How does one go from a 5-times a week blogger for over three years to being the guy with the blog not updated in weeks? Simple:
Turn his world upside down.
Not that kind of upside down. That actually looks pretty pleasant. Creative Commons image courtesy of notsogoodphotography.
When I was on staff with CCC, I used my internet presence to process life. I vented on the blog. I talked about the hard parts about my job. I made light of the silly things I did at my job. I spent most of the time talking and writing about what I did on a daily basis: seek to reach people with the gospel in creative ways, and using the internet.
Now my job is to “connect people to their world” by selling mobile phones, internet, and TV solutions. I am thoroughly a fish in water surrounded by smart phones and the latest technology. And I am finding out that I REALLY enjoy customer service and sales. It’s fun to see every customer as a puzzle. They need to experience something memorable at the AT&T store for me to feel like I’ve done my job.
Sure, they primarily need a cell phone, or UVerse set up at their house, or a way to get internet access at work. But I want them to receive not only that but to enjoy it. If you aren’t smiling when you walk in, I want you to be smiling when you walk out. My favorite transactions are ones where I clearly make money and provide for my family, but I also meet a need for the customer. It’s a win-win.
So I love my new job. But it’s not really conducive to producing experiences from which I can generate memorable content for my blog centered around missions and life. Here’s the three main reasons:
1. I can’t blog about outreach in progress. “Hey pray for my coworker Billy, I’m pretty sure he wants to accept Christ.” It’s insensitive to Billy and counterproductive.
2. I can’t vent about frustrations with my job or the structure of the company. It is neither wise nor helpful to digitally bite the hand that feeds you. Besides, I am overall very satisfied with my job. And so I can’t blog about pay structure or the intricacies of working in a hybrid corporate/retail environment (I signed away that ability when I accepted the job)
3. I’m learning discretion and patience. This new season of life has been educational in so many ways. I’m very thankful for it. It’s just meant I either become the guy who just blogs about his kids (and nobody likes that guy) or I spend some time away, storing up good content for later.
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