When you stop reading, you stop growing. And when you stop reading Blogs, you stop growing as a Blogger! Do you agree with that statement?

Indulge me for a second as I ask for your participation in an experiment. “Mentally” close your eyes. (Because if you physically close your eyes, you simply wouldn’t know what to do next!) Think back… back to your happy place. Back to the first time you decided that you were going to register that domain name, when you decided to install Movable Type or WordPress, when you decided to sign up with a Blog hosting service like Blogger.com. Are you feeling excited all over again? Try to recall why you decided to put your voice out for all to see and criticize on the unforgiving internet.

Why?
Why did you want to Blog? The answer lies within you! If you have never blogged about why you decided to take up Blogging, its a worthwhile journey of self-discovery as you contemplate your mini-bio. I venture to guess that most Bloggers will have some sort of mention about “when I read [this], when I read [that]” in their stories.

Inspirations
Reading was at our beginnings and inspired us to start typing out posts. We are bombarded with content from all different mediums in our lives - television, radio, print. But we chose Blogs because most of us read a Blog that inspired us. The idea of “If he/she can do it, I can do it!” is at the epicenter of a Blogger’s creation.

Blogs are getting more popular by the second because people are looking for something to read besides brainless web surfing. They want to engage in discussions, they want to know other perspectives. They read for enjoyment. They read to get a feeling of belonging; an awakening sense of the Global Village.

You Are What You Read
If you read sports news everyday, you’ve got a headstart as a Sports Blogger. If you want to start an Investments Blog, you won’t get too far if you can’t stand reading about stocks and businesses. Many amateurs make the mistake of churning out posts after posts of content (original or not). But like ostriches burying their heads in the sand, they fail to look beyond themselves and their surrounding influences to discover more worthwhile contents and perspectives.

Ask yourself, “What are the top 6 Blogs that I visit; the ones I spend the most time reading?” These Blogs are the ones that shape your thinking, your writing. Expand your circle of influence, don’t be satisfied with being a frog in a well - always thinking that the sky is a just a small round patch above you.

Recharge On Reading

The infatuation takes hold as you decide to take on the world with your views. But as your schedule gets busier, reading Blogs become less of a priority. Eventually, you don’t even remember to visit that LiveJournal account anymore. You may Blog once every 3 months, but you are no longer a Blogger. (sigh) We lose more amateurs this way.

What’s the cure? Reading of course! Stay informed! new perspectives about what you love re-engergizes you. Not to mention all the new ideas you will get for your posts, for decorating your website, for improving your writing.

But Remember…
Reading Blogs is supposed to be FUN! When Blog reading become a tiresome chore, what satisfaction will you be left with, even if you managed to churn out that post for the day? There is little to gain by associating a routine you dread with the writing process. Ask yourself:

• Did I read a wonderful post today?
• Did I get inspiration for a future Blog topic?
• What type of posts do I usually enjoy reading?
• When was the last time I added a Blog I enjoyed to my daily reads?

There are so much more about the advantages of reading Blogs, igniting your passion, that I’ve only skimmed the surface, if you read this post and found something missing, some angle I haven’t covered, what are you going to do about it? ;)