Here’s How You Might Be Able To Help Me

I’m not sure if I ever told the story about how this blog got started, but I’d like to take a few moments to share that story with you. I’m also going to tell you how I might be able to help you — and how you might be able to help me, in turn.

I started this blog back in February 2008 because of a challenge Roger Haeske made on his blog. He offered to link to any blog about raw food, health, or fitness (with certain conditions that were easy to meet). You can read Roger’s challenge at http://rogerhaeske.com/?p=150 — and he linked to my brand-new blog from http://rogerhaeske.com/?page_id=158. Incidentally, this immediately impressed me because he kept his promise. That matters a lot to me.

By the way, I had no idea what to put in that description…

But just starting this blog helped encourage me to start transitioning to an all raw food diet. I recommend that everybody who wants to become a raw vegan do it (both the blog AND the transition), even if you just start your blog over at Blogspot.com. If you do start one, I’ll make the same offer that Roger made: Start your blog, link to a post on this blog that you like (or just link to my blog’s main page in your Blogroll), then post a comment to this post with the URL of the page where you linked to my blog. I’ll be happy to write a post and link to your blog. If possible, please try to do so by Sunday, August 9, 2009 so that this doesn’t drag out forever… I won’t approve your comment (or will unapprove it if you are one of those people whose comments don’t have to be approved), but will write about — and link to — your blog in a post after the 9 August deadline.

Slowly, over time, this blog has grown, both in terms of visitors and profit. Thanks to readers like you (who support this blog by clicking on the links and purchasing the products I talk about), this blog now pays for itself — and it buys me a few bunches of bananas every month. I’m extremely grateful that you find value in my writings and am thankful that you show your appreciation by clicking those links and purchasing those products.

I’m very picky about the things I talk about on this blog. If I include a link to a product, it’s a product that I already own and use (I might make an occasional exception if somebody has just released a product that I don’t yet own IF I know and trust the creator — somebody like Roger Haeske or Fredreic Patenaude). When you click on a link and purchase a product, it doesn’t cost you anything extra — but it does result in a small commission being paid to me by the creator of the product. You get great products at no extra cost, and I’m motivated to continue writing good posts that will be valuable to you. We both win that way!

Also note that not every link to something that is going to cost you money results in a commission for me. While the extra cash is great, providing the best possible information overrides all other considerations. I have a job that pays me very well, so just slapping up links that will pay me money is not my motivation. If I profit from what I do, I want to first ensure that you receive a superb product that is truly going to help you and not hurt you (or waste your time).

The best news about the growth of this blog is that it’s motivating me to once again be 100% raw. I believe in genuine leadership, and if I’m going to have a blog that can genuinely serve the needs of others, then I need to be 100% raw to do that (I do realize that my blog is helping those who are working on making the transition, but I don’t want to drag that out forever!). I could make a LOT more money from my blogs and my marketing efforts if I compromised in this area, but I simply refuse to promote garbage that I personally don’t believe in or advocate something that I would never use myself (which means I won’t promote about 99% of all of the health stuff out there).

Another reason I want to get back to 100% raw is because once I’m successful, I feel as if I’ll be qualified to work on my own product that can help those seeking to make the transition to an 80/10/10 raw food lifestyle. I’ll be honest; although they truly are great people, some of those who are already 100% raw (like Roger and Frederic) can, at times, be a bit intimidating because they seem so “perfect”. They’ve been 100% raw FOREVER! They’ve probably forgotten what it’s like to struggle to make the transition (trust me, they haven’t forgotten and they truly do enjoy helping people make the switch. Nevertheless…). So as soon as I feel as if I’ve successfully and permanently made the transition — AND NOT UNTIL THEN — I plan on creating a product that talks about my transition, the obstacles, and how I overcame them. But I must be 100% certain of permanent success before I do so (unless you know of somebody who wants to learn from a failure…?).

And I’ll be getting a lot of the material for it from this blog because it also serves as my journal. That’s another good reason to start your own raw food blog; it, too, could help somebody some day. I know that I am not “all things to all people”, and somebody who comes to my blog and leaves, screaming in horror, could read your blog, make the connection, and be motivated to make the switch. The more blogs, the merrier! So I encourage you to take me up on my challenge.

One more thing, if you would: If you feel as if my blog is useful, could you post a link to it somewhere, perhaps Digg a post or three that you liked, etc.? I just want to get the word out a bit better because my blog seems to be helping some people, so there are probably others who could also benefit. Please don’t spam or do anything that’s going to get somebody mad at you, but I would be grateful if you would “nicely” help spread the word about my humble little blog.

Thanks,
Tom

P.S. — Do you have a product related to the 80/10/10 low fat raw food lifestyle? I’m more than willing to review it, and if it meets my personal, subjective standards, I’d be happy to consider promoting it on this blog. Just leave a comment (with a good email address) and I’ll contact you.