Living with the Truth Stranger than Fiction This Is Not About What You Think Milligan and Murphy Making Sense

Sunday 23 November 2008

Inspiration Filipina-style



I don't give a great deal of credence to the stats you get via the Internet but I do still check them now and again just for the hell of it. The wee graph above shows you the state of play at the moment. Notice something odd? Three percent of the visits are from the Philippines. For a wee country that's a lot of visits. That's 100 visits a month. And I suspect it's primarily down to one not exactly uninspiring woman, Jena Isle.

Those of you who are a part of the Entrecard community will have probably come across her since she runs not one but 10 blogs:


as well as contributing articles to other sites such as Helium, HealthMad, Quazen, Socyberty, Associated Content, Triond and Bizcovering and I gave up looking after that. She also finds time to add in her tuppenceworth (or whatever the Philippine equivalent to that might be) to loads of sites – I'm always running across her name. Plus she has a full time job which she describes simply as "demanding". When does this woman sleep?

On top of all that I've now found out that she's intending to bring out a book although for once she's not doing all the work herself. This is what she has to say about her project:

Books are treasure troves.

Almost all successful and famous persons I know have been "wide readers".

I have always wanted to share inspiring stories with readers.

It is a dream I know I have to fulfil in this lifetime, or I'll never rest in peace in the other realm.

This book project I will be embarking on would be entitled: "Inspirational Thoughts and Stories from Bloggers All Over the World."


She wrote to me and asked if I'd like to contribute. At first I was reticent and needed a bit of persuasion. It's not that I didn't think the project was worthwhile, I simply wasn't sure if I could contribute anything worthwhile. Still, she pestered me a little and I finally gave it a crack. You can see how well I managed on her website here. I'm afraid I took the easy option and decided to take inspiration itself as my theme.

If there're any of you out there who fancy offering a contribution then here's the link where she explains what the conditions are.



Jena surrounded by her family

22 comments:

tashabud said...

Jim,
I like the way you went about writing her up. So funny! I told you she was my only reader and commenter for a long time. She's something else. And yes, she tires me with all her gazzillion activities. She sure is an amazing woman. She's always helping and inspiring new bloggers.

Tasha

Ken Armstrong said...

You wrote a great piece, Jim.

And, hey, you got a picture of Jena Isle and her family too - gold dust!

Jena is a wonderful generous person and it's cool that you're in. Imagine, you and I between the same covers. If that doesn't bring a shiver to ya... :)

Jim Murdoch said...

I was thinking 'shudder', Ken, but I guess they're in the same ballpark.

Jena Isle said...

Hi Jim,

I'm speechless, really I am. Thank you. I am honored to be featured in one of your posts.

I am excited about how it will turn out to be, with all of you, excellent writers, in one book. That is something I look forward to, I still need at least 12 more articles.

Hi Tasha,

Well, I see the future that's why. lol. and I see a soon-to be published novelist. Thanks for the participation in the book project.

Good luck with your novel.


Hi Ken,

I'm excited about you, Jim, Durano , Tasha, Roy, Jean, Nicholas, Ray all in one cover..wow!

Just getting you and Jim together is enough fulfillment for me. Two of the best writers I have come across the net.

Thanks Ken for participating too.

All the best to you guys.

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful write-up for my friend! thanks!

well, all I can say is she is one great pusher... err, motivator I mean. I don't know how she can manage to maintain all blogs and still write for other sites... with a full time job to boot!

I've met lots of bloggers because of her too. Made me come out of my shell.

McGuire said...

Wow! You've got quite a lot of traffic coming to your blog, well done. I'm lucky to have come across such a beehive of activity. My blog is virtually derelict.

TEN BLOGS! That's dedication. She should be knighted for such relentless writing power.

I hope we can get to read your contribution in the near future.

Jim Murdoch said...

Jena, you're very welcome; I'm always keen to do what I can to promote my fellow bloggers.

Roy, yes, I simply marvel at her energy.

And, McGuire, yes, it can be a busy place here but it wasn't always. The main thing I did to attract readers was get out there and comment on other people's sites. At first they'll comment back to be polite but in time you'll develop a regular readership. It's all to do with give and take. But until you make your presence known no one is going to trip over your site, there are simply too many in competition to you.

Oh, and there's a link at the bottom of the article to my entry on Jena's site. Here it is again anyway.

Anonymous said...

Blimey, a demanding job and a large family too. I'm flagging in retirement with only three kids to chivvy around! I'm off to follow those links and find out the secret!

tashabud said...

Great family picture of Jena.

Tasha

Jim Murdoch said...

Dick, at least you have retirement as an excuse!

And, Tasha, yes, it is a nice photo. Family is obviously important to her.

Anonymous said...

The Portrait of an Amazing Woman by Jim Murdoch (1650-1709)!

Jim Murdoch said...

Okay, Parvez, so I'm dead then?

Jena Isle said...

Thank you everyone for the kind words. Best regards and happy blogging.

I still need 12 articles for the book. Anyone who is interested do contact me.

Anonymous said...

Jim,

this is one of those what I call 'rocking posts'. Currently, my attention is more in search engine optimization and blogging tips than on just writing and grammar. So, you may find quite a few long/short sentences in my posts. Thing is I may trip over and make gaffes every now and then (:-(sad!).

Why I call this rocking is from the search engine opt side. Long posts always tend to rank well. Particularly long posts with such in-depth understanding and analysis.

Thanks a lot

Lenin

Jim Murdoch said...

Yep, Lenin, 'rocking' was what I was aiming for. Interesting what you say on the SEO front. I read a lot about it before I even started my blog and pretty much decided it wasn't something I'd attack aggressively. I put a bit more thought into my website not that it gets many hits.

Anonymous said...

Great post!Thank you :)

Jim Murdoch said...

Glad you enjoyed it, Gabriella.

jan geronimo said...

Thanks, Jim. What a splendid post about Jena. That family picture is simply great. It's the first time I've seen it.

I've always imagined Jena as a knight in shining armor out to rescue bloggers in distress. She's that nurturing spirit I find irresistible. Maybe because for all my bluster deep inside I know I still feel shaky when it comes to my blogging.

Thanks for featuring Jena. She deserves this.

Jena IIsle said...

Hello Jan,

Wow, it's a long way from your blog to here. I'm glad you've visted Jim. Thanks for those generous words.

Jim has a lot to offer. I remembered one reader who said that Jim's articles are usually like baby theses - well researched, organized, very informative, impeccable grammar, witty and entertaining - all rolled into one post; very few writers could do that. You're one of those too, Jan.

Feel free to browse, I'm sure Jim wouldn't mind.

Jena Isle said...

Hello Jan,

Wow, it's a long way from your blog to here. I'm glad you've visted Jim. Thanks for those generous words.

Jim has a lot to offer. I remembered one reader who said that Jim's articles are usually like baby theses - well researched, organized, very informative, impeccable grammar, witty and entertaining - all rolled into one post; very few writers could do that. You're one of those too, Jan.

Feel free to browse, I'm sure Jim wouldn't mind.

Jena Isle said...

Jim,

Sorry for the similar comment. You could delete the second one, if you please, thanks.

Jim Murdoch said...

Glad you liked the post, Jan. I see Jena as this ball of energy and one day she is going to go pffft! and explode. Until then we can all take advantage of her good nature and irrepressible enthusiasm.

And, Jena, thanks for suggesting Jan dig into the archive. It's getting quite extensive now I'm pleased to say and I'm keen to see people make the most of it. Now, go and lie down and take a vitamin pill or something.

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