My Biggest Surprise of the Year--The End of Pow!

Well, I kinda hinted at this a few months back, but the time has now come.

It’s the end of Pow! as we know it. 

(And with apologies to REM, “And I feel fine.”)

Writing this blog has been a blast.  It has enriched my life, filled Saturday mornings and Sunday nights, introduced me to scores of fans and new friends, given birth to a book and two separate live speeches based on it, and has sparked countless ideas that I’ve donated to others and used myself in my business and personal lives.

But today, it’s time has come. 

Here’s why.

Over the past little while, I have come to two major realizations:

1)    This blog was failing to live up to its primary mantra, namely Surprise needs to exist as a continuum.  Any one Surprise doesn’t last; things need to be constantly changed and shaken up to provide the spark.  Well, what greater way to “shock the system” (as I have relentlessly preached) than jump off the horse that brought me here while it’s still in mid-gallop? As Daniel Gilbert says “Wonderfulness wanes with repetition,” and after three years of consistent posting, I found myself to be repeating.  By now, longstanding FOPs (Friends of Pow!) get it.  They know what to do, and in most cases, have tried doing it; one more example ain’t gonna matter much.  Newbies have an inventory of more than 800 posts to comb over.  And you can always buy the book.  Or the Audible.com audio book .  Or the Kindle edition. 

2)    I love marketing, but really now…there’s got to be more to life than finding yet another new way to drill into someone’s head and sell them stuff.  I’ve been doing this for real, as part of my day job, for 35 years.  And with so many magnifico marketing bloggers out there—from Seth Godin, Andy Sernovitz and Mitch Joel to Saul Colt, Chris Brogan, Julien Smith and Dan Pink—what more do I have to add to the conversation without saying the same thing?  This isn’t throwing in the towel; it’s using it to admiringly fan their inferno-esque flames, then to wipe away any nostalgiac pinings that may be left clinging to me as I head off into the sunset (and into my new sunrise).

So this may indeed be the end of Pow!, but it sure ‘nuff ain’t the end of me blogging.  I’ll still marvel over great Surprises when they hit me (or are sent to me), but more starting next week, my new passion and focus will be on learning.  Not structured learning per se, but the random things that hit me—yes, right between the eyes—every week.  Over the past few years, I’ve found myself teaching, or preaching, too much…and learning too little.  At my age, that has to change.  Frankly, that has to change at any age.

So this spot will be my forum for forced learning, basically a “What I Learned This Week” diatribe. It’s a selfish exercise, but you’re invited to look over my shoulder and see if there’s any takeaway benefit for you truly.  Yes, there’s a strict, disciplined, week-to-week time frame imposed on it, because if I can’t discover something new every seven days, my eyes are closed, my ears are blocked and I’m ignoring the obvious.  You can’t learn in solitary confinement.

Sometimes this learning will be profound and ponderously serious; other times it will be frivolous and amusing.  I can’t control what hits me, but I’ll be open to everything and use this space to document and share it.

I’ll also use this space to share some of the short stories, and even shorter stories, I’ve been writing and neglecting.  Maybe they’ll find life, perhaps they’ll be ridiculed, but at least they’ll see the light of day and escape from their hidden file folder at the back of a green USB key.  I suppose the learning here will be whether they’re any good…or if I’m just another delusional weekend warrior pounding his keyboard, to use a very apropos masturbatory metaphor.

So there you have it. 

The end of the journey that was Pow! as we knew it.

And the beginning of the next explosive adventure as it awaits.

Hope you enjoyed the ride.

Thanks for reading. 

Please keep following.

Bye!