My original blog, with its musings on politics, strategy, business and the like, with some societal warnings and inspirational material sprinkled in, had grown to over 700 posts and was, in my opinion, long overdue for a redesign. I've been told that my original blog infuriated those who hurt others or who used others as selfish stepping stones for their own greedy intentions, inspired those who needed help, provided appropriate warning for those who seek such things and helped people seeking guidance in strategy, technology, business and finance.
To the thousands of people who wrote to me over the years, to either thank me, condemn me or ask if they could reference my work in theirs, I am grateful to all of you. To those who went into hiding because their miscreant behavior had been exposed, I hope you took the opportunity to make yourself a better person.
And that brings me to another reason for not writing for the last couple of years. Many of the people I highlighted (mostly politicians) exhibited poor choices in either thought, word or deed and it was my intention to present their poor choices in the hopes that such things could be corrected. I believe in correcting the behavior rather than judging the person as I am aware of the impact of our environment on our personal development (especially in our formative years) and I recognize that I would exhibit behaviors similar to the behaviors I was condemning had I grown up in the same environment as the people whose actions I was judging. I don't judge those individuals and in fact, I often feel pity for them. However, people used my writings as a sledge hammer against the people themselves and this didn't make me happy when it was not the intention behind my posts.
My blog was also overdue for a redesign of purpose. With all of the great minds expressing their opinions in the world, there is a large amount of superfluous information out there. Some writers are not aware of this information overflow and share their thoughts as if they are new inspirations freshly discovered. Some know what they are about to share is already out there but they express those ideas again as their own or in the belief that they can express something that has already been said but make it fresh just because they said it.
There is also the burden of "everyone is talking, is anyone listening?" with the flood of information that is present and presenters of information must be cognizant of informing in order to create action as opposed to writing with the only result being that they have added more noise to the world. I found in my blog that I was starting to repeat what I had said before, the only difference being that I had a new example to use and this redundancy in idea expression didn't excite me.
Intelligent readers know that in the old days, knowledge came from knowing how to find and assimilate knowledge hidden in knowledge repository recesses. Now such knowledge is obtained by knowing how to filter out the noise and redundancy that exists in order to leave only the nuggets of knowledge exposed. I am sensitive to these things in thinking through the purpose of my new blog and hopefully, you will see these thoughts reflected in the new incarnation whenever it makes its appearance.
The words of Marcus Aurelius, expressing gratitude for the guidance of Rusticus, come to mind (from Meditations, Gregory Hayes translation):
The recognition that I needed to train and discipline my character. Not to be sidetracked by my interest in rhetoric. Not to write treatises on abstract questions, or deliver moralizing little sermons, or compose imaginary descriptions of The Simple Life or The Man Who Lives Only for Others. To steer clear of oratory, poetry and belles lettres.My blog will eventually return with new content, with a specific purpose and in a format that is more conducive to effective reading / sharing / knowledge application / action based on your needs and interests (and mine).
In the meantime, thank you for your support and critiques, your patience and your input. Much of your feedback is being folded into the new blog design.
Take care and create a great day, because merely having one is too passive an experience.
Yours in service and servanthood,
Harry
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