Job 1 For beBee Bloggers…Speak The Truth. Period

This is part 4 of my now established series on op/ed blogging. Who knows how long this will last? Not me.
This particular post was inspired by my pal Phil Friedman's excellent article on Perception Vs Preconception, which can be found here:

If you ever watch the TV series Lucifer, (which is a hoot), you will see the title character has the ability to get people to tell him what they really want and are thinking deep inside.

The reason he has to draw the truth out of people is that there is a natural tendency with just about everyone to repress the things they are genuinely feeling.
This happens, more often than not, because people are afraid that they will hurt other people’s feelings somehow. Or that they will start an argument they really don’t want to have. Or that they will end up getting bullied or abused somehow.
All of these are valid reasons. And if you were to use them as excuses for not speaking your mind, it’s likely that you will be the one who ends up feeling the pain. Because emotional repression is one of the leading causes of stress.
So then it becomes a matter of choice. Do you choose to offend a few people with your honest opinion, or do you choose to repress it and frustrate yourself, or worse, for not expressing it.

Blowback? Hardly None

For the most part, writing what I feel to be the truth about whatever I'm writing about has never really hurt me in any way. Certainly there are people who will challenge your opinion, but that's really the kind of interaction you're looking for. There's nothing like defending your opinions to keep you on your toes.
But the net results are: 1. I get a lot of people reading what I have to say. 2. I get whatever is pissing me off out of my system, at least temporarily and 3. I have a feeling that I may be speaking for a number of people who agree with me but don’t want to deal with the fallout of them expressing these feelings themselves .
That last point is kind of important because when you post an article expressing your honest opinion, you do become a de facto spokesperson for that point of view. And as such you are, whether you ever find out or not, speaking for a number of people.

The Truth Is Buried Under The Avalanche Of The 24 Hour News Cycle

Truth, in the objective sense, in today's world is a bit of a myth.
There too many unsubstantiated opinions floating around out there. There are too many sponsored agendas. There are too many hacks calling themselves writers. And there are too many media sluts doing other people’s bidding for anyone to have any sort of grasp on what’s real and what is not anymore.This is the sad reality of life in the 21st century.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3SKo7uVYlE
But I maintain that those who are intent on zigging when the rest of the world is zagging, simply by speaking the unvarnished truth as they know it, are the most valuable people to have in your life..
How do you find them? Well, that’s the 64 thousand dollar question.
Whenever I am looking for something, virtually anything, I tend to get hold of somebody I know who I think might be able to tell me where to find it. Usually, this nets out to be positive.
A good example: I was talking to my son, Daniel, who is a very astute business person, about taking my car in for service, and how I hated taking it to the dealership because I always feel I’m getting gouged there. He put me onto his guy, John, who has a little hole-in-the-wall garage on Gerrard Street. So I went over and talked to him. He was the real deal, that rare as hen’s teeth commodity, an Honest Mechanic. Guess where I take my car for service now.
If you have been following me for a while and trust me even a little, then I can tell you that the people who I have found and have experience with as real truth tellers here on beBee are: Phil Friedman, Randy Keho, Don Kerr, Kevin Pashuk, Brian MacKenzie, Cory Galbraith, Mamen Delgado, John White, Paul Frank Gilbert, Jesse Kaellis, Tony Rossi, Gerald Hecht, Chas Wyatt & Donna-Luisa Eversley
Granted these are mostly op/ed writers. There are certainly a good number of others writing for different vertical silos. But I don’t spend a lot of time in areas that I have no interest in so I don’t know these people very well.
I would highly recommend looking at the work of any of these bees, especially Phil Friedman, if you really want to experience truth well told.
Speaking The Truth As You Know It Will Make You An A-Class Bee

Here on beBee, things are still all kind of all shiny and new. The management of this site likes to keep things upbeat and positive. But the fact of the matter is that sometimes the situation calls for a shot right between the eyes.
The trick is to do that in a way that will attract more people than it repels. And the way to do that is by really digging down deep and expressing yourself honestly.
This honesty, I believe, is what people are looking for. Because it’s a refreshing change from all the bullshit and insincerity that’s coming at them from a hundred different directions 24/7 on other social media sites and, well, just about everywhere else.
People read blogs for a number of reasons. They get opinions that they can balance against their own. They get insights that help them deal with some of the challenges they may be facing. And they get to experience people expressing themselves in various ways from complete nonsense to total honesty and everything in between.

The 8 Beatitudes Of OP/Ed Blogging On beBee

New writers are coming to beBee daily, as the site grows. The keys, in my opinion, for anyone looking to establish themselves right now, while beBee is still young, are as follows.
1. Write about the stuff you know.
2. Speak the truth as straightforwardly as your abilities and personality will allow.
3. Develop a point of view that will give your piece direction.
4. Read every piece you write aloud to yourself and smooth and polish it.
5. Post your piece in the appropriate hives, so you’re not wasting anybody’s bandwidth.
6. Deal with comments gracefully, even if you find yourself having to defend your point of view.
7. Get active on the site, and comment on and share the posts you like or have an opinion about.
8. Follow those people whose posts you find interesting because that’s the best way to build your network.
The thing you need to always keep in mind about blogging is simple: This is a process that you need to be committed to if you want to build a following.
You don’t have to post every day, but part of your commitment to the process means posting regularly. So use the time in between posts to think about what you want to write about. Then figure out how to make it as honest as you can.
The truth will set you free, and make you a Class A Bee. I know this because I know many Class A bees and it is their honesty that makes them appealing.

Other posts in this series can be found on my publisher page: https://www.bebee.com/@jim-murray

If your business has reached the point where talking to a communication professional would be the preferred option to banging your head against the wall or whatever, lets talk.

Download my free ebook, Small Business Communication For The Real World, here:

https://onwordsandupwords.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/small-business-communications-for-the-real-world/

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All content copyright 2016 Jim Murray

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