I Think Better When I Walk

Thoughts on Thinking

Oct 5, 2011 by Yvonne DiVita

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I’m not sure why this happens but whenever I walk the dogs, my brain works in amazing ways! It seems to be buzzing at warp speed – the conversations I have with myself are often better than conversations I have with other people! Don’t tell anyone I said that, though.

Tom always says he thinks best in the shower – or, otherwise ‘disposed’ – but I think best on long walks, and in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep. Both times are inconvenient for capturing the content flowing through my brain, thus making it all a bit useless. I mean – if I can’t act on the great thoughts, what good are they?

Mind you, I’m not saving the world, or ending hunger or even choosing the next president. My thoughts usually resolve around work, family, and the dogs.

When I think about work, I think about Lip-sticking and BlogPaws. Both are the equivalent of full-time jobs, so at any given time, one is getting my attention and the other is not. Yet, both deserve my attention. Both are emerging brands that are recognized around the world. Both have colossal opportunity written all over them – in very different ways.

Lip-sticking is a well-read blog thanks to the guest bloggers who contribute of their time, energy and expertise. A few of those bloggers have been with me for many years – and some are brand new. All bring purposeful writing to the blog, sharing business advice, business tactics, and more. We are expanding into the parenting, food, and entertainment– the better to serve our readers. Those readers are women trying to make a go of this entrepreneurship thing, or they want to work from home and be there for their kids, or they’re starting a new career and wondering what choices are the right choices. In essence, they’re women doing what women everywhere do, every day – everything and wondering if the way they’re doing it is right or ok, or if it could be done more easily.

When I daydream about Lip-sticking, my conversations go like this:

Me: “We hit an all time high in pageviews last week.”

Me on the walk: “Yeah. I know. We have great bloggers.”

Me: “We should do something with that blog. It’s got great potential.”

Me on the walk: “Yeah. I know. We should monetize it. We should create product – like ebooks. We should create retreats – once a quarter. We should partner with great folks like the All the Single Girlfriends writers. We have a big enough readership to support all of that.”

Me: “Ebooks need marketing. Retreats need planning. Partnerships need attention. Are you going to do all that? Today?”

Me on the walk, interrupting just plain me, “You can do it. Remember your favorite saying, Just do it.”

Me: “But, I’m so busy.”

Me on the walk, “You’re always busy. You’ll always be busy. Being busy is a fact of life. Get busy with that blog. Books, retreats, partnerships – that’s what it needs.”

And so on. To no conclusion except that being busy is an excuse not a reason. Kind of makes life one big excuse. <sigh>

If I’m thinking about BlogPaws, the pet blogger community and educational conference I co-founded with Tom and Caroline Golon, and which my eldest daughter is now helping us with (don’t tell her I called her ‘eldest’), my thoughts rattle around my head like this:

Me: “That was one fantastic conference last month! Wow! Sure, we still have a lot to learn but we’re making good progress! Now, we just have to tap into those talented writers and marketers in the online community.”

Me, trying to nudge the dogs along even though they want to roll in the grass or sniff the lamppost, for hours and hours, “That’s not going to be easy. How are you going to manage as you get closer to 1000 members? That’s the number you want to get to by Christmas, right?”

Me: “Yes. We think we can make it to 1000 by Christmas. What a great present that will be!” (I smile to myself, realizing that if I laugh out loud the dogs will stop and stare at me and passersby will, too.) “I really should create some volunteer committees,” I continue thinking.

Me, pulling (gently) on the leashes, to get the dogs moving, “Yes. That’s a good idea. Committees could help move things ahead. You should do that as soon as you get home, don’t you think? Don’t forget the Regional Packs, too. There’s lots to do!”

Me: (getting a little impatient with myself): “Of course, there’s lots to do! But, committees have to come first. That’s the first thing I’ll do when I sit down at the computer. I’ll connect with this person and that person and everyone who has offered to help.”

Now I’m nodding my head, eyes on the dogs, mind on the great stuff I’m going to get done when I get back to my desk. The dogs, who don’t care that I’m talking to myself, are now sniffing each other’s pee – as if checking to see why they peed. We call this their ‘blogging time’… I sometimes think the sniffing is checking for spelling errors or just making sure dog #1 did not reveal any secrets about dog #2.

Shortly after this, when I get home… I sit down at the computer and… I can’t for the life of me remember what it was I had planned to do. Sadly, I remember the dogs sniffing, and the pee, and the lamppost and the fact that it’s October, by golly, so why are there still so many bugs on the trail?

But, that’s all I remember. Until, the next morning when it all starts again.

I sure am a good thinker when I’m walking. It’s when I slow down and sit down that I go blank. <sigh>

About the Author

Yvonne DiVita Has Written 12 Articles For Us!

Yvonne DiVita is the author of Dick*less Marketing: Smart Marketing to Women Online, the premier book on marketing to women online. As President of Windsor Media Enterprises, LLC specializing in Publishing 3.0 using print-on-demand, as well as business blog building and social media strategy, Yvonne is an active blogger starting with her women’s blog Lip-Sticking. Her latest book, A Little Book of Big Thoughts, is offered on her blog as an e-book and a print book. In the summer of 2009, she co-founded BlogPaws, an online pet community to support pet bloggers and pet lovers. BlogPaws has successfully held two social media conferences in 2010 and is diligently working on conference #3 for August of 2011.

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