All this spiritual stuff might have you feeling that you really don’t need anything to live in peace and bliss. Well, that may be true, but I’ve found that getting out and participating is the key to true expression in life.

Last night I participated in Successful Blog’s Open Comment Night. I’d been trying to participate for a couple weeks, but always showed up too late to really get into it. Last night I had the 3rd comment. There were some awesome tips for organizing from Joe, Douglas, Gayla, Robert, Kirsten, Cat, Rick, Sandra, Hart, and several others.

My favorite tip came from Char:

I keep a three-ring binder on my desk that stays open. I have a spreadsheet that I print out at the beginning of each week and each client/project has its own box with 5-8 lines in it. I list my tasks for each project in the respective box on Sunday evenings and hit Monday mornings running. There are plenty of blank lines, plus a category for my blogs and my personal to-do list.

I used to complain about my hometown, saying there was nothing to do and that it was boring. Everytime I thought that it was boring, I would flinch as I remembered the French expression which translates into, “I bore myself.” I’m finally beginning to get out there and make friends.

My secret: participation.

Turns out that as you participate in different organizations online and in the brick and mortar world you begin to integrate. You naturally are around people with the same interest and you have tons more opportunity to click. By participate, I mean, go a step beyond showing up. It’s not as tough as you think. People don’t bite when you speak up in a conversation. Sometimes they ask you to hang out later and they really mean you.

So, if you find that you’re not in the mix, get out and participate. Online, that means comment, link, send and respond to e-mails. In the “real” world, that means talk to someone when you’re at a mixer, say yes to outings, be the host at events even when you’re not the official host (arrive early, and know where key locations are), introduce people you know to each other. When you show up, smile and participate. You will be enfolded into the group.

In Spirit,
Nneka