09/09/09 — Today is The Day

The above tweet was sent out by me on Twitter last night at about 1:30 am.

I forgot about it until I saw a link to an article on Yahoo titled Why 09/09/09 Is So Special. From calculated marketing activities such as film openings to the most personal celebrations such as weddings, people around the world have attached some significance to the date. Some good and some not so good.

One of my first thoughts was to radically change my life by making a radical change in my daily lifestyle. My second though … why are you lying to yourself … seriously. Am I really gonna exercise an hour a day everyday? While I’d like to, I don’t want to disappoint myself with such a lofty goal right now.

The Reluctant Blogger

Over two years ago, I started an online magazine (AroundHarlem.com). The original idea was to hire great writers, get rich and live happily ever after. I only expected to write an occasional article if something inspired me. (I call my column Reflections.)

To say there have been bumps in the road on my journey to become a media mogul is an understatement. I won’t go into details about the collapsing publishing industry, market forces, finances, tech issues, etc. that have changed my initial direction, but I will say that even in the midst of the chaos, (change/growth of the original vision) I still love my new career.

While I have always been a great writer (Honors/AP English in school) I never though of journalism as a career. Now, as an entrepreneur, I find myself doing what every business owner does … a little bit of everything.

Including writing.

Hence the reluctant blogger title. (I even use it in my bio.)