If you’re like me you probably follow a bunch of different blogs that cross lots of different subjects. The blogs I follow most closely tend to be about quilting, embroidery, anything handmade really, and I love that they give me plenty of ideas and inspiration. I follow some general lifestyle blogs too, and also ones relating to online and handmade business.
Some blogs, though, I don’t follow for any specific reason other than I enjoy the author’s perspective. Which is not to say that I agree with them - a lot of the time I don’t - but that’s the beauty of blogs and the internet in general - we can spend time taking in what resonates but also quickly click away from sites or authors that just don’t work for us.
Today I thought I’d share with you five bloggers who regularly make me stop and think. They each bring their own very unique voice to their work and that’s what I love most about them. Too many of us, whether we’re writing on blogs or posting on social media or even chatting with an acquaintance, hold back our true thoughts for fear of offending someone.
I’m not going to judge or defend that practice, that’s not the point of this post. Instead I’ll just step aside and let these folks speak for themselves, because that’s what they do best. You may or may not like them or their perspectives, but the way they present their views is what makes them irresistibly unique.
Penelope Trunk
Penelope Trunk started out as a career advice writer, called The Brazen Careerist. She can be brutally honest not only about business advice, but life in general, which could be due to her Asperger’s Syndrome. She homeschools her two sons and what I love most is watching her views on education and homeschooling evolve as her children grow.
Mark Manson
Mark Manson writes about ways to live an unconventional life. He bills his writing as self-help for people who hate self-help (and let’s face it, self-help is a very tired subject). In his unabashed up-front style, he not only helps you distill your thoughts and plans for the future, he helps you gain insight into the past and how it affects your future. This is tough love at its finest.
James Altucher
James Altucher is a prodigious author who’s written on finance, business, education, and psychology. After years of following more traditional paths, he now writes in service of empowering others to follow their own unique paths. Much of his advice is on the writing process, but it’s universally applicable to life in general.
Seth Godin
Seth Godin is a very well-established author who’s written widely on marketing and business but has also expanded his topics to creativity and maximizing opportunity. He is pro-innovation but anti-homeschooling, which makes for an interesting dichotomy. Most of all, I admire his brevity - he can express more in 100 words than most people can say in 1000. He’s a master of his craft.
Danielle Laporte
Danielle Laporte wants you to feel. But she’s not one of those woo-woo touchy-feely kind of gurus, she’s got a bit of a hard edge to her too. And that combination is irresistible. Her latest book is called The Desire Map and the premise is looking at your life as a series of decisions that not only affect what will happen, but how you will feel. Her site is fairly commercial, serving her books and programs and apps, but her blog posts about life in general are very moving and worth seeking out.
Do you have a favorite blogger that makes you stop and think and see things in a new way? Share who it is in the comments below!