We Are on Apple News

You can now find this blog on Apple News, the content delivery service that delivers news directly to you in a beautiful format. 

You can check out the channel here (iOS 9 only).

I will also be expanding to Facebook Instant Pages once that service is available for me to apply to. 

Thanks go to Apple for letting me publish content on Apple News.

Why do this?

The future of content is about being where your audience is and not expecting them to find you. I’m taking an important step towards being where your eyeballs are. 

Thanks for reading the blog and for your kind comments along the way. 

KG Heath is a health tech professional, author, and lifestyle blogger. You can download his debut novel here. 

Now On Facebook

With it’s billion users and the fast moving strategy for Facebook Instant Articles, my audience is seeing so much of their favourite content through the Facebook Silo.

And the numbers can be staggering. Comparing views of Youtuber videos where YouTube hits might be 2 million, a recent video I saw had 24 million views.

It’s also a great platform to continue the conversation. And I enjoy that element of blogging the most.

Articles will still be here first in full, but you can also get your fix by liking the Facebook Page.

You can also find my articles on LinkedIN Pulse if that is your preferred platform. It’s currently a little harder to publish there, but I will continue to make it work.

I have also experimented with Medium, but I’m not a major fan. Who goes there?

Once available to all publishers, I’ll get onboard the Instant Articles train.

Here’s to a super-duper 2016 for the blog and my loyal readers.

Like the Page!

Why Nobody Cares – The Pain of Creation

For creators, there is a sad truth. Just because you made something does not mean anyone will care.

Whether it’s a YouTube channel, an Instagram account of amazing artwork, or a blog. Do not assume a throng of people will come, just because you completed the art of creation.

Does that mean we shouldn’t create? No, you must.

Why No One Cares

I said in my interview on the Build Your Platform podcast with Andy Stitt, your friends and family can’t be relied upon to be your first loyal audience. They will either dissuade you from the act of creation, or will not engage with your creation.

Is it because they are heartless bastards who want you to suffer in a pit of your own despair? No. They have their own lives and have no idea of your pride, or excitement in what you have made. Maybe they don’t like that kind of thing.

You also can’t expect the world to come running to your YouTube channel, or whatever else creative portal. Expect to be shouting into the void. You’ll be doing that because there is too much shiny out there, and these platforms are designed to support those who are popular, because the community endorses them, or the algorithms understand their work enough to promote with the confidence the audience will like them.

It’s also the artists journey, to at first make when no one is watching, to never give up until the world comes running.

Why You Should Create

If you have a talent, whether it is singing, photography, writing, painting, etc, then you should utilise that skill. You should hone it, and you should let it free into the world.

But, you cannot allow vanity to get in the way. Likes and followers allow for some instant gratification, but your work is not about them.

Creation is about letting your ideas free, to make something only you could have made and to share that with others.

But, it’s also about helping and connecting with others. Meet up with, or connect online, with other creators. Remember, YouTube, Instagram etc are social networks, so engage with others.

We need to fully explore the topic of platform building in more depth, but creation, broadcasting, is not enough. The future is about engaging.

In short, the tl;dr, is this:

Create like nobody cares.

How Seth Godin Manages His Life

To the loyal readers of this blog, I don’t have to do any introduction to Seth Godin. But, let’s just say he is a specialist in the area of shipping and marketing.

I have found his writing and talks to be utterly fascinating since I first stumbled across him about six years ago. Since then, I’d devoured what I can online. I have read a few of his books, but not as many as I should do. If you knew what my book backlog looked like, you would know why.

But, Seth Godin is someone you need to enjoy in either audio, or video – or, as I’m so jealous of, in person like my friend Fraser did whilst volunteering for one of his courses in New York.

And that’s why I’m recommending this podcast episode to you. I think it makes for the ultimate example of Seth Godin at his best. You will certainly come away with some great learning from this experience.

Stick your headphones on and do the dishes to this one.

Listen to the episode here.

Make This The Year You Start Your Journey To Fulfilling Your Ambition

We all have career and life goals, and they seem so difficult to attain. But, here’s the thing. This can be the year you start your journey.

