Although my blog may seem barren, I think about this thing more than it appears.  I’ve been a bit stuck I think…. after a few big hits, traffic started flowing my way, and I got scared.  I got scared because my blog articles started showing up as number one in google searches.  I got scared because things I wrote became reference points, ideas that could affect a decision.  I got scared because I got a small taste of something that would otherwise be a measure of success to me:  Influence.

Influence is not the same as power.  It’s not the same as popularity, either.  It’s not measured by the number of followers you have… or the amount of money someone will pay you.  Influence, to me, is something which is earned through credibility, consistency, and trust.  So why on earth would I be scared to even be on the map of influential bloggers?

Because I don’t think I deserve it!  Here I am, a twenty-something trying to map out my own life, writing for fun and with the intent to sharing the little things I’ve experienced or seen or learned, and although when I first started I would have been ecstatic to hear that I could be influential in any way, now I am paranoid that somehow it makes me seem like some naïve know-it-all millennial.  I am so afraid to take any direction with the opportunity, and as a result I have been hesitant to write even 10% of my blog article ideas.

So, I decided to make a list of the things I “want” for my writing – based on subjects I may be completely unqualified to write (I can’t not put that disclaimer), yet I have an interest in, some level of experience with, and want to push myself to take the risk of looking like an idiot if it even helps ONE person out there who googles a “silly” or uncommon question that I happen to stick onto this little website.

I want to be…

an influence through sharing travel tips and tricks.

an influence through sharing the pains and joys of my huge struggle to become debt-free.

an influence through sharing my small discoveries or victories in frugal living.

an influence through sharing my adventures on and off the bike.

an influence through sharing my baking creations and fails.

an influence through sharing reviews on products or services that made an impression.

an influence through sharing the super-cliché quotes I’m obsessed with and motivated by.

an influence through sharing my life, for the good of others, without sacrificing my privacy.

an influence.

I hereby give up my unnecessary disclaimers… my own vanity and worry… my self-consciousness about my own lack of perfection.  I have seen and struggled with and learned from some little things that maybe could make the world a better place… and it’s not my place to edit or censor my own passion for constructing and writing.  I will welcome criticism, and I will pray for direction.  Here is to carefree writing and intentional living!