More Challenges: Reaching for the Stars

   

All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.
- Napoleon Hill -

If you can dream it, you can do it.
- Walt Disney -



         We are climbing towards the magic 500!   Wow!   What a job you all are doing.  You have been making a great effort to make the A to Z Challenge a success. There have been some really helpful posts that have provided very useful information. I have been enjoying these posts and I thank each of you for these. Now I'm wondering who would like to step this Challenge up a bit?

         It's an exciting feeling to be a part of something big.  If you've ever run in a big marathon, been part of a big campaign, or just pitched in and helped others accomplish something really big, it can make you feel bigger and better about what you've done after it's over.  To look back and be able to tell others that you were a part something that was a major event can give you a sense of accomplishment and historical significance.  Wouldn't you like to look back on the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge of 2011 and be proud to say that you were a part of it?

          That why I'm asking you to help make this challenge a truly momentous event.   I am proposing two additional challenges to help Blogging from A to Z  become something bigger and more memorable:

1) Tell a friend:   I am challenging each of you to invite at least one friend to join us in this upcoming week.  I know that many of you have already been doing this and thanks to those efforts many bloggers have added their names to our list of A to Zers.  But there are still a lot of you who know other bloggers who haven't joined up yet. You bloggers will have the greatest sway in convincing your friends not to be left out of the fun.   If a quarter of you can persuade at least one friend to join up we will be well over the 500 mark by the end of this week.  How many more bloggers can you get to join us in the Challenge?



2) Tell the world:   I also challenge you to write up a press release to send in to your local paper or other publications. This may be tougher for some of you.  Some folks will be "afraid" and think they don't know how to do this.  Tomorrow (Sunday 3/13) and Wednesday (3/16) I'm going to offer some suggestions on how to approach this.
         I'm sure that many of you A to Z participants know someone connected with a publication who might be able to help you do this or have had some experience in getting press releases published and already know how to go about this.
          Any of us who have something to promote will find it advantageous to have our names and products mentioned as being connected with this world encompassing A to Z Challenge. The large publications might be more difficult, but small town newspapers, local newsletters, or specialized websites are definitely can-do. I invite anyone who gets something about the Challenge published to put it up on their blog so they can share it with all of us. If you email me a copy or a link I will also feature it on my blog.

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              I am putting forth these challenges to every one of you.  Since we already know that no one of any of us in the challenge can effectively visit and reach out individually to every participant, I figure it will be better to be a part of something big. Let me know what you think of these challenge ideas.

             Having our names attached to a big event that gets a lot of attention will be beneficial to each of us and to whatever it is that we do.  This Challenge is a reputation builder for us. It certainly can't hurt to get your products or agendas or your names buzzing around the news, blogs, and search engine pages. There's nothing better than getting others to get the word out for us. I hope this sounds good to you. If so, please push these ideas on your sites as well.

             The World Premiere of The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2011 will be happening on April 1st.    Our Grand Opening happens in three weeks!   I'd like to see a stellar premiere on April 1st.

          Why just be contented with telling each other about the Challenge?   Let's spread the word to our friends, neighbors, and families.   Let's tell the world!

         Tomorrow I will be addressing some of the reasons why we might want to be contacting media and how it benefits you personally.   Then, this coming Wednesday March 16th, I will be talking about the topic of press releases--what they are and how to work with them.  This is information that can help those of you willing to forge ahead with the challenges I've given you today and for your own use in the future.

          This coming Monday I will be appearing on Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog to tell the story of how this Challenge all came about in the first place.   My blog will be visited by a guest host who lives in Japan.  He sent me an email this morning to tell me that he is okay.  But let's not forget to keep our wonderful friends in Japan in our prayers as they deal with their current tragedy.




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60 Words but not in 60 Seconds

                                                        



         Nahno McLein is hosting the 60/60 Blogfest.  You have until next Wednesday to enter.  Go here to find out more.  So here is my 60 word submission, but it's going to take me more than 60 seconds.

The art of brevity is a misnomer.  The history of art spans a long stretch of time.  And the range of variety within the arts is broad and as infinite as the mind will allow.  How can art and brevity even be used side by side?  How can a windbag like me expect to be brief?  Me?  Sixty words? Hmmph!

       So that is my sixty words according to Word Count.  And you know?  I actually counted them myself and came up with sixty.  That Word Count is pretty amazing isn't it.

