My First Post

Hey guys, welcome to my blog. I've been contemplating about starting a blog for a while now, each time I think of it I would just be procrastinating about it. Anyway, here I would like to just talk about personal development, time management, and the concept of a "second brain". I usually write about Linux, open source, and things of that nature. Thanks for sticking around and I hope you'll enjoy it!

Why?

Here are some reasons I truly believe why one should start a blog (and why I started mine too):

1. To inspire others

Being able to inspire an audience through writing is a satisfying feeling. It makes you want to do it all the more. And when people respond to you in positive ways, you generate a portion of influence over them. By inspiring others, you become a source of hope and inspiration to motivate people to do more.

2. To improve your writing ability

One thing that’s self-explanatory is that starting a blog has a huge impact on your ability to write.

Starting out might feel awkward and even slightly alien. But as you get into the swing of writing, you’ll notice it getting easier. The words will flow with greater efficiency and you’ll develop a style that’s uniquely you.

Through writing often, you’ll also get a good idea of what people respond to. This stretches your creativity, helping you write more about what people love to read. And in turn, that translates into a larger audience.

3. To build your online brand

Along with learning new skills, the more you write about a subject, the more of an authority you become about it. Becoming an authority in your niche helps build your online brand.

By providing value to readers, you’ll soon become recognisable in the community.

You’ll be that blogger everyone goes to. They’ll know your knowledge and advice is worth the effort of seeking out.

Building your brand is a springboard for transforming your blog into something more.

4. To collect your thoughts

As they say, knowledge is power. Over time, thoughts and feelings clobber up in your head and one way to store them is to write them down. By sharing your thoughts, you also provide value to others who come across your blog and you give people another perspective on a particular topic or event.

5. To teach

Teaching is an invaluable skill. One of the reasons for becoming a teacher is to contribute to your community in a meaningful way. Teaching is one of the most direct ways to make an impact, and if you are driven by the desire to help those around you, thus, being a teacher is an invaluable contribution. To teach is to learn twice.

6. It's fun

Blogging allows you to imagine and be creative – Imagination and creativity is a must and with writing you can mix words and thoughts and images. There are so many topics you can cover, you just need to see how that topic can be of help to your readers.

There is a unique sense of satisfaction I derive from creating. The process of creating something brings joy in many ways—The careful thinking you have to put into your work, the craftsmanship, the structure, and many other things. Similar to how I love to code and build projects, writing gives me a similar sense of satisfaction, being able to share my thoughts and knowledge is something that I look forward to every day.

Anyway,

I hope you enjoyed reading this post, if you have any feedback, feel free to tweet at me @raphtlw.