Recently I have been meeting a number of AMAZING people, many of them bloggers, who are putting out some really special content on their sites.
One such blogger was Deeone Higgs from Kingskidd Chronicles. He started his site earlier this year after his mom died of cancer. From that tragedy, he was encouraged to return to his passion of writing. He shares his discoveries, humor, and encouragement with the hope that he can help others through their challenges and journeys.
I’ve been inspired by his writing and was greatly honored last week when he awarded my work here with the Versatile Blogger award. Some of you have also been awarded this honor so I’m glad to share this privilege with so many other great bloggers.
If you aren’t familiar with the Versatile Blogger award it is an honor shared with blogs you have recently found as noteworthy, remarkable, and worth visiting.
7 Things About Me
The first thing you are asked to do in acceptance of the Versatile Blogger award is to share 7 things about yourself. Since another blogger has taken the time to share my site with his audience, the least I can do is tell the new visitors a little about myself.
So here it goes, here’s some things about me you probably didn’t know.
1. I’m a two time cancer survivor. I was first diagnosed with Leukemia when I was 8 years old. I was a poor little bald boy who couldn’t have looked sadder in their fourth grade class photo. It was taken 3 seconds after an insensitive photographer told me I couldn’t wear my hat. My teacher gave that guy an earful afterwards. A few years later my cancer relapsed. My only chance of beating it was a bonemarrow transplant.
My sweet little 7 year old sister Katie prayed faithfully every night that God would make her a match, while I stubbornly hoped I wouldn’t have to move to Tucson to go through the ordeal of more cancer treatment. My sister’s prayers were heard and she ended up being my bone marrow donor almost 14 years ago.
2. I’m a nerd. I am that guy that actually walks into comic book stores, plays Starcraft with friends on Friday nights, and is fascinated by shows like The Guild, Lost, and Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Hero’s.
3. I love Marketing. I graduated from W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU with my degree in Marketing. Since then I’ve been involved in sales and marketing. I got my start working with Microsoft, training retailers how to sell Vista and Office 2007. (Must not have been that good 🙁 ) I also worked with Dell in college promoting laptops through gaming events, kiosk implementations, and tabling. Marketing has been a part of me my whole career and I don’t see myself changing that any time soon.
4. I’m married to an amazing woman. Callie is my wife (the other person in my profile photo). She suffers from a very tough illness called P.O.T.S. You know all those automatic things that happen in our bodies like blood pumping properly, your respiration, or the way you process food? Well her autonomic nervous system doesn’t work. So she has very little energy, gets sick constantly, and passes out when it gets particularly rough. Still she troops through it working as a hair stylist and taking care of the house.
5. I love movies. When the movie season is upon us Callie and I are almost at a movie every weekend. We like dates, and movies are something we both enjoy. If you want to know about a movie that just came out, chances are I can help you.
That’s Bigby. He’s named after the big bad wolf from the graphic novel Fables.
6. We take care of a monster. Well not really, but the way Bigby our lab can swing his tail knocking off anything set on a counter makes him sure seem like one. “Rawr… I’ll show you papers and cups what happens when you go up against the might of Bigby!”
7. I’m a Mormon. Yes, I was once one of those guys on the bikes, knocking on your doors to share a message. Yes, I have never drunk alcohol, coffee, or tea, smoked cigarettes, or taken drugs. No, I don’t have any other wives other than the one I just shared.
15 Other Versatile Bloggers that Will Help Make You Better.
Honestly, I think all of the blogs I reached out to and comment on are noteworthy and deserving of this award, otherwise I would be wasting my time being there. However I am compelled to share 15 such sites that if you aren’t following already, you should give a visit in the next couple of weeks.
1. Srinivas from Skool of Life and BlogcastFM
Srinivas, the surfing blogger, has shared some amazing interviews of succesful internet marketers as well as chronicled his own amazing journey on his personal blog. If you want to read something truly written from the heart that will inspire you to be your best check out his site.
2. Tim Brownson from A Daring Adventure
Each of Tim’s posts is filled with great British personality. He shares some amazing approaches to dealing with life’s challenges and how to overcome them.
3. Jennifer Gresham from Everyday Bright
Jennifer helps people find careers they will enjoy and not regret. She came from a science background working for the government, which was in itself a pretty amazing job. However, she put it away in order to pursue her true joy of writing and helping others.
4. Lisa from Getting to Zen
Lisa is an amazing athlete. She swam competitively for 15 years and is currently a marathon runner (26.2 miles). She shares what she has learned from her experiences to help us with our personal development and “getting to zen.”
5. Eddie Gear from Genuine SEO
Eddie is another 20 something blogger who is helping others grow their sites by sharing consistent and quality content about what it takes to make your site successful. I learn something from him everyday. Don’t miss out.
6. Marcus Sheridan from The Sales Lion
Marcus another fellow Mormon combined two things I never thought were compatible. Pools and Internet Marketing. His articles deliver top notch advice on selling and he can put his money where his mouth is.
7. Grady Pruitt from Success Building Blocks
Grady is a remarkable guy. He serves tables for his day job but you would never know if he didn’t tell you. His posts are insightful and teach some great things about finding success.
8. Debbie from Happy Maker Now
It wouldn’t be a Balanced WorkLife if you didn’t have your family and friends to enjoy it with. Debbie does an amazing job at sharing great advice to help your family and married life.
9. Allan Douglas from The Write Stuff and Simple Life Prattle
Allan shares 30+ years of his experience as a freelance writer helping others know how to become successful as a writer. Whether you want to write for pleasure or profit Allan has you covered.
10. Kathy Ver Eecke from Working For Wonka
Kathy comes from a fascinating background. She’s worked for almost every spectrum of start-up entrepreneur out there. She brings years of experience to explain how to work with the often bizzare behavior demonstrated by these peculiar start-up leaders.
11. Walter from Lionslinger
Walter has created a breathtaking database of articles on life’s lessons. If you have a problem that could use some inspiration, I’d be hard pressed if you didn’t find some good advice on his site.
12. Rob White from Mind Adventure
Rob is the humblest multi-millionaire I know. His style of writing is very unique and makes you really think about the problems you face in life. If you want someone who makes you think, you’ve found your guy.
13. Chris Barba From Think Choose Live
Chris is another example of writing from the heart. As he learns different things on his journey through life, he shares them in a truly unique way that makes you say, “Wow, I guess I never noticed that.”
14. Lindsay From The Boomerang Kid
Lindsey has an interesting story. After cubicles and conference rooms quickly convinced her she needed to be somewhere else, Lindsey moved back home where she is now running a successful blog helping other Gen Y’s “escape the doldrums of corporate life and find their dream job.”
15. Steven Aitchison from Change Your Thoughts
Steven is the UK’s #1 personal development blogger, but that doesn’t mean Americans or any others shouldn’t pay his site a visit. His posts always offer excellent advice on becoming a better person.
Paying it Forward
I’m a big believer in the act of reciprocation. If I recognized you and you haven’t already recieved the Versatile Blogger Award, I encourage you to pass it on.
Simply…
- Share 7 Things About You
- Recognize 15 Bloggers You Find Noteworthy and Deserving of This Award
- Encourage Them to Do the Same
I appreciate all the readers and bloggers that visit here each time a new post goes out. If I could, I would recognize all of you, we have such a great group that gets together on this blog.
If you could do me one favor, visit the blogs I awarded and let them know how you found them. I super appreciate it!
image courtesy of Blyzz
