Thanks for the advice!

I tried to download the free book. The site cranks and reloads, but nothing downloads. I tried to read comments for a couple of posts and it just reloads the article page.

Perhaps you have changed the code since you determined it was a failure, or maybe it wasn’t tested in enough browsers? That would sure kill the commenting.

But thinking about it, in reality i feel quite good when someone asks me for help and to be able to help them makes me really feel good! i haven’t experienced such a setting in the Internet though.

your first point is right on!

Sometimes a blog isn’t the right solution

“I’m surprised at how few comments are left on this site given the amount of traffic it is still receiving. I believe it is because these people need a high level of anonymity as well as a bigger support group for their questions.

Lesson Learned :: Although a community is built around a blog, the people seeking help on this topic need more than just a comment field – they need a full blown forum.”

i see that a forum is really the way to go!

all the best!

Rob

Thanks Wendy! I found you on this site through Problogger, I’m glad that I did!

…One more thing your post makes me think about…the blog I’ve started is about weight loss but I approach it from more of a whole mind/body view….I apply the knowledge I’ve gained over the years of reading self-help books (now called personal development ) that I’ve been reading since I was 10 years old (I know, sounds weird, but I’ve always read a lot). Now I’m questioning whether or not I’m sharing too much personal info., and if I’ll risk burn out.

I need to think about this…

BTW, I just came back to this page through CoComment…I am using it per your recommendation (read your post a couple days ago). It’s really a handy little tool, thanks very much for the info on it!

JoLynn

I am so far from perfect- I’m the antonym. But that’s ok..to me.

Thanks again!

@ Jason Thanks for sharing your personal thoughts on the subject. It is indeed difficult for many people – not just you. Just the other day I shared some of the things that aren’t so perfect in my life right now. I think it’s important for us to know that each other is human – it helps us to be a little more accepting of ourselves, I think.

What do you think?

@ Garry – totally agreed. This site has evolved as well thanks in no small part to reader input. And I have to say that I love failures – they give great lessons!

@ Amanda – welcome back – I’ve missed you!

@ Gayla – you are SO right about that one – you’re one smart cookie! I used to think that same way about money – to stay broke to be with the people I wanted to help the most. Then it dawned on me that I wasn’t helping them – I was enabling them and making it ok to never stretch and grow. I’m so glad you brought that up!

@ JoLynn – a big welcome to you as well! I’m thrilled that you’ve been sharing more of yourself on the site here – it’s been great getting to know you better!

@ Jenny – you aren’t getting away with that ’round here!! Instead of what’s not working, I want to hear about what is going right on your new site – do fill us in!!

@ Sa – And welcome to you too!!! Thanks for speaking up!!

I actually started the spammy blog and this site at the same time – the other site was going to be a huge resource center for personal development – but when this site started taking off, it just made sense to focus on what was working.

So… overcoming fear of failure, eh? I think I have a few posts to share on that one:

http://www.emomsathome.com/blog/2007/04/19/the-biggest-blog-post-of-my-life/
http://www.emomsathome.com/blog/2007/01/08/how-to-recover-from-insurmountable-obstacles/

I killed my personal blog the other week, partly because of what you wrote about — having to relieve the past with each blog post. While those types of posts are helpful to a lot of readers who can relate, they definitely take an emotional toll on the writer after a while. It is incredibly difficult to build a new future when you are constantly reliving the past. I commend you for finding courage to move on and for passing along a great opportunity to someone out there who might be interested in starting a forum.

I would love to read a post about quitting your spammy site. People are afraid to quit because of all the stigma. They stick with bad ideas for too long. You would never be where you are today if you were still putting your time and energy into that spammy site. What made you move on to the next thing?
Did you fear that the next site would fail? If so, how did you overcome the fear of failure?

Love your blog — Keep up the good work!

What’s funny is that before I started my blog and was doing research on picking my domain name, looking at other blogs, etc., I came across your’s at WendyPiersall.com. I thought the design was so unique (you sitting on a tack, that image is great!). I only recently connected that you were the same person running emomsathome.

The greatest lesson that I get out of this post is that you didn’t give up. Just because you moved away a bit from your second blog, you didn’t give up on blogging.

I can understand based on what you’ve shared here, why you weren’t able to devote as much of your energy to your second blog. I think it’s great that you’re not abandoning it altogether though, as there is a need that you have already recognized. I don’t have any specialized experience in that area, sorry I cannot help. I commend you for putting the word out to others to fill the need.

Thanks for sharing this today,

JoLynn

I realized that I couldn’t help lift them up when I was sinking into a depression myself.

By taking time away and visiting every now and again, I feel I’m able to help more then if I were to stay aboard a sinking ship where I might have been the captain, but I was sinking nonetheless.

Wise decision — there are people out there who would love to do this sort of thing. I’ll help spread the word.