        Thank you Nahno for the 60/60 Blogfest!

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          Please come back tomorrow for a special announcement.   I have an additional challenge related to the April Challenge.  I'm hoping that I can find a few good bloggers to help me take A to Z from ground level and send it soaring into the stratosphere. 



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A Clash of Culture

           Nahno McLein wrote about a cultural event that had been presented at his university and it reminded me of a story of something that happened when I was in college so many years ago. 

         Now, I have posted some stories about my friend Fred in the past, but today's story is about a different friend who was also named Fred.   This Fred was a larger than life character in both physical presence as well as personality.  You couldn't help but like Fred when you met him.   He had amazing abilities of drawing people to him because of his generosity, his good humor, and his outgoing nature.  This was in the early 1970s.  Fred had come down from his hometown near Chicago to visit me in Knoxville where I was attending the University of Tennessee.

         As with most communities of academia, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville had many programs concerning the arts.  They would bring in various touring groups who would stage presentations for free or at a very nominal charge.  I would attend many of the lectures, films, plays, and musical presentations, usually alone since I lived a good distance away from campus and was not very integrated into the university community.

        One program that had particularly captured my interest was a multimedia presentation of dance, film, and avant-garde music that was to be presented on a Tuesday night at the University Center Ballroom.  It just so happened that Fred's visit coincided with this event which I very much wanted to see.  Fred agreed to accompany me to the presentation as did Forrest, a musician friend of mine.

        Befitting one his size, Fred loved to eat--often and heartily.  As we made our way to the Ballroom, Fred stopped at the University Center Snack Bar and purchased a large bag of M & M's and an equally large size bag of pistachios.  With Fred in a leather jacket that looked more like motorcycle gang fifties and Forrest in a buckskin outfit that was a sort of nouveau theatrical hippie garb, I was feeling a sense of regret in having invited my friends to this lofty cultural affair.

          Inside the ballroom my uneasiness was heightened as I looked at the roomful of bohemian artsy types and snooty looking faculty gathered for the show.  I guided my group to the back row hoping that we would go unnoticed.  My friends showed no sense of embarrassment about the way we looked and good-naturedly followed me to our seats.

          The show began.  All I can say is that it was weird and dare I say--boring.  I pretended to be engrossed in the performance.  As I snuck glances about me it looked as though the students around us were not very impressed either.  Sweat began to bead on my forehead as I wished that I had not convinced my friends to come to this event.  Then when I thought I could get no more uncomfortable, Fred took it to a higher level.

        To my horror he took out the paper bag of pistachios, loudly crinkling it open.  The crack of each shell seemed to resonate throughout the venue causing heads to turn.  Forrest helped himself to a handful and also began cracking them open.  I declined when Fred offered the bag to me feeling shame that I had brought  such uncultured louts to a highbrow event such as this.  And then it got worse.

        Fred offered the bag to the guy next to me--and he accepted it!  Soon the bag was being passed up the aisle and the back row became a cacophony of rattling paper and cracking pistachio shells.  The mood became festive in the back of the room as the dancers in front moved modernly before screens of kaleidoscopic projected images to avant garde sounds that someone had thought was music. 

       Before long those around me were all munching on pistachios and M & M's and the absurdity of the situation hit me.  The feeling welled from deep within me as I heaved and convulsed with stifled laughter.  Fred and Forrest watched me with amused expressions.  I felt that I was going to explode.

       I stood up and led my friends out of the Ballroom.  As I emerged into the hallway loud guffaws let loose from me.  Fred joined in with a lusty laugh as Forrest's staccato chuckles made us a trio of funny fellows.  We staggered down the hallway nearly bouncing off the walls.

       That dance troupe may have been professionals who'd come all the way from Atlanta to do some dumb multimedia thing for a bunch of pseudosnobs who thought it was all worth watching for some haughty reason.  What they were missing was the fun.  As we headed back to the car I realized that my friends were the real entertainment and there was probably a whole row of audience back there that wished they were leaving with us.   Fred, Forrest, and I laughed all the way home and for years afterward.

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         Nahno is hosting a 60-60 Blogfest until next Wednesday March 16.   Make sure you check it out.  There is a prize involved.   I am going to try to come up with something for Friday.  Check back then to see if I was able to do it.




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