As I sat down to write today’s blog I realized that it is my 66^th blog for this web site. Although I don’t assign any cosmic meaning to random events and associations I am often fascinated by them, especially when associated with numbers. For example I can’t see the number 66 without thinking of the song written by Bobby Troup. Then I think of the time I drove my 1962 Chevy Impala down to Las Cruces, New Mexico eleven years ago and actually crossed and drove for a few miles on Route 66. I realize that I need to write this blog but I can’t stop thinking about trips. So at the risk of sounding too philosophical in a blog, I have always intended to be practical, I’ll riff a bit on trips, journeys and, I don’t know what?….Maybe blogs.

I also ride a motorcycle and bikers often say, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” The final destination of my road trip to New Mexico was to visit my Aunt. We hung out, saw the jail where Billy the Kid stayed and went down to El Paso to buy cowboy boots. But the real point of the trip was the journey. I spent three weeks on the road listening to Marty Robbins CDs, driving across deserts and over mountain ranges and enjoying the journey.

Blogging isn’t Las Cruces, New Mexico or Los Angeles, or any other metaphorical destination for success, it is the journey. It is Route 66. It is the interesting stories, fascinating people and exciting places you pass along the way. When you start out on your metaphorical journey you start out in Chicago and pass through the suburbs then the familiar farmland of Northern Illinois, writing about the familiar things you know. After you go through Saint Louis, Joplin, Missouri, and Oklahoma City you are in new territory. You are learning new things, seeing new sights and meeting new people. I am writing about things now that I would have never thought about 66 blogs ago. I’m meeting new people and learning new things every day. As I write about my journey and the things that I have learned and the people I have met I hope that I am helping people on their journey. I know that other people, and their blogs, help me on mine.

I so often talk to people who want to know how many blogs they need to write. It’s like they are asking if they write 10 blogs will they get from Chicago to LA. I tell them its two thousand miles all the way and they get impatient and never get on the road. When you think of the blog as the journey and the journey as the destination it is a little bit easier. When they start to enjoy the journey it gets even easier. Now I’m not saying that blogging is the only way to get to your goal. It is an effective way to reach your goals. I’ve mentioned in The State of Social Media Marketing for your Small Business that 57% of companies that blog get new customers directly from their blog. But it’s not the only way. I mean, you can take a plane from Chicago to LA and get there in a few hours. But you miss the fun, adventure and the people you meet along the way. Besides, what are you going to do in LA? Hang out on the beach?

So embrace the journey and “Get your kicks on route sixty-six.”

Besides taking the journey myself I help others on the journey. If you would like to find out more about what I can do to help contact Image Media Partners for an evaluation and consultation. If you want to send me a comment about your metaphorical journeys or point out that Las Cruces is NOT on Route 66 I would love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Photo Credit: Moi,