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What a Horoscope, Twitter, and Blog Packs Have in Common
Yup, the question of the past few weeks seems to be, “Where’s Harry hiding?” I’ve been in stealth mode for a few weeks while we prepare new projects and work for our clients.
Now, hiding out isn’t a luxury my partner can afford. Until now, I never realized how lucky I was compared to James. He can’t turn off the world like I can. As the father of a toddler and a teen, he can’t just shut the door and tell everyone to get the fuck out of his shop.
I, on the other hand, can. And do. Okay, maybe I don’t blurt the words right to anyone’s face, but I do say it mentally.
Thank you, Naomi, for setting me free. Onto today’s post, and I miss you guys too.
Of Twitter, Blog Packs and a Timely Horoscope
Today, you should follow your urge to let your selfless side come out and make the world a better place — or at least your little corner of it.
Spread the word to friends and colleagues that you’re free to lend them a hand with whatever tasks need your special brand of energy. Before the end of the day, you’ll be involved in at least one thing that is going to entitle you to pat yourself on the back and say ‘well done’!
The best way to celebrate your good fortune is to help other people.
This glimpse of one of my horoscopes sums up much of this past month, and probably a good deal of our business values. As the Pen Men, part of what makes us special is our willingness to help make the world a better place and share our special brand of energy to others.
We maintain this free blog and offer a good resource for freelancers. We communicate and we hold hands. We help others. We provide quality work and quality care. That care doesn’t stop after the project has left our desks, either.
You see, James and I are strong proponents of good customer service. We eat, sleep, drink and breathe caring for our customers. This deeply ingrained dedication gets us up at dawn on the East Coast and keeps us going into the wee hours of the night on the West Coast.
Manning the graveyard shift and keeping up with the nocturnal Twitteratti gives me the unique opportunity of gaining both new customers and repeat business.
People get stuck with a problem or they find their blog has suddenly turned on them for no apparent reason. I’ll notice a plaintive request for help, and if it’s an easy fix, I’ll fix it.
If it’s not an easy fix, then I consider it my pleasure to refer the person to someone who can.
This Is What Real Pack Is About
There’s been a lot of talk about what is pack and what isn’t.
I’m reminded of the first creative writing game James and I worked on together. In this particular game, characters were told to join forces and become a pack.
Many didn’t want to (including James’ character). They asked why they had to form relationships with others. And my experienced character would say, “That’s what you do. You need a pack, so find a pack and join it.”
Much later in the game, I realized this was a big mistake.
Through my own experience, I know that packs aren’t made. They aren’t forced. Pack means helping out for the sake of helping out.
Do I charge for my late-night advice and quick tech fixes? No. Do I expect payment of any kind? No again. Do I jot down a note of a debt owed or a favor I could call in? No.
I don’t want people to start feeling obligated to do so, either. That isn’t the point. I’ve had plenty of people help me when I get stuck with a sticky piece of coding or have one too many projects on my plate.
Call it paying forward or building good karma. Call it whatever you like. For me, helping because I can and nothing more is the essence of building a pack.
We’ll be on a busy streak for awhile yet. I may not be as vocal as James in the meantime (I still don’t know how he manages to juggle everything – then again, he thrives on adversity), but I’m still here, lurking and poking my head in every now and then.
I’m a man on a mission: to make the world a better place one blog at a time.
Help spread the word!
Welcome to our community. Kick back, put your feet up and join the discussion.
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To borrow a phrase from Tei…well played, Harry. Beautiful post. I hope you keep sharing your special brand of energy with others because it can’t help but make the world a better place.
And the focus on quality care and customer service can’t help but make your biz stand out from the crowd. Genuine dedication to customer service, genuine caring for your clients and readers and their success, is all too rare these days.
Harry,
“Call it whatever”… Stephen Covey calls it the Emotional Bank Account. You have to make deposits to be able to draw later. On an individual basis that’s obvious, but I think it’s just as necessary on the big, karmic level. Just like dollars attract more dollars, emotional wealth does, too. Being known as a giver is a lot better than being known as a stingy dude.
To mix metaphors, it’s not the minnows you’re after, it’s the big fish. The minnows may know some bigger guys, and they’ll remember your kindnesses.
“Hiding out isn’t a luxury my partner can afford.” Umm, yeah, and how would anyone throw laurels at his feet if he hid out? He’s the Public Pen, enabling you to hole up when you want to.
I can still miss you, right?
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Giving the Cow Away, but the Milk’s Not Free!
So very true!
That’s one of the reasons why I love Twitter so much – things that are second nature to me might be a bit more difficult to others, and I can immediately answer questions whenever they pop up.
