"We don't have to be #1.....all we have to do is keep writing ....add a few more articles, some pictures, Market Conditions,  and  Neighborhood News. We just have to be consistent, and real.....that is what will get our Blog read."  I am in the midst of judging one of the hardest contests I've been involved with to date, just as my Points rolled over the 200,000 mark.  I find it very apropos that I am giving back just as I passed this magic number, as that has been the mark of my time on Active Rain....giving back to the Community.

Sally's Contest was on Acceptance.....and as a Judge I couldn't enter, however Acceptance has been my guiding light here on Active Rain almost the whole time.  When we start Blogging we know nothing (at least the smart ones know they know nothing) and watch with starry eyes at people with little Gold Stars, lots of Comments, and lots of Subscribers.....oh how we want to be like that :)

Acceptance is knowing that we aren't always sure we can do it, but we do it anyway.

In the Beginning these were my struggles:

• Title:  I struggled with this one in the beginning, and now I change my Title several times until it seems right...in fact just as an example here is the Title I started this Post with: For 200,000 Pts. you have to have Tolerance, Acceptance, and Flexibility so let's see if that is the same Title I have when I finish...LOL :)
• Comments:  I think I tried the action questions like "tell me what you think" etc. but they just   never felt right to me....for me they seemed fake, although they worked very well for others. I learned that certain people will read, not everyone will comment, and that I do not care if half the AR membership reads my Blog :)  I've evolved....LOL ;)
• Material for Posts:  Accepting who we are, and not trying to be someone else.  I have been on here for quite awhile now, and have written the amount of Posts that was comfortable for ME.....that's all any of us can do is what's comfortable for ourselves...to date I have NEVER written a Market Report as that just isn't what I want to write :)  And besides, that's too much work LOL :)  I write what I feel at the time.......and everyone is different, that's what I had to accept and sometimes tolerate.  Now aren't I the important one tolerating others .....:)
• Deal with Active Rain's "issues" :  even as I am writing this there are still many problems that are supposed to be resolved by tomorrow- Bob did say Friday right?

When I started Blogging I was so excited....this place had so much to learn I was on here for hours and hours just reading and commenting.  From the very beginning of blogging everyone said to know your Market...who are you blogging to?  That one was hard for me as once again I couldn't fit myself into the proverbial box. 

Finally I came up with my own answer, and it relieved me of any expectations. I wasn't here exclusively for Business, nor the consumer.  I found that writing my own style of motivational or inspirational Posts was what I liked to do....and if I was the one spending so much time writing then I better like what I was doing.

It appeared my Pattern was to write about things that affected all of us, and not just me.  I guess the ME was in my choice of Posts and how I wanted to write them, but typically I don't do me and my kids, or me and my anything Posts.  Once in awhile I do if it has a purpose.....

Will it make me laugh, or be fulfilled for that day?  Will my telling my story help anyone else out, just by knowing they may not be alone?  I wrote a few Posts on Tuesdays that I named Tuesday Truths.  These Posts were honest, raw feelings on current Real Estate things like Foreclosure and how it affected all of us including me, and on Lending and how it affected all of us including me. 

So, as my points have rolled over so have I expanded my Horizons.....I Twitter more, I have a nice Outside Blog, Facebook and Linkedin, and now a fun Squidoo presence.  I was able to move past my comfort zone of Active Rain because of everything I contributed and was given in return. 

So in closing this very long (and seemingly self- serving toot your own horn Post) I will leave with the same 3 words I Posted for my 99th Post and one of my favorite Posts that says what I think it's all about Brown Bag Blogs........Forget the Big Names .  A Post on Accepting Your Blog and My Blog are just as important as anyone else's out there.

Live, Love, and Laugh......that makes everything worthwhile :)

By: Kathy McGraw CELLing Realty in Riverside County with Compassion for self and others