A List, Everybody Loves A List! (A Guest Post by Tim Clark)

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Meet Tim Clark, one of my favourite bloggers. He makes me laugh out loud and I’m sure he will you too. Don’t forget to follow his blog as he is a hoot! Now, I am off the ride the lazy-train again all weekend, choo-choo!

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Adele Archer was kind enough to let me write a guest post for her blog. Her blog is a favorite, it is written with such precision, and careful attention to detail it seemed this post should be something out of the ordinary, something unique. But, I couldn’t come up with anything, so I decided to share a little secret. How to write a successful blog.

I have been blogging for several years, and have a string of successful blogs. If success is defined as doing something that makes you happy, mine are a smash hit. Honestly, I still go back and read some of them and laugh out loud. Man, I kill me.

This can be troublesome since I do a lot of my blogging at work, and when someone asks “why are you laughing?” they don’t always fall for the old “our attendance policy is such a joke,” line. But, there is no reward without some risk.

Anyway, here are the secrets to writing a successful blog. 

1. “Never take your readers for granted.” Alright, I am not really sure that is even an accepted saying, but it should be. And I would know, I have accumulated a great many pearls of wisdom over the long years. Some of the best came from my years of construction work.
2. “If you’re just going to stand around, at least don’t stand in the way.” This is very good advice. It was a little difficult to follow, since the surface was thirty feet in the air, and filled with heavy cement blocks. With just enough room on the back side to scurry along, single file, like a trail of worker ants, carrying more heavy things. All while praying to whatever gods that would listen that I did not fall to my death. In these circumstances almost anywhere a person would have elected to stand around, sobbing softly into his hands, would have been in someone’s way.
3. “If you knock that support out, that wall will fall on you, and I guarantee it will kill you, and if it doesn’t I will.” This one is particularly satisfying as a saying, not only does it come with a guarantee, it has a backup clause. There is something comforting in knowing that had I caused that wall to fall, pinning me to the ground under a small mountain of rubble my co-workers would have had the decency to clear away the debris, and finish the job. Our crew was noted for thoroughness and reliability.
4. “If you can’t catch up, how can you keep up?” Of all the construction related sayings for living a good life this is the most applicable to any situation. It is filled with nuance, and multifaceted. There are wrinkles on layers on folds all pointing to the central tenet that to lead a good life you have to be able to keep a decent pace. This almost qualifies a Zen Koan.  Indeed, how could a laborer ever expect to keep up if they could never even draw even? Spending the better part of the day trying to answer this question, I lost my job, and unfortunately, never caught up. But, in the lonely hours just before dawn, when the world is quiet, and the passage of time is slowed to a crawl this riddle still haunts me. Curse you Jack Butler, curse you to hell…

Wait, where was I? Oh yes, the secrets to writing a successful blog. It all boils down to defining success. Write a blog, enjoy doing so, and be happy with the results, I think you are a smashing success. Let me know the address of your blog, and I will be happy to be a follower.

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My name is Tim Clark, I am blogger, a husband, and a father, I work for a living and going shopping is an adventure to me. It is never hard to have fun, if you take it with you, and those are words I try to live by. If you want to see how that is accomplished, check out my blog at http://tim-thingsastheyare.blogspot.com/.

Thank you, for your time, Thank you Adele for the opportunity. “Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone.”* So I will say it again, with emphasis. Thank you all, I am very grateful.

*Gertrude Stein.

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