It’s all good karma…what goes around, comes around.
Best wishes,
Barbara
Barbara Ling’s last blog post..21 Days to a more profitable blog – Day 8! Add eBay to your sidebar
Nice to hear from you, Harry. I appreciate the thoughts and the links. If you’re into astrology, and you haven’t heard of Astro Barry or Rob Bresny’s Free Will Astrology, do check them out.
The weird thing about helping others is that it does come back to you in good ways, but you can’t think about that when you’re doing it. It’s like flying in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: you just fall but forget to hit the ground.
Michael Martine | Remarkablogger’s last blog post..What the Blog Gurus Aren’t Telling You
@Lisa: Thanks, we think so too.
@Kelly: I don’t think James would hide out even if he wanted to. He’s too much of a super social star. That’s how we got where we are today.
@Barbara: I’d love to love Twitter again, but for the last week or so it hasn’t been working very well.
@Michael: thanks for the info, I’ll check them out when I get the chance. And you’re right, I was going to include the fact that you can’t expect the good stuff to come back to you while you’re in the process of doing good stuff for others, because that just cancels everything out. I decided that was too much like thinking about the ramifications of time travel.
So yeah, I’ve got my towel and I’m forgetting the ground is there.
Harry,
You probably wouldn’t be a butterfly if you had the time, either. You’re each made of different stuff. A perfect match.
Later,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Giving the Cow Away, but the Milk’s Not Free!
Harry, I’ve said it before and I will say it again: you’re my hero.
Tei – Rogue Ink’s last blog post..Commuting is the Mind-Killer
No fair. I had just decided to fly beneath radar this week too. Cloister myself with the painting. Minimal commenting and contact. Then Michael put those two astro guys in front of me. Right off, Astro Barry said express yourself, someone needs to hear it…the other one had very, Ahem, suggestive advice, but they were for last week…good thing I am such a level headed, non suggestible…huh? …we’re all going where? ..be ready in a sec.
Seriously, how am I going to get any work done if you all keep being so darn entertaining.
And Harry, you have a good heart. Those are Karma bank deposits. Extra good energy going out. It sets up a resonance. That just keeps getting better.
Janice C Cartier’s last blog post..30 Minute Challenge
I loved this post. It says so much about you, in a good way.
@Michael – OMG! LOL! You KNOW Astro Barry! I love Astro Barry! Yes, check him out Harry, he is great.
@Harry – You know I’m not big on bullshit. I’m a Sagittarius. But yeah, this is true. You have to take care of your little pack. And you know how I appreciate Men with Pens. You guys are a great little bonfire. Okay, BIG bonfire – we can all warm our hands around.
You should write more, Harry. You’re a good writer.
Ellen Wilson’s last blog post..The Wisdom of a Glass Half Full
Ellen, I don’t know him personally. Just know of him.
Oh, and speaking of blogging packs, may I present BloggingPacks.com. Coming soon.
Michael Martine | Remarkablogger’s last blog post..What the Blog Gurus Aren’t Telling You
@Michael – That’s what I meant – know OF him. I don’t know him personally, just follow his column.
And what is this bloggingpacks.com about?
Ellen Wilson’s last blog post..The Wisdom of a Glass Half Full
As one who has been the beneficiary of your help, kindness and friendship, I want to publicly say how much I appreciate you both. You are making the world a better place and I am very glad to witness just a tiny piece of it.
Karen Swim’s last blog post..Backward is the New Forward
Nice guys always finish last.
You know, I’ve always thought this way until a short while ago.
In school I was always the “nice guy” and always had a hard time finding a girl who wanted to date me. I was always “the nice guy friend.”
As a customer, I’m always nice to the customer service rep I talk with, but what few times I’ve been so angry I’ve let them have it, I’ve gotten what I wanted.
As an ex-employee in a sales position, I did fairly well – but the sharks who weren’t so nice made more money.
….. need I go on?
Nevertheless, like you Harry, I have never swayed from my “nice guy approach.” If customers of mine need help tweaking their websites or help getting them ranked, I do it for free. Like you said, it’s karma. I think it was Brett who described me as a “all around nice guy” – thanks Brett.
It wasn’t until recently when I’ve been having issues getting any work done in the morning because my 6 week old wakes up and I need to feed him; my 2 year old thinks my home office is his play area; and my loving wife needs help with something.
That’s my family.
…. you know, nice guys don’t always finish last. It’s your perception of the finish line that matters.
Nice to hear from you Harry. I figured with the new growth and new game board coming, you MUST be swamped. James is the entrepreneur/marketer. You’re the backbone.
