You summed this up excellently. What you’re talking about is ego versus heart.

You’ve outlined the battle between the two quite succinctly. I’m thankful that my heart has won the battle a lot of times but there have been times when my ego (i.e. fear, insecurity, etc. etc) won.

The key for me is to stay close to God, keep the faith in Him and the universe and trust that if I listen to my heart, I will be okay in the long run. This, of course, is what the ego says is a foolish thing.

I loved your summary! Very nice – thanks for inputting your thoughts with us.

Pretty special? Nah, but I do feel good because I feel grateful. Gratitude feels good.

Yes, Jennifer please do share the passion – we can’t get enough of it. LOL.

Don’t compare yourself to other bloggers and do what your heart says.

I wish I could remember the article now, but someone somewhere on the internet (how’s that for a reference?) said that although we try to make decisions based on the logical, “brain” side of us, when it really comes down to it, it is our heart that often decides.

Now, this is a personal decision–we can let one take control over the other. However, if you think of a time when you bought something you wanted, for instance, you’ll see it was your emotional response to that thing or the need you had that propelled you to buy it. Your brain only kicked in after your heart had convinced you it was what you wanted to do.

In that same way, our heart convinces us to write/blog/go sky-diving/whatever and so we’re motivated, pumped up–we could do anything! And then the brain kicks in, and that’s when we really have to fight to keep the heart in the decision-making process. We get discouraged, we start comparing ourselves to others, and that’s when the brain might say: hey, this really isn’t worth it.

We really can’t afford to let ourselves get down-hearted and depressed. I don’t think people realize how vitally important it is to be happy (and grateful). Happy is following your heart. Happy is following through on your dreams despite logical, rational roadblocks.

Maybe I’m a little off-topic here, but it’s something important to understand. IMO.

Blog on!!!!!!! (That’s seven exclamation points, if anyone’s counting … *cough* Jennifer)

Ryans last blog post..going out in a chariot of fire

I guess I’m an exclamation point hogg. I’m not really a hogg. There’s plenty more go go around if anyone wants to use them!!!!!! I’ll share the passion.

Jennifers last blog post..Will Someone Please Just Listen to Me!

Well, you go girl! Congrats on joining Toastmasters. You will truly enjoy being a part of a great group of people who are courageous enough to learn how to get up in front of a group of people and speak.

You are definitely on the right path – keep going!

I’m happy to show you the way like others have shown me. One thing I like about a blog, any blog, is when the blogger is personally involved in the ongoing discussion, bringing out thoughts, feelings, emotions in full play.

It’s like corresponding with each person via email only that the rest of us get to have a peek at what we’re saying to each other. Pretty soon they start to correspond amongst themselves. But it takes a long time for that to happen.

Like most things in life, relationships take time to grow. People like to know that you acknowledge the time and effort they took to spend a few minutes writing to their heart’s content. When people share, they’re letting you in. A door has been opened simply because they cared enough to take time out of their busy schedule to drop in. We’re all busy – the least a blogger can do is take time out of his/her busy schedule and correspond.

Of course, I don’t know how the superstar bloggers do it with hundreds of comments a day. Some like Steve Pavlina have created forums, which I personally don’t care much for but it works for him. Others like Seth Godin close off their comment sections, leaving only private emails that may or may not be answered. It’s a tough call.

But as far as I am concerned, the people who participate via comments are the lifeblood of a blog’s success. When I first created Adversity University, I had the mindset of creating a community and that’s exactly what’s happening, much to my delight. Having a strong vibrant community makes a blog vibrant, alive and full of energy that keeps drawing more people in, increasing the chances of making a difference in their lives as well.

Just keep doing what you’re doing and be careful not to compare yourself to others. That’s a common pitfall that beginning bloggers make – I used to that when I first started (an in other areas of my life too) but I eventually realized it was detrimental to my overall well being and stopped doing it. Instead, I focused on what my heart was telling me to do. I also put myself in the shoes of commentators because I am a frequent commentator at other blogs. I often click the “subscribe to this conversation” button because I like to know if my thoughts will be acknowledged. And when the blogger does that, I am delighted. So I know how my commentators feel when I personally answer every single one of them – they feel like they’ve been heard.

Isn’t that what everyone wants – to be heard?