Launch Day Approaches

workingmenshealthandfitness.com  is starting to take shape. We have several good articles up there and the WordPress theme is looking good. Tonight I added social sharing buttons to the bottom of posts and I tried to test them. I think they work, but more testing will be necessary.

A few essential elements remain – number 1 among them an email subscription box. Almost without exception people who are really good at blogging say they regret not starting email lists from day one, so I’ll learn from their advice and have one up by the end of the week. 

I think we also need a ‘getting started’ page – something to tell people what to do when they get to our site.  I imagine in time it will become a mess of blog posts despite being arranged by topic.  Hopefully a getting started page will increase usability for visitors. 

Frank and I are really getting excited about this site. I think it will be a valuable guide for guys who think they are too busy to get and stay healthy.  Of course time will tell if we are right. 

Progress on the Website

Last night I made huge progress on workingmenshealthandfitness.com – I got the scrolling pictures working and did a couple blog posts. Tonight I did a longer blog post – it seemed pretty simple at first, but I guess I had a lot to say because it ended up longer than I envisioned. I tried to cut it down some while I was editing it, but there wasn’t a huge difference. I was happy with it at the end, so I decided to leave it.

Tonight I also set up our google + page and hooked up the icon in the tool bar. I’m excited and scared to get into google +. I absolutely love +, but it feels like the bar is pretty high in there – the level of content is much higher than on Facebook. Maybe I just follow people that write more intelligent things, but whatever the reason I already feel pressure to put out meaningful posts. I like the challenge!

Today I’ve run across several blacked out websites – they are protesting the SOPA bill which may come up for a vote next week. I also took time to email my senators telling them that they need to vote down the bill.  I used a couple paragraphs that I found on Pat Flynn’s website, smartpassiveincome.com – I figure that way I won’t say anything stupid or offensive and therefore increase my chances that my email will be read. I realize the senators won’t read them, but at least they may be read and counted as a no vote for such stupid legislation. 

Once again I promised myself I’d go to bed at a reasonable time but I notice it’s almost midnight again – so much for that. It’s interesting how easy it is to keep plugging away when you are passionate about something. I honestly think I could work all night on our new site – I’m really passionate about it and working on it isn’t work at all. 

WordPress Theme Issues

After experimenting with several themes for workingmenshealthandfitness.com I finally settled on one and started to customize it for our needs. Although I didn’t notice it at first, I soon realized that none of my formatting was taking – I had made some text bold and some other text italicized and after saving the changes I went to check things in the browser and it was all plain text. Not good!  

So I fiddled around with it for a day and finally gave up and went searching for another theme. Tonight I found something similar and perhaps a little better. The new theme is a little cleaner and has a few more options than the other one. Perhaps things do happen for a reason and tonight I lucked into a better theme than I planned to use. 

I put up my 2nd post tonight thinking it would be a quick and easy one to bang out – just a little blurb about using music to lift up or calm you down. It started out simple, and more than an hour later I was still adding and editing things. The post was less than 500 words, but I wanted to add links in the text where ever possible, and making those links takes time, even with WordPress helping.

Linking in text is something I have a big bug-a-boo about. It seems like the original genius of the internet was linking to things easily, but very often you can read large chunks of text and never encounter a link, even if they would be logical and helpful. I know there is an argument that you don’t want to create links and have people leave your content, but I have to hope that if your content is good enough, people will read it and come back for more. If your content stinks they will likely leave no matter what. Hopefully if I provide value in my content people will get something out of it. 

So it’s getting late again and I’m starting to misspell too many words and I’m having a hard time stringing too many thoughts together, so it’s time to wrap things up. Tomorrow I have a big battle waiting trying to figure out how to add facebook like buttons to my posts – along with twitter and google + buttons so readers can share posts they like with their followers. 

Work Continues

I’ve been working tonight on our website, workingmenshealthandfitness.com trying to get a grip on the theme we chose and trying to get things organized logically so we can begin posting content. 

This phase of building always excites me because it’s like having a blank canvas with which to work. I also like creating something out of nothing. A day ago there was no domain or website for workingmenshealthandfitness.com, but today there is a presence, albeit a simple one. 

I think I’m most excited to see where we can take this project. I believe Frank and I have a lot to offer guys who want to get in shape but don’t think they have the time. We’ve certainly learned thing the hard way and it would be great to spare some others the grief we’ve gone through. 

Our Site is Live

Last night I bought the domain name workingmenshealthandfitness.com and after several tries I found a WordPress theme I like and installed it. 

My friend Frank and I are working hard to put out some great content designed to help guys exactly like ourselves – guys who are super busy with kids, homes, jobs, etc but want to get (or stay) in shape. We have both overcome adversity and life’s obstacles to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We believe we have a lot to offer given that we are both living this lifestyle as we speak and we often hear guys say they’d love to eat better or exercise more if only they could find the time. 

Time is a big issue, but so is motivation. Frank and I are fortunate that we have each other for motivation. I know there are times when I’d gladly plop down in front of the TV and skip a workout were it not for Frank sitting there waiting for me. Hopefully through our blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and email we can help give guys the kick in the shorts they need to get moving. 

Frank has certainly taken it to the extreme when he earned his pro card last spring and became a professional natural bodybuilder.  I lack any desire to jump on a stage in my undies, but I try to eat well and exercise right and to take care of myself within the context of raising a young family and working two jobs. 

Frank and I have a lot to share and I believe we can help some people. Even if we fail completely, it will be a great learning experience and we can apply the lessons learned to future projects. 

A Whole New Year

January 1, 2012, my 40th new year. Every year I feel the same as everyone else, like I’m going to change the world and do all kinds of new things and a year from now I’ll be sitting here rich and handsome and fulfilled. Of course the truth never seems to work out that way and at the end of every year I don’t seem to be much further ahead than I was the year before. 

Why is this?  I work really hard, I try to do the right thing, I try to be a good father and husband and to do right by people but none of that matters too much. For years I’ve been missing the essential element that propels me forward and gets me closer to my goals. This year I’m determined to remove myself from this vicious cycle of mediocrity. 

How?  I believe there are 3 essential steps to success:

1. Set a limited number of achievable goals
2. Define ‘success’ and what I want things to look like 1 year from now
3. Develop a 12 month plan based on the outcome I plan to achieve

I’ve read (too) many self help and lifehacker websites and they all contain great advice, especially at this time of year, but for me there is always a gap between reading and executing. 2012 has to be the year of execution. 

So toady I am setting aside some time to define my goals, define my desired outcomes, and to chart a path for the next 12 months. I will post everything here and blog about my progress from time to time. It will be interesting on January 1, 2013 sit here and blog about my experiences over the past year and how well I did.

To everyone – Happy 2012 and god speed for the new year.