The Future of Life, Laughs & Lemmings

Recently I’ve been alluding to the fact that there were changes afoot here in the land of lemmings. Well the time has come to let you in on what’s new and what’s yet to come.

Before I get into the changes, let me just say that I realise this post is rather self indulgent and all about me, myself and my blog, but I felt it was important to fill you in because you crazy lot are an amazing community that I love being a part of.

Some of you have become great cyber friends who I one day intend to meet face to face. I value each and every subscriber, comment and link, and given I’m rather excited about this new direction, I wanted you guys to be the first to know.

Actually, you’re not technically the first. I haven’t shut up about it to my partner, Chris and my family. Not to mention Donna, my ever patient blechie (blog techie) who’s been tirelessly implementing the “back end” gobbledy gook that I understand as well as nuclear physics.

Anyway, here’s the deal. As I’ve progressed with this blog, I’ve found it has naturally evolved but you may remember a mini direction crisis I had not so long ago (for those of you who are new here, check out She’ll Be Right Mate for the gory details).

As with any crisis, whilst slightly painful at the time, it led to some soul searching of the purpose, passion and why-am-I-creating-this-blog-anyway kind. Here’s what I have since uncovered;

Conundrum 1: Wishy Washyitis

The issue: While I am a huge advocate of “living well” and many of my posts have been based on that topic, I found I’d lost my writing mojo around the subject. I realized that the term “living well” and what it stands for was a little, shall we say, wishy washy (yes, that’s the technical term) and lacking punch. 

The solution: I don’t just want to live well. I want a KICK ARSE life! “Kick arse” is the perfect term for my personality, my current life and my dreams. So, you will notice it used in different areas around the site. Sorry Mum, but I’m afraid it had to be done.   

Conundrum 2: Mission Find a Mission

The issue: I didn’t feel the blog had a solid mission that was aligned with what I’m really passionate about, good at and can help others with. Add to that the fact that I’m really not an expert at anything of any note (except maybe Flashdancing) so what the hell can I offer other people? I’m also a rebel at heart, like to stand for something and wanted this blog to be more than just a bunch of stories and more a force of positive change of some sort. Essentially, I wanted to have a mission, and a kick arse one at that!

The solution: I decided to look at my strengths. What am I good at? Well, first off, I can write. OK, so I’m no Ernest Hemingway but I can string a few words together, I enjoy the process and have a knack of writing with humour. I can make people laugh (usually at my own expense but I’m fine with that). I’ve been through a major life crisis, being the D word (new readers, see here for more gory details) and have not just survived, but thrived as a result of it. I’m told, although I’m not totally convinced myself, that I have the ability to inspire and bring people together. So, not a bad start.

Then I looked at what I love; making the most of life, realizing dreams, connecting with people, trying new things, collaboration, being part of something bigger, making a positive difference, giving back and making people laugh (note: these aren’t in any particular order and it’s not an exhaustive list but it’ll give you an idea).

I put my strengths and what I love together and found the intersection. And so was born the new mission; Helping people go from crisis to kick arse. Crisis meaning the pesky, little, day to day troubles right through to the biggies like the D word. And kick arse meaning living like you mean it, having dreams and making them happen and anything else that fits into the category of kick arse. For more detail on this as well as what you can expect to see here, check out the new what this blog’s about page.

Conundrum 3: A Need for Interaction,Collaboration & Giving Back

The issue: One of the awesome surprises I’ve found from blogging is the online community around my blog that crosses over into the communities of other very cool blogs. I love “hanging out” and connecting with other like-minded people. So, I wanted to see more interaction around Life, Laughs & Lemmings, more collaboration with other like-minded bloggers and more abililty to be able to give back to the Life, Laughs & Lemming’s community (and the world in general) through knowledge, help, support, whatever.

The solution: First let me say that overhauling this site is not unlike gutting and rebuilding a department store and then having to show everyone where everything is now located! So in light of that, I’ll be introducing you to the new facets over the coming weeks but here’s the bare bones for now; A new Tell Us Your Story feature in the sidebar, a “Daisy List Bud Club”, Create Your Own Daisy List feature, Reader Rescue posts, a cool “Random Acts of Kick Arse” joint venture involving other bloggers, free downloads and potentially a future Daisy List ecourse (that’s a ways off yet though). 

Conundrum 4: A girl’s gotta eat (and buy shoes)

The issue: When Chris and I returned from Canada back home to Australia in October last year, my plan was to finally get cracking on my dream of going into business for myself. I didn’t know what that business was going to look like but I did know it had to be inspiring for me and others, contribute positively to the world and have a “giving back” element to it whilst also provide an income for us. I stumbled across blogging and as I’ve wandered down this path, I’ve come to realise that this is a great platform to begin this dream. 

The solution: So over the coming months, you may notice ads going up, reviews being posted and other such income generating practises. A couple of caveats;

• In the interests of transparency, I’ll always inform you when I’m making any sort of commission.
• When the blog begins generating an income, I will be allocating a percentage of the profits for “random acts of aid” (ie donations).
• I won’t be taking a cut of any sort for donations you may happen to give to any causes or charities I post about and link to.
• I’m not a fan of heaps of clutter, text link ads and loads of ads so you won’t see that happening. Underhanded marketing tactics like SPAM and not so transparent advertising give me the irrits too so you won’t encounter any of that either.
• I’ll only endorse products and services I have tried myself first if possible and/or are reputable, aligned with my values, are excellent quality and value and provide something positive.

Conundrum 5: Move Away From the Laptop Sami!

The issue: It’s become a running joke in our household that it’s necessary to surgically remove the laptop from the end of my arms at the conclusion of each day. That’s not a good thing. As much as this site has become a real passion for me, it’s necessary for me to practise what I preach and live a kick arse life. Besides, I won’t have anything to post on if I spend all my time posting!

The Solution: The Daisy List will be taking more of a front seat. I plan to get out there and tick as many of those suckers off the list as I can. To do that, I won’t be posting quite so often and not so rigidly. I’ll still aim for 3 to 4 posts a week though and on random days. I’m also going to drop the Monday Funny post. Hope everyone is OK with those changes.

So there you have it folks, the “Phase 2″ of Life, Laughs & Lemmings (apologies for the novel-like post). Have a look around and check out the new features.

I really hope you continue on this crazy journey with me and feel free to provide feedback (both constructive and otherwise) in the comments. I’d be interested to see what you all think.

Oh, and a huge shout out to my blechie, Donna! Couldn’t have done it without her. If anyone needs some kick arse tech help, drop me a line and I’ll pass on Donna’s details!

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