Well.
It’s been a while. How have you been? You may or may not have noticed, but I have been on a blog hiatus for over a year now, and for good reason.
“Wait,” you’re thinking, “JB said blogging was a fun hobby! A pleasant diversion to load upon the heap of looming responsibilities of his otherwise hyper-consuming executive role! Why on earth did that little crybaby quit?”
Alas, dear friends, despite the talent and wit and poignant advice to which you had become so accustomed to, blogging was unfortunately not the top priority in my life. Plus, after five years of slogging the blog, (although it was rewarding in some insane way) I began to seriously doubt the ROI on this activity. So my tiny slice of extracurricular time went towards pursuing other opportunities which, let’s just say, will have a greater long-term impact on my career.
Come on – don’t look at me like that. I know what you’re thinking: “There he goes again about his damn career, like it’s the most important thing in the world!”
Um, well, it kind of is. Isn’t yours? You might not call it your “career,” but it’s that thing you do that motivates you, channels your core purpose, keeps you aspiring to move forward and not settle into some sappy, bloated self-indulgent rut. And no, my career is not more important than family, or God, or loving my neighbors and making the world a better place – but the point is, my career IS in many ways the manifestation of my potential for impacting all of those other things. That’s how God made me. That’s how it works for me. I need to nurture it along.
So yes, I quit blogging, and wouldn’t you know it, the thing kept going. Even as I turned away in harsh neglect from the Shrinking the Camel blog, it just kept ticking along without me doing a darn thing to prop it up. Readers kept appearing, thanks to the magic of Google search engines, even though I was not putting up any fresh content whatsoever (and why should I, after five years and 300+ really smart posts? Those archives are like a freakin’ almanac).
Then last month, out of the blue, my friends from Patheos and The High Calling started hatching a scheme to reboot Shrinking the Camel over at the Patheos site.
Patheos! The go-to site for spirituality on the internet! The prettiest girl at the online church dance!
“Sure,” I said, “Why not?”
So there you have it. The big announcement. As of today, right now, I am reviving the blog and we will be hosted over at Patheos. I say “we,” not as the royal we, but as all of you who remain on the email list and who somehow find the time and interest to read and share and comment and make this trip worthwhile. Also, some friends who will be sharing in writing the new posts. “We” are re-connecting and moving to a new home.
There will be new content, old refurbished content (which you won’t really notice is being recycled), we’ll have guest writers, ghost writers – perhaps even guest-ghost writers – all while delivering the same cynical and blunt view of navigating the challenges integrating spiritual and business life.
Are you ready for it? So am I!
Nice to see you again.