“The best leaders, the people know not that they exist. They turn to each other and say, ‘We did it ourselves.`” ~Lao-Tsu
Hey readers and fellow Renegades!
Welcome to the “State of the Renegade” Address for October, 2010.
I hope that these monthly posts will give you a better sense of what updates, changes and developing projects have been ongoing and in the works at DaveUrsillo.com. I call these updates the “State of the Renegade” Address. I value your support and feedback and I hope that you’ll offer me some constructive criticism and any suggestions you might have in the comments section below.
October: Most-Read Month …Ever!
I’m very pleased to announce that October 2010 has been the single most popular month for readership in DaveUrsillo.com‘s history. Thank you so much for your readership, your support, your comments and feedback. This blog and all of my writing center around people — and the fact that over 2,000 readers from across the globe stopped by in October and read nearly 4,000 pages and posts is nothing short of incredibly humbling. In the website’s short history, over 16,000 men and women have visited DaveUrsillo.com. I am amazed, humbled and so grateful for your support.
With all this said, I must remind myself that one of the principles that I strive to live by is to be “a leader without followers,” or, in other words, to embody an alternative style of leadership that does not come to depend upon followers for validity. As happy as I am to see the readership at DaveUrsillo.com on a steady rise, I must continually remember that nothing ought to change about my writing or my way of life: I must remain true to myself, to others, to my living principles, and to my dreams.
The folly of modern elected leadership is this: many of even the most well-intentioned politicians and leaders become addicted and attached to superfluous measures of their influence — fleeting measures like job salary, job title, and their number of followers. The more they have, the better they perceive the effectiveness of their individual leadership: they think the more followers, status, and title they have, the “better” leaders they are. However, this causes many elected leaders to begin to act, speak, and live in order to solely retain their money, their career status, their job title. And when they inevitably lose their followers, they suddenly lose the will or the ability to be a leader.
The fact is that these fleeting, finite, superfluous measures of social success cannot even be held onto: they will inevitably be lost. Thus, depending on them for one’s sense of leadership will ultimately lead to undoubted failure. As such, I promise to you, the reader, and myself that I will never lose sight of the bigger mission at hand, or change the way I write, speak, and live to attempt to hold onto false-measures of leadership, success, and achievement.
More Aesthetic Updates and Design Changes
Like my new avatar? It’s on every page and post now (in the sidebar to the right), along with a new “Subscribe to my Free Newsletter” sign-up button. Did you know that you can receive every new post on DaveUrsillo.com to your inbox? Just put your e-mail address in the box to the right and hit Subscribe! You’ll notice that the primary Search bar is now featured in the top right hand side of every page on DaveUrsillo.com, in the black top navigation bar. I figured this would streamline the process of searching for something, especially through the homepage. Next to the search bar is a new page on DaveUrsillo.com, a “Welcome/Start Here” page for new visitors to gain some guidance and direction in figuring out what DaveUrsillo.com actually is and who I am.
You will also notice that in October I reverted from the Japanese kanji symbol for “Chi” or “Energy” to my old Shadow logo. I think that the Shadow (which is of me, actually!) is much more personal and recognizable for personal branding and brand development than the kanji symbol.
The Happiness Catalyst, E-Books, and the DaveUrsillo.com Shop
Last month, I began to tell you about forthcoming e-books that I have been writing:
- THE HAPPINESS CATALYST: a collaborative, free e-book written by Twitter-based writers seeking to inspire men and women to reconnect with their local communities on face-to-face, personal levels, as the basis for greater happiness in our everyday lives.
- DAWN OF THE RENEGADE: Part manifesto, part “Best of DaveUrsillo.com” anthology, this free e-book looks to be the spark in the lives of men and women desiring greater purpose and fulfillment in life through self-exploration, self-improvement and personal development in our very unique day and age.
- THE NATURE OF GIVING: Another free e-book comprised of a collection of stories, sayings, and essays on how giving, selflessness and gratitude are the basis for personal happiness and how giving — above all else — may be the only infinite and immortal quality that characterizes human existence.
- POWER FROM WITHIN: Intended to be the only pay-for e-book of this list, POWER FROM WITHIN is a bold and inspiring work that seeks to motivate readers to realize their uniqueness, abilities and talents; and develop their inner selves to their fullest potential — without external dependence upon anyone or anything but themselves.
To date, their progression has been steady, but deliberate (read: slow). Now that November is upon us, it is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short), and I am participating for the first time this year. The value of writing my first ever novel — for NaNoWriMo, a 50,000-word novel is the goal — in November remains to be seen, but I have a fairly interesting story concept so I am going to work toward writing 1,667 words/day. This will be in addition to my regular blogging efforts. As such, I am realistically anticipating THE HAPPINESS CATALYST as the first e-book to be released in late November, with the others following in, perhaps, January 2011.
As with most things, I’d prefer quality over quantity. So taking my time to make these e-books of the highest quality and with the most valuable content for you, the reader, is really important to me.
New Guest-Writing Opportunities
I have been attempting to expanding my platform and readership through exposure to other websites and blogs. Guest-writing and blogging offers the single best chance for writers to gain greater exposure. In October, I have been writing for Quarterlife Magazine as a new contributing writer and will be soon joining the Quarterlife Network — an exclusive network of websites created and run by Generation Y bloggers. Also, I’ve had the honor of having a guest-piece published by Inspired Magazine and its impressive 50,000-subscribers. As I’ve said time and again, we need to shelve the “Zero Sum Game” concept that by contributing our writing and original content to another website or blog (and for free), that we are losing (traffic, resources, money) in the process. Instead, embrace the “Billion Sum Game” — the selfless mindset that recognizes the more you pay it forward, the more you’ll ultimately receive in return.
What did October entail for you? Ready for an exciting November here on DaveUrsillo.com? Drop me a comment below :)
