Picture this.

It was a bitter cold Friday night in Chicago, just over a year ago. I didn’t feel like getting slapped in the face with a rather wicked wind chill so it was a Hot Pocket night for me.

I spent the entire weekend indoors building my blog.

There wasn’t any particular impetus to my blogging beginning, other than I love the alchemy of moving my thoughts to the page. And as much as I love to read, both on and offline, I knew there were plenty of people just like me.

As with any new blogger, my first handful of readers consisted of my mom, dad and their lovely friends at church to whom they forwarded my blog posts. My dad, with all of his pride, even laminated a few and printed them for his friends.

I persevered. An avid learner and eager doer, I studied the successes of those who came before me, inhaled as much information as I possibly could, and did everything I was supposed to do with a smile on my face. I poured through e-books, networked with both new and experienced bloggers alike, and committed to the tireless ethic it takes to make it as a blogger.

Then – I reached out to a few authors, bloggers and favorite artists. And asked to interview them. And they said yes. To my little old blog.

Though I didn’t know it at the time, I was initiating a major change in my life.

Guess what? No one is born a blogger.

Do I have it all figured out? Nope. That’s the good news.

After recently reading Nathan Hangen and Mike Cliffe Jones’s new e-book, Beyond Blogging, I now realize I still have plenty to learn.

What’s cool is that it’s different from many e-books you’ll find online – and I have most of them. The book’s beauty lies not in the how to so much as in the from where?

Though Beyond Blogging does come with a workbook packed with practical exercises to help you apply all you learned in the e-book’s 204 pages, its unique value is harbored in the intimate case studies with a handful of bloggers. These bloggers have not only built six-figure income businesses through their online efforts, many of them are on their way to seven-figure blogging empires.

I was familiar with a few of these stories going in. Anyone who regularly blogs for profit is surely familiar with Darren Rowse, Brian Clark and Chris Brogan.

But Beyond Blogging also profiles the remarkable viral successes of people such as Jonathan Fields and Chris Guillebeau, who I’ve also followed for months. There were also a few case studies I didn’t know before reading the e-book; each one was unique, colorful, fascinating and inspiring.

Beyond Blogging does a brilliant job of highlighting the assorted steps each person took on their way to success, while allowing the reader to draw neat parallels between them and their own lives.

My ‘from where’ and next stops.

Beyond Blogging opened my eyes to what I can do here with you, but it also showed me that I’m on the right track to take it to the next level, get a bit more creative with my own goals and add more value for readers.

Here’s a glimpse into my medium-sized baby steps – and the marvelous people helping me get there.

1. Self-education. I’m continuing to work with Charlie Gilkey as my fabulous creative coach, and am loving Chris and Pam’s $100 Business Forum course as well, which started February 1st. I am stunned by the innovation of those in the class and my mind maps are all over the house. Everyone teaches me something.

2. Poetic license. My first poem, as some of you know from awhile back, was called “Ode to Cupcakes.” It is not good.

Last year, I interviewed the brilliant Sage Cohen and am now taking her amazing class, “Poetry for the People.” I’ve been inspired to write and think differently with every prompt. I promise to share one soon but you can’t laugh.

3. Stepping out. In a few weeks, I’ll be moderating a panel in NYC, “Differentiated Content In The Blogosphere and How To Capture It.” Can’t wait to tell you what I learn.

Challenge equals growth – so this is a good thing.

So that’s my story as of today. I still have so much to learn – any blogger will tell you that it’s a learning adventure.

Blogging isn’t easy. Everyone has their own motivation, voice and approach. It takes balance, perseverance and flexibility. But it’s not uncharted territory – there are a few roads to follow, paved by the A-listers who have come before.

Hard work? For sure. But worth it. I’ve never been happier. I love you for being here. I love the site’s wonderful contributors and the friends I’ve made along the way.

Thought about blogging? Beyond Blogging offers an inspiring compass and a detailed map. We all have to start somewhere. It’s up to you to start your expedition. Even if it’s not cold where you live.

Calling all new or experienced bloggers: What are doing to take it to the next level? Let’s learn together.

**

P.S. Read more about Nathan, Mike CJ and Beyond Blogging here. You won’t be disappointed. Disclosure, of course and as always: The Journal of Cultural Conversation is a very satisfied Beyond Blogging affiliate partner.

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Post written by Laura Cococcia. You can follow Laura on Twitter.

jour·nal (n.) - a periodical presenting articles on a particular subject

I moved back to New York City almost six months ago. And last week, I found all of my personal journals in two unpacked boxes that currently serve as coffee tables.