And it’s easier than you think — not to reach your end goal, but to start the journey there.

As Casey Neistat says:

“It’s not the ideas that matter, but the execution.”

That means you need to start, and do, and work, and finish.

All of that is going to be on top of the day job — or the three jobs you hold down. But, the sooner you start to do the real work you’re dreaming of, the sooner you will achieve your end goals.

This year can be about starting and doing. You just need to start.

If you want to be a Youtuber, you just make an account and start making you first video. If you want to be an artist, then you be start making some art. If you want to have your own business, then you best start working on your product/service.

Don’t Have A Definite Goal?

If you’re not sure what you want to do, then you need to start doing more of anything. It’s only through action that you will find your purpose.

Because sometimes, your purpose will be a surprise to you.

Go and meet more people, experience more things, say yes to what you makes you scared (especially if it’s about what other people will think of you).

Adventures are meant to be scary.

You can make this year what ever you want it to be, you just need to do it.

Tell me what you are going to do with this year in the comments.

Anywhere But Medium

If Medium were more humble, or if they had competition, I would relax about it. But I remember how much RSS suffered for being dominated by Google. And Google was a huge company and could have afforded to run Google Reader forever at a loss. Medium is a startup, a well-funded one for sure, but they could easily pivot and leave all the stories poorly served, or not served at all. I’m sure their user license doesn’t require them to store your writing perpetually, or even until next week.

This article makes a really interesting point about how your content being held in an eco-system like Medium isn’t a good thing.

Personally, I use places like Medium and Pulse for their discoverability in aid of pointing more people towards this blog. Given the points raised in this post, I think that’s probably the best way of using these kinds of services.

Read more.

Via DF.

My One Year of Blogging Since the Your Turn Challenge

For those of you who don’t know, things really kicked off when I took part in the Your Turn Challenge – a 7 day long challenge put on by Seth Godin to inspire a group of like-minded individuals to learn the art of shipping everyday.

You can learn more here.

And, it’s been a year since I took part. It’s time to review what I have shipped in that time.

The Footsteps of Madmen Podcast

It’s been a little slow going due to the fact I produced this arse about face. You definitely can’t write a horror story faster than you can narrate and produce it. This led to major production delays.

My bad. But, the project is still alive and I learned a ton of lessons in podcast production.

More episodes will be coming as these characters are very much alive and will form a major series of writing from me.

The Blog

I quickly outgrew the confines of Tumblr. It was great for me farting about, but the real work, and the real exposure came from my move to WordPress. This seems like a great platform for exposure and having the right tools to enable a blog to thrive.

The Positive Pragmatist blog continues to have engaged readers. This is a great avenue for me to help others move through life. It’s not easy and the more I can help people, the better I feel about myself in the world, and the more that I learn about myself.

Thanks to the you, my dear reader.

Subscriber List

I started an email list, which turned more into a way to share blog articles. I didn’t like that much.

I’m now only using the list as a way to share my valuable content. My aim is to ensure that my content is free to the end user, and I’ll figure out the monetisation model as we go along (I’m thinking of sponsorship, but more on that later). So, the list is a way of tracking uptake and giving me a safe route to share my valuable content in a way that allows for fan engagement.

I Published a Book

Actually, it’s a relaunch.

I originally published my debut horror / fantasy novel through Amazon. I wasn’t too happy with the platform and too many people seemed to not have a Kindle, or know you can have the app for free.

So, I decided to follow the advice that Seth Godin said nobody does. Share your first book with at least 100 people and allow them to do what they like with it.

So, I decided to share it with over 500 people instead. Let’s see what happens.

The book is totally free to the reader, and you are more than welcome to send it to friends.

I’d love to know what you think. Subscribe above and you will receive your free, do what you like with it (ie. share it), copy in your email hole. At the time of writing, it’s not released yet. Watch this space though, because it’s coming faster than you know.

Lifestyle

I came to understand that I live my life in a particular way. It’s not perfect, but there is a framework to it.

