Showing posts with label Blogger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogger. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Guest Post: Finding your Purpose!




I am delighted to be able to have my friend, Mary Martin, as a guest writer today. Mary has written regular blogs for The Mansfield News Journal, Montgomery Advertiser,The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspapers online at Cleveland.com and Bloggers.com.

For awhile, I simply knew her as “hug momma” which was taken from her website, Hug Momma- a Collection of Stories. As our professional relationship grew, I discovered she has a passion to make a difference. Mary is a prolific story writer, strong in her faith, passionate about politics, and a devoted Wife and Mother. Mary has inspired me with her stories, support and friendship.
Mary Martin is an artist. She is currently working on her first book and creating a new website focusing on politics and news. Mary is likely my most loyal follower, judging by her comments and number of visits. She is also the only person brave enough to hit the “follow button” on my website. I am honored to call Mary a friend.
Please give a special warm welcome to Mary Martin and feel free to comment and follow Mary on her website and her journey to success!
Jim Carver

Finding your Purpose

I can’t tell you how many books I have purchased, or motivational tapes I have watched, or sermons I have sat through in the quest to answer the craving question, “What is My Purpose.” I can begin by naming the ones off the top of my head by talented well known speakers, followed by the ones I checked out from the library, the ones I did workbooks for, I can spot those sporadically stashed on the book shelf, and finally, I can check my audio book collection and find a few there, as well. I, my friends, am a well studied purpose seeker.

I’ve held at least three professional licenses, had several full of adrenalin bursts into promising careers each fizzling into unfulfilling monotony. I was like a little girl who had slid down the big slide with hands waving in excitement only to land hard at the bottom with a mouth full of sand. Full of disappointment, I’d ask myself what happened, and why didn’t I see this wipeout coming. I questioned if there was some flaw in me that was keeping me from achieving what most healthy people do. Was I a quitter, or perhaps just not the person I credit myself to be? In utter defeat, I would ask God, “Why?” and reason with Him that if I knew my purpose I could better serve Him.

Over and over people would ask me, “Well, what do you like to do?” and “What do you feel the most fulfilled doing?” I would draw a blank. The pace of raising my family offered little indulgent time, and with my past ventures not panning out, I had no confidence to take further risks. Others would encourage me to, “Keep going, you will find it eventually.” Those words were difficult to swallow, because to me it meant, “Continue to fail.”

Often, the simplest answers are the right ones. For me, this has proven true to the “what is my purpose” question. TRUST GOD. Every failure, every success, every book I read, person I met, every topic I studied has not been wasted. Every experience was forming a foundation of purpose. Like neatly stacked bricks and mortar, every day was part of building who God has created me to be. I couldn’t see it at the time, but with surrender and a determination to trust God and serve Him today, with whatever I have today, has freed me from the burden of needing to achieve greatness.

You have given me today, Lord, what would You like to do? Perhaps write a blog.
 IN His service – Mary Martin  http://hugmomma.com

 

Sunday, January 6, 2013

What's your Identity?







Saturday evening I arrived at a local restaurant to pick-up my food order and I heard my named called out.
It was a couple (Jennifer and Jeff) that both were employed where I work during the day. Jennifer had moved onto a new job at a different company a few years ago and I hadn’t seen her lately.
Jennifer’s first question was- if I still worked at_______?
After I responded it hit me:
People associate your identity with what they know about you.
It made me realize- where I work isn’t what I wanted to be labeled as or known for. I want to be known as a writer, author, blogger, someone who cares and makes a difference. Apparently, I haven’t made a big enough impact.  

In August, I had the privilege of being invited to a private reunion party for a band (Souvenir) I followed heavily in Cleveland, Ohio between 1978 and 1980. The lead vocalist was gracious enough to introduce me to fellow writers and guests. When introducing me, I was referred as being a writer for The Cleveland Plain Dealer. I pulled him aside and explained I just write blogs in the online version of The Plain Dealer and was never employed by the company.

