One of the first questions I’ve asked myself when setting this blog into motion was “who in the world would ever take the time to read what I wrote?”

I’ve never been drawn to anything quite so narcissistic as a public diary (my original understanding of a blog) and my life is a tad bit boring (as my teenage kids will readily attest).  Yet, the more research I read on the art of penning one’s own blog, the more I feel compelled to try.

Clearly, my initial “pre-postings” were, at least, interesting for those that are close friends and family as they dealt with a number of personal issues.  The diversion from a normally secretive persona made the entries dealing with my physical recovery after an accident something to talk about.  Even if we’ve never met, most people can relate to injuries that require time to heal.  I was glad to get it all out of my system (so to speak) and it serves as good background for those that might find it interesting to watch how this blog has progressed.

I have been told by some colleagues that they are looking forward to some “dirt” on the Company we work for.  Unfortunately, this will never occur.  Aside from the water-cooler talk,  I have no interest in memorializing how close my corporate life is to the Dilbert comic strip.  Besides, there are plenty of other sites that rant on with automotive or employer bashing…we don’t need another.

Instead, I simply chose to document and follow a few of my own passions in a public forum.  Perhaps over time, this will reveal part of a transition I’m unaware of at the moment.  Nevertheless, I am compelled to find my own rhythm of starting the conversation.  I hope  that the more people I make aware of this site, the greater the chance we can actually have dialogue.  I continue to experiment with the “comments section”, but I clearly have hopes that I am successful in engaging readers along the way (or at least provoking a reaction).

So what can you expect to read and why should you tune in?

I hope to entertain you (at the very least).

My commitment to transparency quickly exposes the fact that I am simply a happily married, middle-aged, corporate grunt, father of 3 wonderful kids in college or high school.  I deny that I am going through any mid-life crisis (my kids joke that I must be) and I have no experience as an author of anything outside of grad school or work related activities. But after you get over my self-effacing boorish chatter, it will surprise you to learn my interests are…..well, interesting.

I promise to keep my postings short (600-800 words max) so it forces me to get to the point quickly.  As my confidence grows (no guarantees), I may post more than once a week.  I also leave room that I may decide to use video or audio clips, but for now I’ll stick with simple written submissions.

I’m also finding I have tons of friends that, like me, were really stuck in the past (the designer of my website called me “so web 1.0″).  I hope to also introduce them to the world of blogging as I teach myself a few new tricks.

So Stay tuned.  Bookmark this site…subscribe to the feed…or simply check in every weekend and participate (voting on the posts are also anonymous and a good way for me to judge if I’m on the mark or off base).

Next deadline: 1/2/10

Work in Progress.  Please excuse the mess!

I am adding feedburner so that I can track the progress of my efforts in encouraging more readers during 2010-2011. I’ll try it out for a few months to see how it works.

I hope to have the next few tweaks completed this week.  I hope all are enjoying the holiday and New Years celebration!

Happy New Year!

I admit, I started my 2010 New Years Resolution last September when I initiated this blog.  I spent several months pre-populating the blog with various tidbits of a personal nature to practice using WordPress (the platform you’re reading) and to experiment with a number of topics.  While I have learned a great deal, I have far to go.

The point of this posting is to state that a New Years Resolution should be communicated. It should be a statement worth sharing.  It can be personal, which means you would only share it with close family members or a privileged few…but it is nevertheless a statement and requires the courage to communicate.  For it to “count” you must do more than just think about it.  You must have the courage to place it in view of someone.

I obviously told a couple of close friends & colleagues about this site while it was under development, even though I wasn’t yet sure I knew where it would lead.  It was necessary to gauge the level of expectations of my intended readers and to make adjustments when necessary. The best example was the revelation that anonymous postings were absolutely required if I wanted to entice people to participate.  At Ford Motor Company (and I’m sure many other fortune 1-100’s), it is a kiss of death to be viewed outside of mainstream.  So, the addition of the ability to join this conversation with an alias was born.  Anyone may log in and add value to this site without the fear of someone misinterpreting their devotion to their employer.

My resolution is simple:  I will stick with this blog and focus on  Transformations. I will post, at least, 52 weekly entries intended to spur conversation as well as personal & career reflection.

Of course, it’s not the only thing we will see on this site.  I fully intend to maintain my focus on mentoring others, pontificating my own “point of view”, sharing my own fascination with the study of the future and any/all tidbits associated with true value.  To make things interesting, however, something as personal as transitioning is worthy of my primary focus.

Feel free to jump in.  Learn from my mistakes (hopefully this blog isn’t one of them), learn from the experience of others commenting (tbd) and read my thought process and decisions during the next year or so and decide for yourself how you can do the same.

What is your New Years Resolution?

I am so glad I’ve hedged my bets and only told 28 people about this blog (actually I told another friend about it earlier this week, so I should start saying 29).  I really had no idea that staying motivated to writing a single posting per week would present a challenge. 

Perhaps it is my desire to shy away from any subject or comment that could breach the privacy of family members or be misinterpreted by colleagues or my employer (all of which I’m sure I’ve already violated accidentally).

Perhaps it is because I wanted to spend the first few months posting personal items just to get them off my chest while I learn the “ropes” of WordPress.

It might also be because the pace of work has been incredibly hectic for the past 6-8 weeks and I haven’t made time for much else.

Nevertheless, I haven’t allocated enough energy to do more than list hundreds of future topics that I hope to eventually tackle in this forum.  I will stick with my intention of starting fresh in January, but for now there are more pressing matters!

It seems this year is more difficult than prior years in getting into the “spirit” of Christmas.  While I promise not to impose on others religious beliefs, I can share a little tidbit of how some transitions don’t always come easily.

Those that know me well also know I am Christian and thus celebrate this holiday season in a special manner.  Not unlike every other religious holiday around the world it means something different to each of us.

Following a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration that has historically been a family reunion of sorts for most folks, December 25th comes close behind and since it includes the commercialism of every retail establishment, you can’t escape it.

The challenge, however, is to keep this holiday in perspective and not let it get lost in the process.

The best reflection of the God I know is revealed in the feeling of giving.  Finding, making or providing a gift to someone you love is a terrific way to celebrate the ultimate Gift from God.  As a Christian, this is a time of celebration.

In reality, however, a celebratory mindset requires preparation.  My experience has shown you must take the time and energy to prepare yourself.  When things around us work AGAINST a celebratory mood it means we must spend even more energy to do this correctly.  The economy, your job, your relationships with family & friends, your disagreements, your dreams & aspirations, your school work….virtually every part of our lives impact our ability to focus, keep things in perspective and control our mood.

Take time.  Make time for yourself this Christmas season.  Don’t let anything stand between you and this celebration.

Now, I’m off to heed my own advice.

Merry Christmas!

PS:  My New Years Resolution posting is next.

I’m just testing the ability to embed a pdf file into a posting.  This example is still a bit too hard to read (type is too small) but you can download it from the page link above on “futuring“.

12/31 edit:  It was too small to read, so I added a download copy for you to read from here.  Enjoy.