I call it the Positive Pragmatist approach to life. I’m putting my thoughts on this together in what will be a small book, Becoming the Positive Pragmatist

This has been important for me to understand the things I do, and why I do them. My life can cause me some frustrations, but it’s working for me. I think you could get a lot from the lessons I have learned, and the frustrations I face.

Focus On My Health

I started to work out more regularly and to eat better.

It’s not been a perfect ride, but I’m getting better. I have certainly lost weight, and put on some muscle where there wasn’t much.

The project continues. I’m first focussing on getting strong, and then fit. A recent run through the park showed me how bad my fitness has gotten to. I might also have a mild case of asthma returning. I’m wondering if I can fight that through fitness.

2016

It’s a new year, my aim is to keep on this path, to continuing growing myself, my platform, and to bring value to the world. I’m embracing what I do in my day job with what I do outside of work. Since I started doing that in September, I have found nothing but positive outcomes.

We hold ourselves back, but we envy those who put themselves out there.

Well, in 2016, I’m putting myself out there.

I’m returning to my roots in photography, and will be taking Instagram and YouTube seriously. Expect a lot of slowmo and timelapse work, as well as awesome photography. You can find me on Instagram and my YouTube Channel as KG_Heath. It’s all about creating, and shipping.

Keep shipping, every day.

KG Heath is a healthcare technology professional, horror author, podcaster, and self-improvement blogger. You can get his debut novel free here.

Status Update

Life is hard work, and about discipline. I’ve started a good many things in the last 10 months, but it’s time for a status update:

Diet – I lost a few pounds since the start of the year, but not where o want to be no know how, the thought patterns are there. I am making a big change in cutting sugar from my coffee which I will use to get back in the groove with my diet. 

Podcast – production is slow. I went into this to learn more about producing and recording a podcast. I’m an even bigger believer in the audiobook format for a podcast. FOM is not dead, and I’m working to get the next big chapter released over the next four weeks. 

Books – I’m rereleasing my horror / fantasy novel under a better title (the original that I should have stuck with) The Marsh. I’m going to ramp up launch for the holidays. It’s still ebook only, but will launch free to my subscribers and connections. Ten years in production. I’m also writing a Positive Pragmatist ebook which will also be free. 

Exercise – getting there. My arms are getting bigger and I can feel the muscles below my fat belly are toughening up. I just need to get this fitness training to be more consistent. 

Blog – I’m still seeing high rates of engagement, thanks to all of you. The blog is very much alive. Posting frequency is massively dependent on my other work levels. You can only operate to a certain high level. I still believe in quality and value over link-baitness. WordPress is a great platform for sharing and engaging with readers, and I’m glad I made the shift off Tumblr. 

Email newsletter – rather than reposting articles, I want the newsletter to be a bit like a free members area. Big, valuable freebies will now only be shared there. 

As always, I don’t have all the answers, but I see my mission as bringing my lessons learned and experiences to others and allowing you to reach your full potential. 

Changes To The Blog – More Posts

I have a reading list of blogs that I circulate most days, hoovering up the new blog posts. I get a little sad face when there isn’t a new post. When there is a long hiatus, I find myself not checking that particular blog as much. 

Because I read so many blogs and news websites, I get quite a reading list in Instapaper. I tend to have a thought or two about most of the articles I read.

I have thought about the frequency of posts to the blog, and not been happy that I don’t post as regularly as I would like.  So, over the last few days, I started to share some articles with my thoughts added. 

I have seen an instant increase in the amount of daily traffic coming from search engines and from WordPress. The links I have shared are in keeping with the main theme of this blog: finding your full potential in life, love, and work. 

My conclusion? My audience likes it when I post more and share links they would be interested in. Just because you run a blog it doesn’t mean you have to come up with the topics yourself. Blogs should also allow ideas to spread. 

The Positive Pragmatist blog will continue to be a mix of original writing from me, with an increased amount of link shares, always with my thoughts attached and how that article will help you to live a life full of continued growth and achievement. 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments. 

Update: GPEynon in the comments made a good point about subscribers to the blog. You’ll get an inbox full of posts. In light of this, I will be careful about the amount of posts sent per day and ensure they are all meaningful.