John Hoff – eVentureBiz’s last blog post..3 Sentences, Post 1: Marketing
What if you send out a message to friends and colleagues and let them know you are free to help them should they need your special brand of energy and they all show up with projects. If you help them all, you risk zapping your special energy and having none left for yourself. if you pick and choose who to help, others will think your special energy isn’t that special, but you’ll have some reserves left for yourself. If you don’t let people know you are available, then you have plenty of energy for yourself but nothing to do with it. Seems like a vicious cycle! However sometimes it could be fun!
Jenny’s last blog post..Snow Covered Mountains
@Jenny, when I read your comment I had to laugh and cringe a little. I am a helper, I love helping so much I almost helped myself out of a home. I had a wake up call last year that made me realize I had to take care of myself too. It is not good when all of your billable hours are being used by free work. I don’t mean a resume here, and a quick edit there, I was editing entire manuscripts, writing 10 pages of website content and conducting job searches for free. After a long stretch of helping, I realized that I needed to make money if I really liked having a place to sleep! I still help,a lot in fact but not to the point of stupidity.
Karen Swim’s last blog post..Backward is the New Forward
There’s a big difference between helping others and allowing yourself to be taken advantage of.
Michael Martine | Remarkablogger’s last blog post..What the Blog Gurus Aren’t Telling You
Just poking my head in here for a sec…
Michael is right, there is a fine line between helping and being a doormat (not that you’re a doormat by any means, Karen!). If I’m around and available and can spare a minute or two, especially if I know it’s an easy fix, I’m more than happy to have a look.
If it is more complicated, I’ll let the person know and let them decide what they want to do.
@Everyone: thanks for your comments and compliments today, they really kept me going.
@Harry and @ Michael, I WAS a total doormat! In fact, my wake up call had help. My brother demanded to see my project schedule, and I can’t repeat what he said but it was so scary I was certain I saw the light. LOL! His tough love worked and I had a good hard look and made changes. Now I’m more of door opener than mat, the view is much nicer when people are not walking all over you.
Karen Swim’s last blog post..Backward is the New Forward
I have nothing against doormats, as I’ve been one myself so I know how you feel Karen! I agree it’s much nicer not being the doormat! Hopefully we can keep our feet on the mat and not vice versa!
Jenny’s last blog post..The Sky Was On Fire!
Thanks Harry for this inspiring post. It is people like you who make this world a better place and the help you offer will come back in spades. It already does anyway, judging by your success and you deserve every bit of it.
This is one reason why I stuck with you to create my new RSS and Banner for the new blog. I could have easily saved some money and gone with a forum designer but I believe in karma too you know. Karma works for me every time and like you I help many people for free with little bits here and there.
I can it the “balanced scale”. It kind of feels a bit like doing humanity work with people we know and that can’t be a bad thing. Knowing when to stop though and say sorry can’t do that is the key like you already said.
Keep up the great work, You guys simply rock!
Monika Mundell’s last blog post..Networking – Freelance Writing Guide
@Monika: Real friends understand when you have to say no and then it’s perfectly alright. The ones who get in a snit about it aren’t the ones you want to keep for the long term.
So…when is that new blog going to premier?
“I’m a man on a mission: to make the world a better place one blog at a time.“ That’s indeed your calling, my coffeebrother, & we’re ALL better for it. Meanwhile, I love it when the best bits of the Twitterverse become immortalized in a post.. W/a link to boot!? <3
@Karen – Spot on! “Door opener” is IT; the door’s always open & the coffee’s always on.
Those of us who’ve been blessed w/a chance to discover the connectivity of our world can’t help but want to take part which is only effectively done by giving back. In that discovery we realize how much we already owe but openness (as opposed to matness) always brings it full-circle. The key is to remember we’ll have nothing to offer if we’re not first taking care of ourselves.
(|_|*cheers*|_|)
“The folks you help won’t remember it and the folks you hurt won’t ever forget it.†~ Bill Clayton
Dorian aka coffeesister |_|)’s last blog post..Found Fridays; groove found, back TO blogging
Great post! I was ready to put on a hair shirt and throw ashes in my face and walk around town with an “I’m an idiot” sign when I accidentally deleted a lengthy post, and your solution saved my day. This kind of neighborly attitude reminds me of the good guys I know who’ll get out of their car and give someone else’s stalled vehicle a push.
It makes the recipient feel grateful to be part of a community … and just that much more willing to give someone else a push, or a lift, or a boost, or a loan of the jumper cables when needed.
)
Carolyn Bahm’s last blog post..Twitter Digest: My Tweets for 2008-05-27