Cristian Mihai

[irevuo] Work in Progress

On September 3, 1783, the United States signed the peace agreement with Great Britain that recognized its independence from the British Crown.

Painter Benjamin West was commissioned to capture the moment on canvas, but after he sketched the American delegates, however, the British refused to pose. The painting remains, to this day, unfinished.

To paraphrase Leonardo Da Vinci, art is never finished, only abandoned. And our perception of what is finished or not relies solely on our thoughts.

Now, what does this have to do with us?

Well, we are…

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[AoB] 25 Books Every Blogger Should Read

Oscar Wilde once said that, “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.”

There’s a lot of truth in that statement, and I do strenuously believe that we must experience blogging ourselves, try and fail and develop our own frameworks and strategies, but at the same time we must understand that someone else’s rules can also help us on our journey.

There are no maps to guide us, but some of these books may point you in the right direction.

Here is a compilation of 25 books about writing well, marketing, and building an audience.

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[irevuo] The Pagliacci Effect

Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he’s depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, “Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up.” Man bursts into tears. Says, “But doctor… I am Pagliacci.” – Alan Moore, Watchmen

Oftentimes there’s a big difference between what we’re able to decipher about a person, what we see at the surface, and what lies underneath it all. There’s a big difference between appearance and essence.

I’m going to do the obvious here and use myself as an example.

There was a time when I was depressed. I had no money, no job… I felt lonely most times, in that bizarre way when you’re waiting for someone to enter your life and cure you of your loneliness. In a way, I’d spend my nights either writing or missing someone I had never even met.

I wrote mostly because I had nothing better to do with my time. I wasn’t expecting to publish anything, I wasn’t expecting anything actually. I just did stuff… built this big, big wall around me, and I never let anyone in.

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[AoB] Trends #6: The Polymathic Approach

The general advice when deciding on a niche for your blog is this: being as specific as possible will help you cater to your target audience.

The more specific you are, the more you will attract a small number of people.

That sounds about right…

But at the same time, here’s the paradox: the more specific you are, the less capable you are of creating content that stands out from the crowd.

What’s going on here?

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[irevuo] A Simple Framework for Using Your Inner Critic to Your Advantage

For most of my twenties, there were so many things I didn’t want to be true about myself.

I believed I was quite unlovable, which was my excuse for not trying to be worthy of love in any way. I believed I’d always struggle financially, so I made no serious effort to earn more, to save more, or to build multiple streams of income.

I believed that life was harsh, that people didn’t like me for being skinny, kind of ugly, and not nearly as charming as everyone else, so I lived in a state of perpetual fear — I somehow expected the world to decide that I wasn’t worthy of living on this planet anymore and send me off to spend the rest of my life on the dark side of the moon.

All information indicated that I was right: the women in my life either didn’t want to be involved romantically with me or left me after a couple of months. I always struggled to earn enough to pay the bills. I didn’t have that many friends…

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