports news.

Now here it is the following Friday, almost a week since I started the embargo, and I’m happy to report that it has held firm. I didn’t turn on the TV in my hotel rooms once all week (and there was another side benefit there - a purge of the “mindless TV watching” gene), and avoided all online and in print sports news.

I don’t have any idea how “my team” has done this week - and you know what, I’m gradually getting to a point where I don’t care. That’s what I’m aiming for - a more casual, detached approach to this information. I know that this embargo will be broken sooner or later - my guess it will be the first time the Packers play - but it’s serving a very useful purpose.

I need to be more concerned about the things going on in MY life versus a bunch of highly paid people on a field someplace. That’s what always bugged me about my Sports Gene, and I’m glad I chose to do something about it.

So, if you do happen to speak to me on the phone while this embargo is still going on, please do not preface the discussion with “how about those (insert team here)!” I really will have no clue.

Now, back to the wrestling………..

Life is full of little rituals, some more significant than others. Take that morning cup of coffee, for example. On weekdays, my car practically drives to Starbucks by itself, and when I walk into the store even the intoxicating smell of the espresso awakens my senses and gets me ready for the day.

On weekends, it’s the sound of the coffee maker, and then the “cling, cling, cling” of the spoon in the mug as my wife offers me that first cup of homemade brew as I open the Sunday Papers. The first sip satisfies not only my need for a morning wake-up, but a need to keep to a time-honored ritual that keeps order and normalcy in my life.

Apparently I am not the only person who feels this way, not by a long shot. In a great Op-Ed piece in Saturday’s NY Times entitled “One Latte, Hold The Milk”, (sorry, on this one you need to be a NY Times subscriber) the author Stacy Schiff puts it in an even greater ritualistic context, believing that “darkness shrouded the Earth until someone thought to brew coffee at breakfast, at which time the stupor lifted, the neurons engaged and the Enlightenment dawned”.

Wow. Did Stacy ingest a bit too much caffeine herself when she wrote that? Perhaps not, because she makes a pretty darn good argument to support that initial theory- here’s more:

Tea is said to have fueled the Industrial Revolution; caffeine has been credited with modern physics and chemistry. “A mathematician,” the prolific, nonsleeping Paul Erdos liked to say, “is a machine for turning coffee into theorems.” Small wonder then that the elixir of efficiency and inspiration should prove to be the blogger’s best friend, the CrackBerry’s companion, the spirit of social networking.

Think about that one - and how “social” places like coffee bars (led by the soon-to-be ubiquitous Starbucks) have taken over the public congregation spots from the corner taverns. Why? We prefer to have our brains “switched on” than “switched off”.

Says Schiff, “Caffeine sparks imagination, stimulates conversation, accelerates thought, enhances mood, increases endurance and activates memory. It allows us to beat the clock; how anyone managed to build a cathedral before the advent of espresso is beyond me.”

Is there a cost to this continual chemical assault on the brain - while thankfully nothing appears to be conclusively proven from a health risk standpoint, the effect on the tempo and tenor of our society in undeniable - heightened emotions, more impatience, and relentless needs for mental stimulation (I agree with Schiff that 24-hour cable news channels couldn’t have been invented without coffee).

Schiff quotes Balzac on why we’re willing to put up with these negatives - “One wants everything to proceed with the speed of ideas; one becomes brusque and ill tempered about nothing.”

So we keep drinking coffee, and it keeps fueling the world’s rapid evolution to a truly “wired” society - in more ways than one.

As for me, I just reduce this all back to that cup of coffee sitting in front of me, still producing that irresistible aroma, and calling me to partake in what I affectionately call the “Daily Grind”. With this ritual in progress and the day still ahead of me, I take one more sip and break into a broad smile, as I read the final quote in the article from Jeff Bezos from Amazon.com:

“In Seattle you haven’t had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it’s running.”

Howard, are you listening?

The first work week (or semi-work week, since it was only 4 days) is now safely behind me, and it wasn’t an easy one. There’s always something especially mentally challenging about this week - right after a very “up” holiday season and some time off to relax a bit, with the added spectre of all the goals and objectives of a new business year looming ahead.

Somebody I work with called it “regaining the mojo”; Liz Strauss looked at it as trying “to lose that ‘I’ve been on a holiday’ feeling“. I call it the next round in the continuing battle for my psyche between my friends Mopey Murphy and Harry Halffull. Let’s listen in to some of the exchanges of the week:

Mopey: So, my friend, it’s a New Year with many new possibilities for failure. Just look at those huge mountains you need to climb. C’mon, just let it happen!

Harry: Are you kidding Mopey? This boy isn’t going to crumble any time soon - look at 2006; he not only kept at his day job, he successfully juggled a thriving personal life and a blog too!

Mopey: Yes, but where has that gotten him - right back to the starting line; that’s the beauty of Murphy’s law and the calendar - there’s always a fresh chance to have something bad happen.

Harry: And what’s so good about having things go bad - give me one example.

Mopey: OK wise man, consider this - look at all the big-company CEOs these days; they get more money for FAILING than they do for succeeding. Why just the other day the guy from Home Depot got $210 Million for taking the company into the gutter. See, Murphy’s Law can pay!

Harry: Uh, OK, but how can that guy sleep at night? Money can’t buy everything. My guy has a conscious - he’d never go to the dark side for money.

Mopey: But he wouldn’t have to work as hard; being a successful goody two-shoes is exhausting- look at the bags under his eyes this week.

Harry: Just the lull before the lion comes roaring back Mopey, I think he’s already listening to Liz’s advice to get control of 2007 :

a) Lay out things that still need to be done .
b) Plan what to do first on Monday and what three most important to pick for your focus.
c) Set up your command center.
d) Put the things you use most where you use them.
e) Make a plan for the weekend that gives your brain a break.
f) Walk out the door feeling in control again.

Mopey: Leave it to Liz to pump this guy up; she’s tough competition. OK, I’ll back off - for now. Let’s see if he can keep this up.

Harry: Another win for the good guys, and a handy “Half-Fuller’s Guide to Surviving the First Work Week of the New Year”! Liz, the check is in the mail

Yes, I made it through the week, and my first trip out west of the New Year awaits. Mountains! Snow! You bet I’m in control again!