Jan
Happy New Year!
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2007 is here and I am all over it! Happy New Year to all of you! I have a few things in store for you this year.
Site Changes
You may have noticed that the blog is not on the home page anymore. It’s at this address: http://www.balancedlifecenter.com/blog Be sure to update you bookmarks. I wanted to make the home page like a foyer: the place where you are welcomed and introduced to the blog. I also have some long term plans for the site that make a static home page more important.
This year I’m monetizing the site. That’s always been the plan. I’ve wrestled with the how for some time and settled on advertising. As long as the content on this site is provided for free, there will be advertising. It may seem at diametric odds with the purpose of the site, but it’s the easiest method right now. Later on, when this is my full-time endeavor, you might see a shift to advertising for workshops, book promotions, and other forms of monetization.
Before the Christmas break, I had a few coincidental requests to provide more information about myself. To that end, I’ve put up a new About page. It’s still not autobiographical, but you’ll learn a bit about me and why I’m blogging about spirituality.
Speaking about spirituality, I’ve vascillated about the focus of the site and you may have seen a few versions of the title, but I’ve decided on spirituality as a theme. The focus is on applying spiritual principles to your life: living those principles and beliefs that you hold dear.
Year of Prayer
Next Sunday, I will begin a year long series of posts on prayer and meditation called Year of Prayer. The idea is to explore spiritual practices within different faiths. There will be months focused on a particular type of prayer, while others are focused on understanding a religion. Having a spiritual practice is key to developing your spiritual understanding and it also has the side effects of putting your life in perspective and keeping you balanced. During the course of the year, you might find a few options that you can incorporate into your life.
From time to time, I’ll put out requests for guest bloggers on various faiths and styles of prayer. I’d also like to spotlight reader spiritual practices and experiences with prayer and meditation.
Fab 5 on Friday
When I hosted the carnivals, I realized that there are tons of blogs out there with quality content that aren’t getting much play. Fab 5 on Friday will be my way of highlighting those unsung heroes and some very well-sung ones as well. Every Friday, I’ll spotlight 5 posts that I found interesting around the blogosphere. You can pick this up on your blogs or send me your picks, or leave your picks in the comments. If I get a lot of reader picks, I’ll do 5 of mine and 5 of yours.
More New Stuff in 2007
In addition to the items above, I’ll be doing book reviews, interviews, and polls. I’m really excited about creating an active, centered, flourishing community on Balanced Life Center. I’m looking forward to healthy discussions, new relationships, and an on-fire blog!
Happy New Year!
In Spirit,
Nneka
January 2nd, 2007 at 6:09 am
Hi Nneka,
And a Happy New Year to you too!
That’s a great about page you’ve composed, I really enjoyed learning a bit more about you. All the best with your blogging plans - I’ll be happy to be a part of the community you’re building here and will be glad to see you on my own blog pages as well.
I hope 2007 sees us realize many of our plans and dreams, and look forward to more of your wonderful articles!
January 2nd, 2007 at 9:50 am
Wonderful work Nneka, and thank you for sharing more about yourself. Your about page is wonderfully done, and thank you especially for providing the pronunciation of your name. I was looking for that as I was always unsure how to say it, and now I know.
January 2nd, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Gleb, 2007 will see us realize our dreams and goals. We can be a kind of online Mastermind group. I’ll send you a note about trading spaces
Phil, thanks for the compliment. I figured a few folks would appreciate the pronunciation. I keep thinking about how I’ll be introduced when I start public speaking in a big way. I can just see a college senior at convocation tripping over it. My parents knew what they were doing when they named me. It’s memorable
January 2nd, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Hey Nneka,
Happy new year, I wish you all the best with your resolutions!
Keep the faith!
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:31 am
I love your focus and enthusiam…back in stride again
love
dad
January 4th, 2007 at 12:19 am
Happy New Year Amit
Thanks for stopping by. I have to make my rounds.
Love you too Dad
January 4th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
A belated Happy New Year, Nneka!
The new About page looks good, and thank you for the picture. A picture makes people seem more real.
It’s going to be a great year!