Blogging 101 – Where Else to look for Ideas – Part 5

 Blogging 101 – Where Else to look for Ideas – Part 5

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd 

Last time we looked at the opportunities around Lateral Thinking and even the Wisdom of our Parents, for inspiration or ideas for articles of interest that pertain to your particular passion.  Today we will have a look at a few more.

Television

Now I know that there are many people out there who very seldom watch TV and whilst on some level I do understand their reasons, it is one of the ways that I relax and chill out.  Also, if I am really honest, there are several shows that I am particularly fond of (read absolutely hooked on).  The fact of the matter is that I learn from many of these shows, trying to figure out who the culprit is in all of the “who-dun-its” and learning the life lessons on the fantasy and esoteric type ones and just pure enjoyment and predicting the winners on the reality ones.  Yip, it’s official – I love watching TV.  There I said it!

Actually, I have used examples of what I watched and the lessons learned, in several of my blogs – two that come to mind immediately are when one of the contestants in a reality show dissed the opinion of one of the judges – that was a motivational piece on respect and the other was a woman who documented her every move (giving specifics like pictures and the name of the place that she was at and then the next place she was going to) on Facebook (I think it was  CSI or one of those profiling shows) – that was an early warning about the content we share online.

So very much like Celebrities, watching TV can spark an idea that you can link to your subject material to illustrate what you mean.

Anger or being Upset

Who would have thought that being upset about something that you have read/watched/listened to/seen (insert anything you like here) would produce some of the greatest articles that you have ever written?  I know that there is nothing like a good rant to clear the air and for me writing it all down transfers the anger (or indeed sadness) from my mind onto the paper.  It is one of the ways that I have of “releasing” the pain or the anger. Obviously, once you have calmed down, you need to edit it to ensure that you have all your ducks in a row and that you haven’t mentioned anyone’s name, or you could find yourself in trouble.  Again I have, on occasion used some of these writings to illustrate a point.  Two that come to mind immediately are the one I wrote on the unrealistic begging bowl type expectations of entrepreneurs or start-ups, especially around the issue of funding and the other was also about an unrealistic expectation of someone who expected everything to fall into her lap, or everything done for her, without her actually doing anything herself!  Both really got my blood boiling!

Victory or Defeat

This is one that I have used on many occasions and this year will be no exception.  A friend of mine said to me one evening during the course of the holidays, as we sat on her balcony sipping at an extremely cold beverage as we watched the sunset dip into the ocean “What were your highlights in the last year and what were your biggest regrets”?  I really had to think carefully about this and decided to split it into two separate camps – one being in my professional life and the other in my personal life.  In both instances. there were huge lessons learnt, but it was only in the “looking back” that the lessons became clear and this only re-iterates my conviction that we need to “look back and see where we have come from and what we have achieved” more often.  

This is a theme that I have written about on more than one occasion and clearly something that I will be writing about again, through the coming years.

Remember though, if you do not enjoy what you are doing, then what is the point!  Always have fun!

Next time we will have a look at some more ideas to keep those blogs flowing. Until then “Happy Writing” and don’t forget to have fun!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za