Go Out with a BANG.

Last updated on April 13th, 2021 at 04:19 pm

The hardest part of creating great content is figuring out where all the pieces go.

The Life and Times of Casey Palmer—The State of the #BloggerLife, September 2018—Go Out with a BANG.—LEGO Pieces

The job of a great storyteller is creating a compelling narrative from beginning to end. No fluff to lose your audience’s attention. No ambiguity so they miss the point. A great storyteller uses every tool at their disposal to tell tales that stay with people long after they hear them.

And it’s rare—with blogging, most creators only think a post at a time. They pat themselves on the back for a job well done when they knock a story out of the park.

But there’s a much bigger story at hand—that massive overarching story that started when you shared your very first piece of content with the world and that you’re still developing even as you hustle today.

Maybe it was when you first became a parent and started jotting all your thoughts as your whole world changed around you. For others, it’s that proud moment they finally start a business and begin changing their destinies.

But for me, it goes back earlier still—to my first days as a writer in the ’90s when I wrote short stories and novels as a teenager. I didn’t know then what I know now—that it was the start of a story more than twenty years in the making. One that’d show me where I need to go next.

In the Belly of the Beast

Last updated on April 13th, 2021 at 12:30 pm

The Life and Times of Casey Palmer—The State of the #BloggerLife, August 2018—In the Belly of the Beast—Casey at JapanQuakeTO
Photo courtesy of Chris Luckhardt.

I told myself that once I made my way through my never-ending pile of paper, I’d get myself a Nintendo Switch with the latest Mario and Zelda games to reward myself for all the hard work. Which is great, because getting months ahead in my content by getting all of this done is the only way I’d find the time to play them.

But if you’re new around these parts, my problem with paper’s not entirely new.

It’s not the paper itself that’s the problem—I’m my most creative when I write things out by hand—but all that creativity leads to a ton of unfinished ideas, piling up to the sky as they await the finishing touches that’ll let me share them with the world! I’ve kept a high standard for my work—easy wins like question posts and blindly following trends isn’t my style… I’m trying to create content that’ll forever outlast me. We’re in a world right now where few want to invest in anything needing more than a few minutes of their time, but I’d rather not sell my soul for the sake of popularity.

There’re bigger prizes at hand.

THIRTY-FIVE: Just Trying to Thrive!

Last updated on July 11th, 2019 at 01:42 pm

Thirty-five—it doesn’t feel like a big deal, but it sure sounds like one.

THIRTY-FIVE—Just Trying to Thrive!—Baby Casey

I’ve made birthdays a bit of a non-event for myself since having kids. It isn’t me being “emo” about it as Sarah surmised last year when she planned out a wonderful surprise dinner with my family, but the exact opposite.

I’m not who I thought I’d be at 35, living a regular life and working a regular job. Somehow I’ve managed to build this world around me that has excitement at every turn, and though it takes a lot to keep it going, I never question whether I’m living life to the fullest. I feel like I’m fulfilling my purpose every day, getting more done some days than others.

And that’s why I didn’t make a big deal about my birthday—because it was just another day celebrating my life like I do every day.

But 35 isn’t just about turning 35—there’s an entire year ahead looking to see what I can do!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018!

Last updated on November 5th, 2020 at 12:04 pm

January 1st.

The time where many rest and recuperate from the holiday season, but for me, it’s the time of the year where I’m putting in work. Between my ambitious year-end wrap-ups (2700 words and counting…); the lists I prepare for the year ahead, and the work I put together for my Tales from the 2.9 Black History Month series, it’s not where you see me at my most relaxed, even with Christmas out of the way. Add a trip to Dad 2.018 and a couple of parenting keynotes in a month’s time, and I think there’ll be plenty to keep me occupied in the “slow season”.

The Life and Times of Casey Palmer—HAPPY NEW YEAR—Why 2018 Will Be My Most CHALLENGING Year YET.—Typeset Lettering
Amador Loureiro

In some ways, I did it to myself. Whenever I explain how busy my life is to others, they’re often quick to point out it’s a problem of my creation, putting so much of myself and my time into a blog whose reins I’ve held ever firmly for the past seven years.

But that doesn’t mean I ever intended to do it alone. Even from day one, I sought collaborators out among my family and friends, thinking that things would be simpler if we pooled our resources instead of everyone trying to be top dog and stepping on each other’s toes as our brands grew. I kept trying to make partnerships happen for years, but it never came together.

Some of it was me and the ever-increasing demands in my life keeping me from developing yet another project. Or those who didn’t share my vision or stood convinced they were better off alone when the market was rife with opportunities. Whatever the reasons, the fact is that I have a mountain of work before me today, and as far as I can see right now, I’m the only one who can get it all done.

But I’m far from hopeless. Far from believing I’m the best suited to manage everything on my plate right now, but right now I’m all I’ve got. I’ve got blogs to write, contracts to sign, reports to compile and a brand to develop—what was once just a hobby is now enough to keep a team busy… and you know, maybe it should.

Papier

Last updated on April 4th, 2021 at 06:31 pm

It’s the same thing every time—sit down, pull out my stack of paper and rifle through it ’til I find something good to write about. Sometimes I come up short. Sometimes I find a gem. I never quite know what I’ll find, but the one thing I know’s that I’ll always wander back to my palace of paper with hundreds of half-formed thoughts waiting to spring to life!

A Slave to My Machinations—What it Takes to Put Out a Post

I’ll probably never escape my process.

Papier—An Old School Blogger's Battle with Perfectionism—Desk Setup Busy Working
Photo by William Iven on Unsplash

The most significant problem of this empire of paper I’ve built for myself is that it takes so long to transform ideas into posts that at times it feels like I’m not making progress at all.

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