Thanks so much for your feedback, especially since it was your first time commenting! Welcome to Adversity University, lurker! LOL. Nice to have you here.

Oh, I don’t think the reason you stuck around is corny at all. It’s different for everyone. Everybody has their own reasons for sticking around something. We’re all wired differently. I enjoy the diversity of the community. It’s take quite some time to find my groove here and I’m still going at it.

One thing I’m very grateful for is the continuous support and activity of the community here. It’s very hard in the blogging world to get a decent amount of comments but I’ve worked hard to encourage them. It’s a great way to bridge the gaps that exist out there. Thanks!

I have to head out to lunch but I felt you’ve given so much, that I want to contribute and give back some feedback:
I can’t remember exactly, but somebody linked to a blog post you wrote, and I enjoyed it so I signed up. I’ve been a lurker for awhile, this is the first time I’m commenting.

I’ve stuck around because your blog posts often inspire me =)

I enjoy the way your blog is personal and doesn’t come across as too cold. It may sound corny, but that’s really why I stick around.

I met you at a seminar on marketing and business adversity that you presented with Jim Cermak back in May of this year. Your presentation and special attitude towards adversity inspired me to do more in my life and so I subscribed to your blog which continues to entertain and inform me weekly about things that I need to spend more time thinking about. I enjoy your writing style and sometimes feel like you are witing directly to me personally – just like today with the Rock Theme – I hope you like my photo with the statue I think that your interviews are quite entertaining and I enjoy the responses that your selected interviewees make to the dramatic questions that you ask. I know that my biggest reason for not responding has been making or should I say taking the time out to respond – and maybe I found that I did not know how to respond until today. So maybe a great topic for your upcoming blogs could be making and taking the time to respond to important things in life… thanks for being out there Stephen!

I’m so glad you felt compelled to come forward to share your thoughts and feelings about what being a part of Adversity University has done for you.

I had to smile when you said that while you have “definite opinions about what you’d like to see and know, it’s none of your business.”

You know, it’s quite alright if we are on different pages because that’s what diversity is all about. My view has always been that even if we’re not on the same page, we can at least give one another the respect and acknowledgment for whatever views we have. It’s okay not to agree with me and vice versa – it’s actually healthy as long as whatever difference of opinion we have doesn’t degenerate into the realm of what immature people tend to do, which is name calling, deliberately being nasty and provocative, just to get a reaction. We’re both beyond that, aren’t we?

There’s a saying and one I strongly believe in and that is: “Jump in, absorb what fits you and leave the rest.” It’s what I do when I visit other blogs and websites. I adopt what I feel is right in my heart and leave the rest.

Thank you for your vote of confidence and for the level of trust you have placed in me to do what is “right” – whatever that might be. I appreciate your input!

After having read all the comments, I thought maybe I’d tell you how I feel and a reason or two why I am here.

First, I first read here when you interviewed Albert at Urban Monk last year. It was however months later that I was struck by something else on your site. I’m actually not sure what triggered it, but it was one of those genuine moments that are inescapable, some sort of connective thing said that spoke to me at a very deep level. That is when I wrote you a note to say how I was effected and affected by that moment.

As far as the rest, what I’d like to see, etc., I have definite opinions about. And they are mostly, it’s none of my business! This is your writing, your site, your desire and how you want to connect with others. Honestly, you and I are often on very different pages. But that does not stop me from reading here, nor taking away some things at some times. Or even feeling I would contribute via a comment now and then.

Lastly, giving advice/opinion about what another does, even when asked for, very often is something I fail at, or would just rather not do. If you want a sounding board to listen or my take on something as it applies to me, an example from my life that matches up with your experience, or verifiable facts I have access to, that I can do.

The rest I leave to you. I presume it to be in the right hands. The same hands that created this space.

I had to hunt back on Phil Gerbyshak’s blog to see when it was I met you.
You had made a guest post on Phil’s site on October 22, 2007.

Expressing Gratitude the Old Fashioned Way
http://tinyurl.com/link-to-guest-post

You wrote…

‘Why not become extraordinary, stand out from the crowd and send these people handwritten notes, thanking them for something they did for you? It will cause a few raised eyebrows, guaranteed.’

I thanked you for the post and ended it asking
for your snail mail address.

I was SHOCKED to learn that we live in the VERY same county in OHIO.!!! That very week that we first emailed, you invited me to a local blogger meeting
and we met in person.

Stephen you are an absolute inspiration.

This big ole world just shrinks down in size when I come to your Adversity University Blog. I’ve loved meeting the folks you’ve interviewed and my world has been enriched by meeting other folks who gather here at A.U.B.

You never fail to present the same authenticity in your writing that you embody in person.!!!

XO XO
Debs_E

Really? I didn’t know that. Well, they say first impressions have the potential to make a lasting impression. I guess you could say that’s what happened with my first comment. How cool is that?

You meeting Patricia through my blog and me meeting others through you has become a rather fun and mysterious journey – like the universe brought all of us together for some reason.

I was humbled and grateful that the two of you would pull me to the side and invite me to an interview just as we were all on our way out at the end of SOBCon08. I felt quite comfortable in your presence – both of you had this calming sense of presence that comforted me without you really trying to. Know what I mean? You had a kind face that truly capped the highlights of that weekend.

Thank you for letting me specifically know what you enjoy the most. Very interesting. Gratitude posts? Hmm..cool. Okay so I know that’s working too, thanks.

Yes, I have that child-like curiosity that comes through in just about everything that I do – speaking, writing, flying – it permeates the fiber of my very being and maybe that’s why I continue to attract the right kind of people around me?

for the record here, I must tell everyone here that being interviewed you at BIGG SUCCESS (not a typo people) was not only so much fun but it gave me an opportunity to get to know George and Mary-Lynn. It is through these kind hearted people that I’ve been led to some pretty exciting opportunities for 2009 and beyond. Thank you!

I forgot to mention that you were the VERY FIRST comment I ever got on my blog that did not come from my sister.

I could not believe it! Someone really read what I wrote?

PPS

I met Patricia through your blog – just like she met me also!

We also have become great friends!

That’s why we became followers and subscribed to your feed. We continue to follow because you’re a compelling writer. I especially like your Gratitude posts. I also love your interviews, because you have that child-like curiosity that comes through, plus you’re a person who loves people.

Keep up the good work!