Happy Veteran’s Day to each of you.  I hope that if you’re a veteran that you’ll be able to take some time off today and enjoy the free meal that Applebee’s if offering, the free breakfast that Denny’s is giving away or the delicious blooming onion that Outback is sharing.

Most of you already know that I’m a full-time soldier in the United States Army.  I actually posted my picture right here at the top of the article so that you can all see how good I look in my uniform.  Yes.  You heard me right.  That is a picture of me.

As a soldier, I’ve learned things and experienced things that influence the way I blog.  Today, I’m going to share a few of those things in the hopes that they’ll be able to help you on you journey.

Train for the Fight

I’m constantly training.  Every morning we do physical training like running, push ups, sit ups, etc.  Periodically we head down to the range and hone our skills at flinging ammunition at targets with our M4′s and our machine guns.  We review our map reading skills, our grenade throwing skills and more.  We study new weapons systems and we practice squad tactics.  We do this so that we will be the fittest and most well trained units that we can possibly be.

I try to do the same thing with my blog.  I’m constantly studying ways to become a better writer, ways to market myself to more people, ways to connect and create relationships.  I’m constantly trying to hone my skills so that I can be more and more effective each time I sit down to put together another article.

Stick With Your Battle Buddies

In the army we have what we call battle buddies.  We look to protect each other, to grab each other and drag each other back to safety if one of us get shot or wounded.  I also need their encouragement and I provide encouragement to them.

This relationship between two combat soldiers is the same as the relationships that we need to be building if we plan on taking our blogs on to bigger and better things.  Reaching the upper levels of blogging is a grueling battle.  It’s nearly impossible for someone to do on their own.  That’s why you need battle buddies.

Use the Right Equipment

If you take too much with you into the battle then you’ll be slowed down.  If you don’t take enough then you’ll run out of ammunition, water, or something else that’s vital to the mission’s success.

What about our blogs?  Many people use every widget that seems to look a little bit interesting.  They see an interesting plugin and they install it right away.  More often than not, however, these just become distracting.  I make sure that everything in my sidebar or in my post footer has a purpose.  If it doesn’t have a purpose then I get rid of it right away.

Group Reflection

What’s your background? Do you have a unique experience that shapes the way you do business online or in life?  I’d love to hear about it.  In fact, we would all love to hear about it.