10 pages that aren’t about me

I wrote an about page that wasn’t about me.

And realised there are plenty more where that came from.

Pages that are, and aren’t, about me.

1. I could tell you about where I live, the work that I do, the experience and the training that have taken me to here

2. About pieces I’ve written that would tell you about who I am and what matters to me: the belief that our words can make a difference, that we need to find the courage to write, to realise the power of our words

3. Talk maybe about the other places where I write and how that reflects who I am: exploring the calm of the writing space and the power of blogging for business; expressing the joy of being a lifelong learner and playing a part, however small, in the work of the Giving Hands

4. About what I’ve learned from travelling in Mexico, from two weeks in Skye, from drowning in words that were not my own, from my love of the language of football

5. Or maybe about my answers to blogging questions that people ask, like the three words that describe my quest this year (thanks Liz!): “focus, energy, adventure”… or my answer to the bucket list question (thanks Glenda!) which is… “I don’t know, I just want to go where that adventure takes me”

6. I could make you smile if I wrote about my favourite search terms: slow down, you move too fast (yes, it’s true, please listen to what you type), find out who you are and do it on purpose (yes, because you know it’s time)

7. And start to hum about the songs that make my heart sing, when it’s time to search for the hero or when you know you’re ready to shine

8. I would love to tell you more about the places I feel connected to now – through this thing called blogging – to people in Hawaii, Wales, Italy, Chicago, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangkok, Brisbane, East Koy Four Corners, Geneva (Illinois) the Middle Zone, as well as friends in Edinburgh, and how that makes me feel, to exchange words and ideas with you all, watching the time where you are, the connections that flow round the world

9. Maybe I could keep it cryptic and see what you’d learn about my bookcase

10. Or perhaps I’d write about my life as a building and the words I picked to describe it: unconventional, creative, exuberant

And still I could tell you that all of these words, all of these pages, are not, can never be about me.

That words will only ever be painted fire.

Or I could tell you that every phrase, every sentence, every word that I write is about me.

And that if you listen, you might hear me, and if you watch, you might just see.

This post was prompted by the conversation about how to write an about page, a (pretty feeble) response to a blog tag from Glenda Watson Hyatt, to share my bucket list and (mainly) a response to the request from Derrick Kwa @ Sui Generis to share our story (and the chance to win a copy of Meatball Sundae).

UPDATE: ‘Meatball Sundae’ is the new book on marketing by Seth Godin.

It’s described as “the definitive guide to the fourteen trends no marketer can afford to ignore. It explains what to do about the increasing power of stories, not facts; about shorter and shorter attention spans; and about the new math that says five thousand people who want to hear your message are more valuable than five million who don?t.”

(Something else about me: I’m much more likely to enter a competition if the prize is a book!)

I’m not sure I shared much of my story, but did reveal something else about myself in the process – the desire to be efficient with my words… and it seemed like a good co-incidence. As Derrick writes:

Your story doesn’t have to be your auto-biography or your about page. In fact, your true story probably isn’t.