Dean's World

I am often asked what it takes to be a popular weblogger. I get that question fairly regularly, in email or sometimes in person. As obnoxious as it sounds, the truth is that Dean's World is a popular blog. So how did this happen?

Surely some of it is that I write well, and I've chosen contributors who also write well. Which, in the vast scheme of things, is about as significant as saying you can bench-press 250 pounds, or, that you're so flexible you can put your left foot behind your head. Or, you can kiss you elbow. Or, you can stick out your tongue and lick your nose. (Oh, go ahead and try it, no one's looking.)

Yes, if you can actually do things like that it's impressive. But so what?

The real truth to understanding blogs is that you have to realize that it is conversation. Not "like a conversation," either. It is conversation.

Every day on this blog--and I do mean every day--I make a mistake. Without fail, I make at least one mistake. And do you know what the result of that mistake is?

Someone points it out. And I either fix it, or, I say, "yeah, you're right."

The real secret to blogging is this: be you. Always be you. The more honest you are about things, including yourself, the more people respect you. Never apologize for being you. Never apologize for being wrong, either. Just say, "I was wrong."

Oh that's so hard isn't it? Those three difficult words: "I was wrong." Or you can say it more informally: "Whoops, you got me."

Even if you are not a sports fan--and I am not generally a sports fan--the sport of American baseball is very instructive. If you watch baseball at all, you should notice that it is a study in failure. Pretend for a moment that you are a professional baseball player: if your lifetime batting average is .333, you will almost certainly be inducted into the Hall of Fame. You'll be one of the greatest who ever played the game.

.333? That means that in a thousand times at bat, you made it to first base 33% of the time. It's not even that you scored. You just have to have made it to first base at least 33 times out of a hundred.

Which means you failed 66% of the time. That achievement would make you one of the greatest players in history.

Many people consider Babe Ruth the greatest baseball player of all time. Maybe he was, maybe wasn't. But his lifetime batting average was .349. Which means that out of a thousand times at bat, he made it to first base 349 times... and was struck out or called out 651 times. And, that's not even how many times he scored. I's just how many times he made it to first base. (For non-baseball fans, that means he only came close to scoring.)

The greatest player who ever played the game f***ed up 63 times out of 100. He failed far more than he ever succeeded.

But he never quit, did he?

If you blog, you should put 100% of your passion behind it. Your only promise to yourself (the most important promise is always to yourself) should be that you are honest.

You will always have bad days. You will always f*** up. You will always make mistakes.

Your only test: "Was I honest? Did I speak truly to what was in my soul?" If you can do that, you can be proud. Even if you often make an ass of yourself (and I promise you, you will), if you were honest then you know you did good

But don't stop. That's the real secret.

Don't ever stop.