I Challenge You...

The song "You raise me up" never fails to bring tears to my eyes. It does not make me sad. If anything, I am filled with a passionate feeling of courage and a desire to excel. There are many songs which will inspire and some can motivate action - for me that song does it!

In 2016, I spent seventy-five percent of my blogging time on this great new social media platform called beBee.com, and it was quite an interesting year filled with a lot of growth, engagement and feelings. We build many relationships online. This is a new way of meeting and forging relationships with people whom we gravitate to through some level of affinity.

In the last few weeks of the year 2016, I realized my life now included a group of individuals I can call friends, who I had never met face to face but through consistent interaction, sharing and sometimes verbal discussions. For some the use of WhatsApp, skype, and Facebook were extensions of our growing affinity, which started via beBee.

A Challenge on my mind

By now many are wondering how all these different thoughts are actually going to fit into my title for this post! Well this is how it plays off in my mind;

You can't meet anyone and develop a relationship by sitting on the fence looking in. You have got to participate. Any blogger who claims to write but not need an audience has their head in the sand. The readers, are the ones who we eventually get to know on a relationship level after doing that 'relationship dance'. You can read, like, and comment to the same people and what eventually happens is everyone knows everyone and at some point it becomes a closed close- knit group with little or no growth in quality and quantity. That of course depends on the objective of the group, but with social media platforms, numbers are needed with increased quality of interactions.

You can also write and publish, waiting for someone to read your blog, or you can engage with others and they will eventually maybe read your words. Both positive and negative comments generate engagement, hence the reason trolls have a field day when someone responds. There is always a flip side to anything, accept this and you will enjoy the challenge I'm about to throw out! I've read some great posts by bloggers who simply don't wish to interact and engage, or don't know how. The results are disappointment and sometimes they decide blogging does not work for them. Again, one's purpose and agenda matters. Its not rocket scientist thinking, just probability laws at work. Everything takes time, and you do get what you put into an action when it comes to blogging.

" I'd like to give you this example from my own blogging experiment. I read and share most bloggers words on all the social media I follow, some, or just twitter. Approximately seventy percent of those bloggers posts shared have never read, engaged or shared any of my posts. I don't not share their work because of a lack of reciprocation in the present. I'm motivated to share information which will inspire or add value to someone who reads. Eventually, my work will be shared and engaged with by persons who want to know who is sharing all these great posts. Actually, my engagement has increased over all my platforms as has my social media following. Marriage and relationships should be long term in my opinion!"

Challenge yourself to meet new writers on a regular basis. Read the words of not just some of your followers, but more than some. BeBee has an email which is sent to members when the persons you follow write. That's a great thing! Meet the people you choose to follow through their words. It may not be possible to read everything in a timely manner, but I CHALLENGE YOU, to keep each email list and read when possible. Hey, I've been reading from July, 2016 and I am having a great time. I've missed a few, but I've got a lot of persons I follow and I appreciate everyone who is brave enough to write and publish!

You Raise Me UP

So how does "You raise me up" fit in with all of this? Simply, as I  run my blogging race I'm inspired and motivated by the words, thoughts and lives of others many times. When we read, and share, comment and engage we carry and raise up someone who has the courage to express. At least this is my feeling, and this morning, it came home to me as I read.

I Challenge You to build relationships this year, and engage with your online and offline community of family and friends. We are all here on this earth for a moment, why not spread your wings and rise high. Fly beyond where your eyes know and can see, go to that other place this beBee airport has on its flight plan!

I Challenge You...

Video Credit: YouTube, Paul Mathews : I am strong when I am on your shoulders video

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