A few weeks ago I was nominated by Liv from The World is Waiting and Lois and Chichi from We Are Sole Sisters to take part in the seven links project by Tripbase. I think the idea is great, but I haven’t had time to participate until now.
It’s a really simple idea. Nominated bloggers look through their old posts and place seven of them into seven different categories. It’s a unique way to gain an insight into a blogger’s perspective of their work.
My 7 links
1. Your Most Beautiful Post: The Carpe Diem Diagram
This is one I’m very proud of. It wasn’t just a post, but included a diagram I made specifically to illustrate to you what I was talking about. I think what’s most striking about the post is how unique it is. So far, I haven’t seen anyone come up with a similar post. Plus, it is something I feel holds up well today.
2. Your Most Popular Post: 6 Ways to Travel Endlessly
This is an easy choice. I’ve had many posts become popular in one way or another, but this post easily beats any other on this blog. The last time I checked, it had over 100 thousand views on stumbleupon. In one day stumbleupon sent me 12,000 views just for this post alone.
Any time I see a spike in traffic, I assume this post is the main reason. However, this is becoming less and less the reason as other blog posts become popular. This blog is also getting more traffic in general. But this post will probably still be most popular for a long time yet.
3. My Most Controversial Post: The Myth That Americans Don’t Travel
This is another easy choice for me. About every other month, I’ll get a comment on this post paragraphs long listing out all the reasons why I’m wrong. At first I was going to respond to each person in turn, but most of my replies would have included many arguments I had already made in the post. I strongly believe in what I wrote despite the controversy.
A runner up to this category would have been the 4 Characteristics Interesting People Have. I thought the post was rather uncontroversial, but a few people disagreed.
4. My Most Helpful Post: The 3 Steps to Understanding Other People’s Actions
This is a post I think brought a new perspective to understanding other people. There’s a real tendency to look at other people through ourselves. Take yourself out of the picture and look at the situation through the other person’s eyes and people make more sense.
This is another post that brings me a lot of traffic and attention. I got a lot of positive responses to it too. I know that when I started using these steps, it really shed a lot of light on why people do the things they do.
5. A Post Whose Success Surprised You: Why Experiences Are Better Than Possessions
I knew this post would be successful, but I didn’t know that it would be spread around the internet as quickly and positively as it did. Something about this post seemed to resonate a lot with people. Everyone seemed to like it and wanted to support it.
The funny thing about this post is that I didn’t feel I was saying anything that other people didn’t already seem to know. There were other posts much more original than this one that got less attention. For some reason, people just loved it.
6. A Post You Feel Didn’t Get the Attention it Deserved: How to Make Your Opinion Matter
This one surprised me in how lukewarm of a response I got to it. It wasn’t negative, but also not all that positive. Perhaps people don’t like to be told how to form opinions. Whatever the reason, it just kind of sat there and didn’t do much.
7. The Post You Are Most Proud Of: How I Traveled Long Term (And Kept My Job) Twice
Choosing one link for this category was difficult since I’m very proud of all the posts I’ve written for this blog. This one stands out though due to the personal nature of the story. It also captures a lot of the elements about this blog. Asking for the time off from my employer was a risk that took me outside of my comfort zone. The risk paid off with many interesting unique experiences.
What’s most interesting about this post is that I was initially unsure about even posting it. I hesitated because it was so personal. I try to focus this blog on the readers rather than myself. However, I felt the story could be inspiring. I felt justified in posting it after I saw the huge positive response to it.
My 7 Links Reprised
At this point in the project, I’m supposed to send five other bloggers a notice that I’m nominating them. I don’t have time to do this at the moment. So many other bloggers have already participated and the list of people available is shrinking. It was fun while it lasted, but perhaps the project has run its course?
P.S. I’m in Galway, Ireland right now. Getting posts out regularly has been more challenging than expected. However, I hope this post will tide you all over until I can get back to my regular schedule in a little over a week.
Very awesome post! I somehow had missed some of these gems. Thanks for sharing again. And for once again being an authentic inspiration!
I’m glad you had the chance to see some of my old posts. I’m also glad you find what I write inspirational.
I think being in Ireland is more than reason to not post as frequently. I hope you’re having an amazing time. And I love your 7 Links, it’s nice to remember and review some of the lessons I learned when reading them.
Yeah, you’re right about not posting as much while in Ireland. I just didn’t have enough time to both travel and publish new posts. I had a great time while I was there though.
Great 7 Links list here…I’ve read many of the posts, but not all–and will definitely do so! I enjoy this site very much and look forward to seeing more awesome posts in the future. PS: You’re really “doing something cool” here. 🙂
I’m glad you like the site. I hope you check out all these posts and get a chance to browse through many of the others in the archive.
What an excellent post and idea. As a first time visitor it really did open my eyes to what you are about.
I’ll be checking your articles out and hope to be back more often.
Bryce
Thanks for the feedback. I hope to see you come back often too.
Steve,
Thank you for sharing these links to allow your readers to go deeper into your site. I know I have not had the opportunity to read some of your earlier work before I started to come by. This gives me the ability to do so in a very structured manner. Enjoy Ireland. I will catch up with you when you get back. 🙂
Hey Frank, I think this is a good way to go deeper into the site too.
Steve,
Post number 5 in my book was your best for me. ‘Why experiences are better than possessions.’ A wake up call most of us need from time to time. A great series of posts for the year. Good work mate….
That is a post people really enjoyed. I can see it being a wake-up call too. I’m glad you liked it.
I hope you’re having a great time in Ireland! I remember your post about the Myth of Americans Traveling! I don’t think I really have any controversial posts…
Hey Jessica, I had a great time in Ireland. It’s a really fun place to explore.
It’s tough to come up with a controversial post. If I do make one, I’m usually not trying. It can be fun to have one, but sometimes it is more trouble than it is worth.
Those are all great links! Thanks for participating Steve!
Thanks for sending me the link to participate. I had a lot of fun in doing this.
Your blog posts are so unique, Steve. I really like coming here for some philosophical stretching of my mind. Thanks for pointing out in this post some more great articles of yours that I need to read 🙂
Thanks, Sabina. I really do try to make each blog post unique and with a fresh perspective. My goal is to make the content here something you can’t find anywhere else. It’s been difficult, but I think I’ve done well.