Hansel in the film Zoolander, one of the best movies ever. Photo: imdb.com

“I wasn’t like every other kid, you know, who dreams about being an astronaut, I was always more interested in what bark was made out of on a tree. Richard Gere’s a real hero of mine. Sting. Sting would be another person who’s a hero. The music he’s created over the years, I don’t really listen to it, but the fact that he’s making it, I respect that. I care desperately about what I do. Do I know what product I’m selling? No. Do I know what I’m doing today? No. But I’m here, and I’m gonna give it my best shot.”

- Hansel (he’s so hot right now)

How often do YOU write in your blog?

In Derek Sivers’ (Does quantity + learning = quality?) blog entry, he mentions Seth Godin inspired him in the book Art and Fear to write every single day, as an experiment. The point of the article was that striving for perfection can be counter productive.  Quality increases proportionally to quantity.  If you write everyday, you will be a better writer than if you only write when you feel ‘inspired’.  Simple enough…

I will be joining Seth and Derek in this experiment, although my goal will be difficult since I am currently managing several blogs. Learn by doing. I already think that my writing is pretty freaking awesome. So while there is not much room for improvement, I know that writing everyday will at least not make things WORSE.

Kidding.  (But feel free to leave a comment, telling me how unimpressed you are.)

What I wanted to bring to your attention though, was a comment left by J.J. Vicars on Derek’s blog. He tells of a story he heard about when Bob Dylan was touring in the 1980’s and a reporter asked why his newer music was not as relevant as his older material.

Dylan’s response was something to the effect of, “Oh yeah, well I am out here writing songs.  What are YOU doing?”

The reporter was criticizing a person who was basically by default more important than himself.  After all, if there were no entertainers, there would be no need for entertainment journalists. I find this ironic because by insulting Dylan, he had insulted himself without realizing it.

But Dylan’s answer also teaches us something about blogging, about internet marketing, about personal development, and life in general. If you waste all your energy trying to be perfect, time will pass you by and you will end up accomplishing nothing.

One thing I have been hearing and reading a lot lately is don’t worry about doing everything RIGHT; just do SOMETHING on the right track, and you will eventually get there.

Thanks, Bob Dylan. (Whoever that is.)