A year ago today, apparently

It seems like only a year ago, which is indeed the case, that I started my first ever blog. As it happens it’s still my only blog although that may change in the not too distant.

I was reminded that I am only one year old by traditional WordPress auto-post, as follows

Happy Anniversary!

You registered on WordPress.com 1 year ago!

Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging!

I’m pretty certain that they haven’t actually checked the content of the blog so I’m not particularly flattered by the ‘good’ but it was nice to be reminded, although I may now have to placate the ghost of witchfinders past as per early postings.

What does seem particularly time-distorted is the fact that when this blog began, I wasn’t even half way through my discoveries and had no idea how my writing a blog would be received so I guess this would be a good place to reveal those successes;

11,171 Views

636 Comments

91 Countries

1471 Followers (974 WordPress, 267 Facebook, 226, Twitter)

These are the figures that persuade me maybe you guys like what I write. I’m really pleased and glad that those writing dreams weren’t, to keep it thematic, pure fiction.

Thank you, all of you.

Meanwhile, back to the usual discourse. It’s been an odd week of deliberate and unintended therapy, encouraging a small and frightened 4 year old somewhere from the depths of my past that all is now well and that growing up could well be the order of the day and then on to a little local networking with Sue, (international image consultant), about whom I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I guess I was thinking colour charts and drapes but in fact was quite stunned by the quality of therapeutic process in what she was doing. Think Gok Wan without the compulsory naked catwalk and you’re more on the lines of what she does. I’d never really considered that image consulting could be therapy.

If you’ve ever met me you’ll probably realise that this wasn’t my own image I was consulting, just an opportunity to meet and chat with someone in a vaguely allied field who lives just over a mile down the road from me.

Even though we were just chatting over coffee, she’s quite inspiring particulalry if you’re trying to encourage the inner you to rapid maturity. In a fairly self-deprecating way, this lady is working with people and companies from all over the UK and Europe, delivering talks and seminars worldwide and looking for opportunities to enhance what she does. And she’s good company. I have a feeling that her words are gently working their way through my unconscious and clicking into place.

Compared to her I feel as though I sounded less than enthusiastic about my own relatively meagre efforts but maybe that’s just the part of me that recent deliberate therapy is growing up from, if you see what I mean.

I have a feeling that my business is currently undergoing a lull, party due to the summer holidays and partly as I reassess the compass heading I’m following.

My mp3 downloads are doing quite well in terms of the feedback I receive about their effectiveness although the number of visitors to to actually buy them has reduced. Website visitors in general are up but conversion to appointments isn’t as high as I’d like, so my daughter and I redesigned some of the wordings to try out new approaches. I think it’ll make a difference and should be live later this week. I reckon we’ll work on a full rethink later in the year.

As I see it, it’s all very well being good at what you do but you do need people to do it with, otherwise you’re not actually being the very good that you could be, now are you?This is the time of quiet reflection, with different aspects coming together to lower the pace and give me the time and the inclination to check my heading and readjust where I’m going.

Things are definitely looking up. Not only is my learning-to-learn workshop being well received and promoted, I’ve been asked to write for Only Peterborough, one of the city magazines, who are looking to publish a mental health well-being column every month. Guess who was asked first! Oh yes. That should encourage more local publicity, don’t you think?

So where do we go from here, one year on and with blog readers continuing to increase?

There will be more to come on managing pain, particularly chronic pain and of course stress and related conditions will always feature.

My newer knowledge around understanding how we learn as individuals could have quite dramatic effects, increasing the quality of their study, improved results, embedding permanent learning and massively reduced exam stress.

As for the blog. Steady as she goes. I’ll keep posting weekly, if there’s enough quality chatter buzzing around my head and more or less often as inner wording allows. I might even indulge in the occasional offshoot here and there.

Other than that? Onwards…

…and definitely up!

Open the Shutters
© Tony Burkinshaw 2013

Related:

Sue Donnelly:        http://www.suedonnelly.com

Hypnotherapy mp3s (Chronic Pain Relief, Migraine Relief):   tonyburkinshaw.co.uk