The First Steps of a Long Word Journey

The Forrest Four-Cast: August 17, 2016

August 17 is the first day of first grade for my six-year-old son. So August 17 also makes for a good day for me to launch the writing project that I’ve long considered doing. Often, we are inspired to action by those much younger and less cautious than ourselves.

The goal here is to produce a daily four-paragraph post (hence the “four” pun in the title) through spring 2017. If I am more comfortable with this format six months from now, then I may continue this writing project for even longer. In some instances, these posts will cover the big event in Austin in March that I am involved with. In other instances, I will write about the many other things that interest and intrigue me. Why this daily writing exercise? Because I have always told myself that I want to be a writer when I grow up. When I repeat that line to others, it usually gets a chuckle or two. I like saying things that make people laugh . But, on balance, I’d like to go beyond this funny line and write things that help encourage myself and others to think in different ways. No small task there.

When not following the lead of my first-grader, I am also inspired by people like Seth Godin, who emphasizes the importance of daily writing at the 1:01 mark of this great podcast with Tim Ferriss: “Everyone should blog every single day. If you are in public making predictions and noticing things, your life gets much better [by doing this].”

The long march to March begins with these small steps. I hope that you will check back in on me as this journey moves forward.