Normal service shall resume shortly.

They told me to create a blogging schedule. Told me that by sticking to it, I'd always have fresh content for my blog, would never miss a post and that everything would be OK.

So that's what I did, and it worked. I was churning out content left and write, spilling my soul onto digital pages and waxing on life, work, creativity and everything that goes with it. Everything was OK.

And then it wasn't.

Real life got in the way. A whirlwind of work and wonderful times came spinning through my life and I barely had time to sit at a computer, let alone crank out blog posts.

Not that I'm complaining.

Since I last wrote something of substance on this blog, I've been out working on projects, making plans and generally enjoying life, which I suppose is the whole point.

Things are calming down a little now, and normal service shall resume shortly.

That said, I may postpone the remaining Pursuit of Awesome posts until after the summer.

Until then, let's rock!

Or blog, whichever you prefer.

52 Songs - #20: Pearl Jam - Alive

There are some songs that remind you of certain people, certain places or particular events. Then there are those songs which remind you of a feeling; an intangible emotion impossible to capture in words.

Alive is definitely one of those songs.

Unlike many of the songs I've detailed thus far, I don't particularly recall the first time I heard this one; I have a vague feeling that I actually heard it a couple of times before I really sat up and paid attention.

What I do remember is a feeling, an overwhelming feeling which still grabs me today every single time I hear this Pearl Jam classic.

Alive is such a powerful, awe-inspiring song that the first time I saw Pearl Jam live I actually shed a tear or two during this song.

If I have any say in the matter, this is one of the songs they'll eventually play at my funeral.

• What is 52 songs?

Friday Round-Up: May 17th 2013

An eclectic collection of stories on life, work, creativity and achieving goals, all  of which I've read and enjoyed in the past week.

• 7 Viral Marketing Tools You Might Not Know About
  
  From free content to Tout clips and more beside, the Creative Guerrilla Marketing blog provides seven excellent suggestions on how to spread the word about our work.


• Warning: Your Grammar Mistakes are Killing your Traffic
  
  One for my fellow bloggers.
  
  Your spelling, grammar and punctuation may not be as terrible as the examples given in this post from Write to Done, but that doesn't mean your copy is flawless.
  
  Here, we learn more on the importance of proofreading and how it impacts traffic to our blogs.


• Simplify the Internet
  In the early part of 2013, I made a deliberate effort to limit my social media use and reduce the online clutter I was -quite unintentionally- gathering in my life.
  
  I'd been planning to do that for some time anyway, but this enlightning post from Leo Babauta on Zen Habbits certainly gave me some great advice on how to simplify my online life.


• Inventor of the Wind-Up Radio Complains About the Google Generation
  And, unsurpsingly, a member of the so-called Google Generation promptly tells him to get stuffed in this great little post from TechDirt.


• A Log-in Finger Ring? Google Working on Password Alternatives
  Could Google be working on new approaches which would see us swipe in to our accounts or access Gmail thanks to some spiffy piece of jewerly like something out of a sci-fi film?
  
  It certainly seems that way according to this post from Mashable.

52 Songs - #19: Alice in Chains - Would?

As I mentioned weeks ago with my post on Nirvana, I was pretty late to the whole grunge thing more due to my age than anything else.

Alas, I got there eventually and, when I did, discovered yet a whole new style of music which had me hooked from the very first note.

That's especially true for Would? which wasn't only the first Alice in Chains song I heard, but was directly responsible for inspiring my decision to go out and buy a bass guitar. There was something about that memorable bassline that captivated me completely. I just had to know how to play it.

The bass is now undoubtedly my favourite instrument, all because of this beast of a song.

• What is 52 songs?

Friday Round-Up: May 10th 2013

An eclectic collection of stories on life, work, creativity and achieving goals, all  of which I've read and enjoyed in the past week.

• Do Less: A Short Guide
  Leo Babauta poses an interesting argument that doing less might just lead us to achieving more and having a better quality of life.
  
  If you read nothing else today, read this.


• Two people you might need in your professional life
  To help us get on with stuff, we may well need someone to help us get started, and someone to kick our butts if we stay off track. Or so suggests Seth Godin in another short, smart and snappy post.


• What Content Works Where? Smarter Traffic (and Revenue) Building Through Social Media
  Every blogger's best friend, Pro Blogger offers us some awesome quick tips on getting a better handle on our use of social media.


• Break Down Your Bad Habits Into Their Essential Parts to Form Better, New Ones
  Lifehacker.com shares us a really cool video from Epipheo.TV that helps us to truly change our habits.


• 12 Inspiring Quotes from Richard Branson that Enrich your Life
  It's probably fair to say that Virgin boss Richard Branson is the perfect example of somebody who doesn't just pursue awesome, but achieves it and lives it each day.
  
  Here, Lifehack.org round up some of the most inspiring quotes from a man who certainly knows a thing or two about making the most out of life.

52 Songs - #18: Monster Magnet - Space Lord

I have a very clear memory of the first time this song came into my life. It was an otherwise dull and uneventful weekend afternoon, everybody had gone out for the day and I was presently sprawled out across the living room floor, half writing, half watching music videos.

I don't remember any of the other videos which came on that day, but I certainly remember the video for Space Lord.

It was everything I thought a rock 'n' roll video was supposed to be but never could be. Monster Magnet were there, looking like the most bad-ass rock stars on the planet, sexy, scantily clad women writhed around the place and it just looked awesome. Of course, it helped that despite being called "Space Lord" it was actually a really damn fine song.

I talked last week about the two songs I remember from my days of carrying self-made music compilations around with me on burned CD-RWs. One of the songs I remember was last week's entry, Iced Earth. The other of course, was Space Lord.

In fact, I find it almost impossible to listen to this song now without getting very vivid flashbacks to rocking out to this song and thinking how cool it was that something I'd first seen on TV had now come down via my computer and was blasting out through my computer stereo, all within no time at all.

• What is 52 songs?

Friday Round-Up: May 3rd 2013

An eclectic collection of stories on life, work, creativity and achieving goals, all  of which I've read and enjoyed in the past week.

• How to Make a Music Video Go Viral Via Flashmob
  
  You may not get a hands-on How-To guide or secrets or success from this Creative Guerrilla Marketing, but the story contained within is certainly a nice one and does show a great example of something that *works*; something which may well inspire a few ideas of your own.


• How to Write Faster and Get Organized with Scrivener
  I can't say I've ever found writing software to do anything for me that I couldn't do with my trusty text file and a good word processor.
  
  That said, this awesome review of the Scrivener writing software at least convinced me to give it a try, and I must admit it was petty good.
  
  I'll let the folks at Write to Done tell you why.


• Triple Your Traffic by Guest Blogging for Backlinks
  Found out that guest blogging isn't quite reaping you the rewards you were promised?
  
  Chances are you're simply doing it wrong according to this insightful post from the ever-awesome Pro Blogger.


• 63 Ways to Build Self-Confidence
  Self-confidence without that over-inflated ego stuff getting in the way? Yes please, I'll take some of that.
  
  What's more, I'll take on board some of the great suggestions from Steve Errey on Lifehack.org to get it.


• Write Down Three Positive Things About Each Day, Every Day
  Taking time out at the end of each to jot down just a couple of things that went well that day can provide a huge boost to our motivation and optimism.
  
  Want to know how? That's what this post from Lifehack.com is for.