Greetings, Crickets! It’s been literally years since my last confession (or post) and much has happened in my life, as I’m sure it has in yours.

Yesterday, I went through my email on my computer, a rarity since I normally check it on my phone. This allowed me to really scan everything in the inbox, which has come to resemble my physical mailbox in the amount of solicitations, notices, bills and other junk I receive.

In the midst of that cacophony was an email from a person who had written me three times and I missed their outreach until now. Surprisingly, they read one of these blog posts. And all they wanted was for me to read and repost an article they believed was important for other writers to know.

At first I was shocked that someone read anything I wrote here. Then I wondered how, after reading the post they did and seeing no responses to it, they considered me enough of an influencer to make a difference for someone else.

I did read the article they liked, and I agreed with a lot of it (as far as how certain applications can benefit writers), but I declined to post the article here for two reasons. One I shared with them, the other I will share here.

The purpose of this blog was never to influence someone else. Maybe entertain them, should they stumble across it, but not to guide them in any way. I write, yes. And I write a lot for my job (in a far different way lately than before, but I still edit and write a great deal); I have done so for quite a few years now. Yet I will be the first to admit I am a far cry from an expert; I’m not sure I have much to teach. Advice is cheap, and I never know if any thoughts of mine will apply to what someone else is trying to do.

That said, if any crickets are here, if you haven’t hopped away after this much of a gap in my posts, then let me say that I hope my words can encourage you. Explore writing or any method for expressing your thoughts and feelings. Take a chance and take a course to improve what you do or find a mentor who can positively guide you through your exploration of what you are capable of.

And remember, you–the decisions you make or don’t make, the stories you tell yourself, the goals and habits you allow yourself to set or break, the people you purposefully allow to sway your thinking–are the greatest influencer of your own life.

Until next time, take care.