An honest mistake and I have to admit it gave me some instant credence. He stated: “Everyone knows your blog (which was very kind of him) anyway, so it doesn’t matter.” I knew he was trying to make me feel better about myself due to  some changes in my music career.George is one of the true genuine nice guys in the Cleveland music scene and it’s an honor to be a friend.

Decades ago, during my years of self-indulgence; I ran into a kid who shares the same name as me at a concert. When the other Jim Carver got in trouble, sometimes people would think it was me (hmmm.. I wonder why). We actually attended the same school. He elaborated at how much he wanted to be like me and how he saw me so many nights plastered on drink and drug.
To him, I was a hero. He made me realize something I never knew- I had been setting a horrible example of addiction and destruction for some younger folks. I wanted so bad to tell him-you don’t want to be like me, but I didn’t have the guts. I am hoping he found his way out of the old lifestyle.
Life is too short to live in someone else’s mind for the wrong reasons. It’s so easy to stay in your own comfort zone and never take a chance on being known for whom you are and what you do. It’s far easier to quietly open a door, instead of making an impact.
One of my goals is to do some things differently in 2013. I am at a crossroads with the direction of The Rust Belt Chronicles and where it goes from here. This year, I will do some things I have held back from doing in 2012, things that scared me.
Perhaps, it’s the push to leave a legacy where people will know what I do and why I do it or better yet; it’s my opportunity to link my identity with something meaningful that matters!
Until We Meet Again,
 Jim Carver
Author: The Legacy of David A. Wells- The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”
Something Meaningful that Matters!

www.successthroughmusic.com
Disclaimer- Books and links on this website contain affiliate marketing sources between Jim Carver and third party companies. I only recommend products, brands and businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Moving from Blogger to WordPress?

Photo courtesy: Search Engine People Blog.
The last couple of days, I've spent considerable time researching WordPress using Genesis Framework's custom themes. Since I am currently using Blogger, the move to WordPress is somewhat intimidating involving the transferring of my old blogs to WordPress platform.

The new web hosting service had me change the name server addresses to theirs and unfortunately the wait time is 2 to 48 hours to propagate. So I am in holding status and can't continue until my domain name appears at HostGator.

I spent the last day or so, researching the web on moving from Blogger to WordPress. During that time, I've considered canning the process entirely- a half-dozen times. Too many questions and it seems I keep coming up with more questions, once each previous question is resolved.

Blogger and WP doesn't cross communicate easily due to different formats so this becomes a large problem. Copying and pasting my blogs from Blogger to WordPress isn't an option I choose. There are many tutorials through YouTube and articles, however; a majority are outdated or assume the end-user is familiar with knowing where to perform the steps.

 Backing up your code from Blogger is imperative before you begin the process and not having anyone to  rely on for help if something fails doesn't make me breathe easier. It appears you must retain your old Blogger site or risk losing the old blog photos. Another option is to manually reload your old photos into WordPress, but that is too time consuming with nearly 100 old blogs.

Loss of Google page rankings has my concern as well.

It would be far easier to outsource the conversion, but it appears to be expensive and I haven't found many sources.

Then while writing this blog, I stumbled across this link. Problem solved? Pretty cool-eh?

 I realized "the lizard brain" (fear) had invaded my thinking. It's easier to stay on Blogger. It's less challenging to learn how to navigate a new software format.We are not accustomed to having to  wait for results. We want it done now.

 I must look at each step as a slow process. Rome wasn't built in a day and anything worth doing correct- takes time. WordPress, StudioPress and Genesis have some really cool plugins and themes, so it's just a matter of  learning some new techniques and navigational tools.

So for me this will be a side-project. No reason to stop the world until it happens or obsess. Just go with the flow and make the transition smooth.  Do the necessary researching, finding sources to answer questions as needed, forget the fear factor and pull the trigger when the time is right.

Anything less is not an option!
Until We Meet Again,
 Jim Carver
Author: The Legacy of David A. Wells- The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”
Something Meaningful that Matters!

www.successthroughmusic.com

Disclaimer- Books and links on this website contain affiliate marketing sources between Jim Carver and third party companies. I only recommend products, brands and businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.