Sometimes I get so cynical when it comes to blogging. Everyone writing about the same thing. Regurgitated info and cloned wisdom that millions before me have shared and millions after me will continue to share. Everyone seems to be an expert on everything and they all want you to heed their advice! The great epiphany! The blogger’s manifesto!
Post after post about how to live my life - live a minimalist lifestyle, live a location independent lifestyle, live life with purpose, find your passion, follow your dreams, reject the status quo, say fuck you to corporate America, become an entrepreneur, travel the world, find balance, be positive, be yourself, be the best version of yourself, find yourself, find someone to love, hug a stranger, hug a tree, build connections, drop toxic relationships, practice good karma, eat right, exercise often, read more, write more, read more than you write. Now write a blog. Now write a book. Now rewrite the world! Revolutions, movements, and chants of inspiring change. None of it is revolutionary or even innovative. It’s all been said and done before by millions and for many, many years.
Throw out dry statistics about Gen Y this and Gen Y that. Complain about the quarter-life crisis. Talk about personal branding and social media until we are all so sick of it that if I see one more so-called personal branding expert/social media obsessed fame whore starving for attention on the Internet that I’m going to personally choke slam them! Preach about how to make better use of our time. How we can be getting more done, but also how we should be taking more time to just enjoy the ride. There was even a post floating around out there telling people how to breathe, which is good because I don’t know how to breathe! I’m suffocating here! Paralyzed by the pen in my hand which cripples my mind. Taunted by the blinking cursor on a blank page 1 document. Struggling to rediscover my voice. Wanting to write everything! Forcing myself to write anything! Failing miserably at both!
Are you catching the irony here? I’m no better than anyone else. I’m guilty of writing a post instructing people on how to properly breathe! After nearly 6 years of blogging and well over 1,000 posts, is that all I have left to talk about - proper breathing techniques? When it comes to Internet, there is virtually nothing new that you could possibly say that hasn’t already been said. If you even THINK you have something new to say that hasn’t already been said by someone before, you are not only delusional but also narcissistic. And that’s exactly my point. Blogging is hard! What exactly do any of us have to offer this online world that is worth a damn to anyone?
Answer: Your unique and beautiful voice.
Yes, your unique and beautiful voice is what makes it different. It’s what makes you different and sets your writing (and your story) apart from the rest. It’s why you can get away with writing on the same topic that’s been written on millions of times before by millions of people before you. It's why people subscribe to your blog because they subscribe to the belief that you possess the ability to say something different. Or rather, say it differently.
The fashion and the music industry have realized this long ago. And like a runway show and like a beat, blogging is not so much about creating new, but giving something old a fresh perspective. The key is finding your unique and beautiful voice. When you figure out how to do this, tell me how.
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