I discovered my very first journal – again.

I was seven. I had begged Santa for it. And, because Santa got tired of hearing me ask for one every five minutes, I actually received it before Christmas.

I’ve kept journals since then – through grade school, college, grad school, and even now. I don’t make myself write in them religiously, I just do it when I feel like it. I always know they are there when I need to get some thoughts down, try my hand at some creative writing or simply vent. No rules.

Just for fun, I thought I’d share the initial two entries from my first journal:

Saturday, December 19, 1981

I have just gotten you tonight. Santa gave you to me. I’m going to name you Ralph. Good bye. Love, Laura

Sunday, December 20, 1981

I love you diary. I put you on my Christmas list but now I have you early. I wanted you so bad. Isn’t Santa Claus nice? Love, Laura

Beyond Ralph: Stories That Keep on Telling

I found 20 more journals in my coffee table boxes.

I read every single one. Not the most efficient use of time, but oh, what a reflection of the different versions of me and all of the people who have affected my life in one way or another. The joys, the loves, the losses. I had a lot of laughs and a few tears.

Interestingly, I came across a particular one that wasn’t my own but was given to me by a high school friend; we’ve known each other since we were three. It contained stories, poems and pictures of our time growing up as friends – a truly unique gift that I had not looked at in years.

The pictures themselves brought back amazing memories. Many of them involved massive amounts hairspray and the bang teasing trends from the 1980s.

I couldn’t really say I was “hot” at the time.

But there were photos of my high school friends gathered around my mom’s and dad’s kitchen table, talking, laughing, playing cards – something we did many times a week. There were pictures from proms, my ballet recitals and birthday parties.

Revisiting and Revisions: The Morning Pages

Now, journals take many forms in my life. Of course, there’s this journal. A collection of stories from and about the people, places and things that make us interested and interesting.

I’ve recently been working with Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages Journal, based on a recommendation from a dear friend. Morning Pages are three pages of longhand writing that come to your head; the practice is meant to be used while working through Cameron’s book  The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Creativity. It’s a book I’ve been reading and loving for weeks. A multitude of exercises to help clear space for your creative brain and truly get to the heart of who you are as any type of artist, without apology.

The results have been astonishing. I’ve been clearer about what type of artist I want to be, the people who will support me and what it really means to be creative – by my own definition. Along the way, she includes numerous quotes from visionaries and normal people about the power of knowledge and art. More to come in a full book review once I’m done. You can also find out more about Julia Cameron and her projects at http://www.theartistsway.com/.

And now, to you…

If you keep a journal: What do you use it for? What have you learned – about yourself, about others – as a result of your practice and process?

If you don’t keep a journal: Let us know why (no judgment). Whether or not you write it down, you still have a story.

**

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Post written by Laura Cococcia. You can follow Laura on Twitter.

Just a Minute is the brainchild of August Street; good friend Liss at Daydream Lily introduced me to this in a post last week on her beautiful site.

What a perfect way to start the kickoff the 2010 cultural conversation – and survey the ultra-cool TJCC reader scene.

Think of it as a little ‘who, what, where, why, when’ exercise. Your chance to feature you - and share your authentic experiences. Your personal culture. What shapes you, interests you, moves you.

And, since I have just a minute until the doors close on the airplane to NYC, I thought it quite appropriate timing.

I’ll go first:

Reading… The New Yorker, American Way (sorry, I’ve been flying) and Foreign Policy.  Just finished Push by Sapphire and started Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann, all in the same day. May steal the January People from the woman boarding in front of me. I’ll have to sweet talk her into it.

Drinking… Diet Coke. Not surprising. Planning on a small glass of red on the plane. Tried four new healthy fruit shakes this week. Might be time to replace the DC.

Listening… To my iPod after 3 weeks of not turning on any music. And when I return to the tunes, I feel happy. Always go back to the tried and true favorites: The Clientele, Led Zeppelin, The Carpenters.

P.S. on this one: Anyone who is able to draw a connection among the three gets a special prize. I haven’t been able to do it yet.

Wanting…To start my poetry class. I feel some creative juices brewing just thinking about it. Sage to the rescue.

Watching… 30 Rock. That’s it. I haven’t watched TV much in 3 years. In the last few weeks, I did manage to catch a couple of between-errand movies and saw The Young Victoria and Precious. Remarkably different contexts – yet threaded by the demonstrating the power of finding one’s own authentic voice.

Loving…Friendships. New, old, online and offline. You know who you are.

What are you up to, thinking, loving, reading? Just takes a minute. Pick one or choose all. Let’s talk it up.

**

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