A Different Type of Milestone Post

Most people make a milestone post when they reach a certain number in their post count. Usually every 500 or 1000 posts, it's a tradition around here to make a post about things that they've learned or appreciated.

I decided to post about a different milestone.

I just recently passed 1000 Thanks.

Having a certain number of posts is a nice indication of how active someone is in the forum, and I think that it is still a nice tradition to have a milestone post when you reach a milestone with your postings.

But I have to say that passing 1000 thanks made me choke up a little.

It means that someone thought that I contributed something at least marginally worthwhile - 1000 times.

It means that I made someone smile, or laugh, or I helped them with some aspect of their business, or I encouraged them, or I gave them some kind of useful information, or I challenged them, or I made them think - 1000 times.

What have I learned in those 1000 thanks?

1. No matter how busy I am with my business, I always get so much more out of posting something helpful than I ever imagined. Sometimes people think that you waste time on this forum - and maybe sometimes you can - but posting on here and helping people that genuinely are looking for answers and guidance is a very rewarding way to spend your time, and it always comes back to you many times over.

Call it karma, law of reciprocity, Law of attraction, or whatever else you want - good deeds will certainly be rewarded at some point, even if only by the smile it brings to your face when someone tells you how much you helped/cheered them up/pushed them out of the nest and made them fly.

2. Spend your time on people that genuinely want help. As soon as you figure out someone isn't genuinely interested in following advice, but that they have their own agenda, you need to move on.

3. Wait one minute before you hit the send button and post something on the forum. look it over. Make sure it is something that you really want to say.

4. Friends don't let friends post drunk. Or Tweet drunk. Trust me.

5. Never be afraid to share your heart. As long it is something that you truly believe will help the forum as a whole and it is phrased in a way that is appropriate, don't be afraid to say what you feel.

6. Don't be afraid to share ideas. Yes, there will be people who will copy your ideas and try to pass them off as their own. Those types of people will never prosper, and they will never be able to do things the same way that you do them anyway. Sharing ideas freely is a sign of maturity and a sign of a prosperity mindset. When a number of people share ideas, it brings forth even more ideas. That is one of the truly great things about this forum.

7. On the other hand, be careful of the examples you share. Ideas are one thing, but there are certain times when a particular example (a client website, a particular keyword, potential domain name, etc.) may not be wise to show.

8. Be sure to learn the difference between #6 and #7.

9. Try to make this forum a better place every time you visit it. This might be in the form of a post that you share, or maybe helping to clear out a spammer. Just remember that you are a very important part of what makes this forum great - your ideas, your posts, your moderation, your thoughts.

10. Sometimes a post that is full of encouragement is even more important than a post that is simply information. there have been many threads that I have seen over the years that had plenty of suggestions of how to's and action lists, but posting something encouraging was the most appreciated part of a thread.

I hope that this wasn't too long. I just wanted to give back to the forum. I got my start here, and I owe an awful lot to the people who make up the membership year.

Wishing you peace, long life and success.