The Last Ever UTD Post of 2011

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.” – T.S. Eliot

It has been a remarkable 12 months for Unlock The Door.

From creating, compiling, and publishing the Value 101 series and it’s corresponding eBook to landing a guest post on ProBlogger, and from deciding to bare all to you to celebrating this website’s 1^st birthday, it’s been a very interesting, engaging, and enlightening 2011.

As is blogging custom, I present this round-up post of 2011 to you, but I also present this because, to me at least, it feels like the end of a chapter here at Unlock The Door.

I feel that 2012 will be the start of a new way of doing things, a new outlook that will take UTD to new heights and beyond. Whilst I won’t be divulging that here today (you have to sign up to the newsletter to find out more!), what I will be divulging is my favourite UTD posts of 2011, as well as my favourite blog posts from elsewhere in the world.

Top 5 Unlock The Door Posts of 2011

Without further ado, here are my favourite 5:

Redundancy And The Things It Brings: This post stands out in my mind because it was the start of the current chapter in my life. I had been made redundant from my previous work, and my website was in a transitional period – at this time, I was evaluating where I was in my life. I believe my subsequent decision to treat this blog as a business and continue to look for paid work paid off – I now have a much better job, and my blog has moved onto the next level. I haven’t looked back since.

Why I’ve Decided To Cut Down On Blog Comments: It was around March this year when I was looking at my current blogging strategy and thinking, “What can I do to make things work better?” It was the first time I had reached this point – up until then, I was carefree in my blogging approach, not wondering about the end result. So my decision to cut back on blog commenting was an experiment of sorts, one which didn’t work out, as detailed in the follow-up post.

The Force That Drives: This will always be a favourite of mine. The first post where I ‘laid myself bare’, I won the respect and admiration of many people, and the heart of my girlfriend. This post was definitely worth the effort.

20 Bloggers Who’d You Want To Comment On Your Blog: I’m proud of this post, and with good reason. Not only did I show that I was capable of having good blogging ideas, but I also stepped up my efforts as a result of the success of this post. I was seriously inspired by this post, and this has earned its place in the ‘Best of Unlock The Door’ hall of fame.

How To Leave Exceptional Blog Comments: Before this point, I hadn’t considered myself as a blogging expert in any shape or form. So what enticed me to write a ‘blogging post’ and teach others? Simple, leaving comments on other blogs was the only thing that I had done a lot of, and that I knew how to do well. The resulting post was my first foray into helping others with blogging, and the feedback received justified the attempt.

My Top 5 Blog Posts Of 2011

I have read many blog posts over the months, and there are far more than 5 that deserve a place on this list. But I whittled it down to the best of the best, and present them to you here:

You Don’t Have To Die To Live – Danny Brown: One of the most personal and moving posts I’ve ever read, Danny pours himself onto his keyboard and into his website. Touching, inspiring, and definitely worth reading, this post gave me a new perspective on life.

38 Life Lessons I’ve Learned In 38 Years – ZenHabits: Leo is famed for his personal development tips and advice, and a lot of it has come from his own life experiences and changes. So it was wonderful to read what Leo has learned over all his years on Earth in one post. 38 lessons here, all worth reading and understanding.

How to Quit Your Job, Move to Paradise and Get Paid to Change the World – ProBlogger: I affectionately remember this post, written by Jon Morrow, as ‘the post that replaced my guest post as the most popular ProBlogger post of May’. But moving beyond that, this post is a serious slap in the face for those who are coasting through life without bothering to help others or themselves. If Jon can do all of what he has done, then so can you.

Penelope Trunk Calls Bullshit On Me. BIG Wake Up Call – Ending The Grind: I hadn’t heard of Steve Roy before this post became big news, but once I had read this post and the corresponding content, I felt like I knew the guy as a friend. Steve gets a huge wake-up call from one of the most controversial bloggers around – do yourself a favour and learn from this amazing podcast.

From Corporate to Entrepreneurship or Why I Left My 6-figure, Super Easy, Work-From-Home 11 ½ year Career – Prolific Living: This was the post that inspired me to start taking blogging serious. As Farnoosh herself was inspired by listening to Darren Rowse, I was motivated to look at my time on my blog and start viewing it as a mission to make some form of career out of it. Never before had I felt such determination, and this post had a lot to do with that.

And Finally – Thank You

I would like to finish by offering a big “Thank You” to many people involved in UTD in some way.

THANK YOU to all of the personal development bloggers out there who have travelled with me as we grew together. There are too many to name, but you all have your own place in my heart.

THANK YOU to all of the entrepreneurial, social media, and ‘blogging’ bloggers who have also travelled with me over the months. I have learned a lot from your content and experiences, and my life is forever enriched from the learning.

THANK YOU to all those who have provided Unlock The Door with a guest post over the months. Your contribution helped make UTD what it is today, and I’m very grateful for the time and effort you put into your writing. THANK YOU also to everyone who gave me the opportunity to write for them, it means a lot that you trusted me to look after your website for a short while.

THANK YOU especially to Jk Allen, Danny Iny, Marcus Sheridan, Hector Avellaneda, John Falchetto, Robert Pinto-Fernandes and John Sherry for reaching out and connecting with me personally, either through Skype or otherwise. It means a lot that I’m able to have such wonderful and fruitful relations with you all. Long may they continue.

THANK YOU to Sam, my beautiful girlfriend who has supported me tirelessly, consistently reading and sharing my posts on Twitter and Facebook. Without you, Sam, this website wouldn’t be half as good.

Finally, THANK YOU to all those who have left a comment on one of my posts, or simply read a post from start to finish, or shared a post on any of the social media platforms available. You have served to help Unlock The Door grow, and I am grateful.

With that all done, all that remains to be said is:

See you in 2012!

 

Image courtesy of Legal Futures