Change your life - Start a blog

I’ve known Chris for over ten years. And during that time, despite the fact that we live on opposite sides of Europe, we’ve stayed in regular touch and met frequently.

At the start of this year he was finally diagnosed as having something called Arnold Chiari syndrome. I’d never heard of it either! You can get the full low down on his blog, which is linked at the bottom of this page, but, essentially we are talking about a growth or malformation at the base of the neck and top of the spinal chord. I used the words “finally diagnosed” with good reason. In common with many other sufferers, Chris spent a long time not knowing what the problem was, and dealing with a whole host of complicated symptoms.

But that isn’t the point of this story. Chris had his surgery in April. It isn’t a cure, but it’s a start. And by the time he visited us here to rest and recover, he was beginning to wonder how to rebuild his life and get back to some work. I suggested he should start a blog and write about his experiences – he could help other people to understand all the implications. Now over the years, I have flippantly doled out advice like that to dozens of people, and never heard anything more. But Chris took the idea and ran with it, and the result is www.chiariblog.co.uk

He’s worked really hard on it,  he’s getting more traffic than I was at a similar stage, and there’s already tons of content on the site. I have no doubt that the site will become the biggest player in it’s niche in the UK over time – Chris is that committed to it. But doing it has also lead to other things, and he’s now working on two other paying projects, also web related, which have come about as a direct result of his new found writing and IT skills. And I hope he won’t mind me saying these are lucrative deals!

So why am I telling you all this? Partly because it’s Friday and I think it’s a feel good story, and partly because it should be a lesson for any of us who are dithering on the sidelines and using phrases like “Yes, I’m going to do that” or “One day, when I have more time, I’m going to start a blog.”

Chris took action, got stuck in and worked hard. In three months he has gone from nowhere to having a well trafficked blog and two long term business opportunities. And he’s done it by starting with something that was purely designed to help other people.

Take a moment to visit www.chiariblog.co.uk and just learn a little about what it is and the symptoms. Ignorance is the biggest issue with Chiari, and the more people who know about it, the better.

Have a great weekend!

If you want to start a blog too, have a look at The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging.