Today's challenge forced me to sign up for an Instagram account. I have never used Instagram before. I am not completely sure I will continue using it. My task today was to take a picture of my favorite office things and share that photo on Instagram and my blog.
The good news AND the bad news is that I did it. The bad part is that it isn't as pretty as I would have liked. Signing up was no big deal but navigating the tools proved problematic. Where are the instructions?!?! After much trial and error, I did manage to figure out how to add a few little effects. After I uploaded my photo. I was suppose to apply the #blog4biz hashtag before I....sent, posted, or published (or whatever you call it in Instagram) the photo. Lastly I was supposed to tag Shai, the #blog4biz creator. Those steps were fairly easy enough. The next step was hard.
How in the world do I get do I get the photo off of Instagram and onto my blog?!?! I clicked around for a share button. I found one so I added the photo to my Dropbox only when I went to upload the photo, it didn't save as a photo in my Dropbox. It saved as a text file. I go back to Instagram to click around again for some other option. I find the "embed photo" option. I click on that and an HTML phrase came up. Cool! I can just copy the code and put that in the blog, right? Sort of! I copy and paste the code...but the picture width is too large for my blog. How do I change that? I go to the code for the picture and find some numbers. I lower those numbers not knowing what that will do...but low and behold the picture fits.
Then I high tail it out of there before I break something. Below is my photo.
Figuring out how to take and share that darn picture (yeah I am still a little flustered) revealed a valuable lesson about how we grow. If you haven't noticed by now, I try to squeeze some sort of learning nugget into everyone of my #Blog4Biz posts. I try to share or showcase something I have learned, believe, experienced, or taught.
There are three objects in the photo. My pen is on top of my notebook, which is on top of my laptop. These are my favorite office things.
The laptop is my portal to the world. I am on the laptop all the time writing posts, researching, and of course wasting time too. Through it my point of view is significantly stretched.
My favorite notebook came from Walgreens because I needed a short notebook on my way to a meeting a year ago. Only special things are written in it. I bought this notebook with no idea how special it would become. I love it because the paper is made of stone and it the smoothest writing surface I have ever written on...PERIOD. My pen glides across the pages with no smudging. All pens write the first time every time. Rumor has it is is eco-friendly too.
The pen in the picture is part of the first batch of custom business things I ordered through Vistaprint. After I uploaded my logo, Vistaprint was more than happy to "suggest" other products. When I came across the pens I knew I had to have them.
When I write with that pen it reminds me I am IN business. When I write in that notebook it reminds me that I have ideas that are worth pursuing. When I spend time on the laptop, I am doing the due diligence to work my dream.
My favorite office things all remind me of the message written on the notebook. The message in the notebook is one that has been reinforced over and over today. Back on Day 14, I told you I met Wanda and Terry; local professionals with whom I initiated a conversation. As of today, I have met with both of them with amazing results.Yesterday,Day 24, I told you I met with my business coach for the first time.
Wanda, Terry, and my coach all have said very similar things to me this week. I summed them up with that message.
What you do today is who you become tomorrow!
When I started the #blog4biz challenge, I had never done a blog challenge before. I had never blogged daily before. I had never made a vision board, or videotaped myself doing an elevator, or used instagram or pinterest or made my own infographics.
Today, I am reaping the rewards of what I sowed yesterday (or Days 1-24). And tomorrow I will reap what I sow today.
I am growing. The way you grow is by doing things you have never done before. I am stretching, and enlarging my capacity to do more. Eventhough I may not like it and it frustrates me, I know the pain I feel today will become the strength I need tomorrow!
Word count 914
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