Yes, someone actually said that to me. Well, not exactly. What I was told was that I need to think younger in order to market to a younger audience and that my blog posts should be shorter.  Short. Pithy. Fun.

Apparently, being myself is no longer the best way to succeed.

As for being old, I’m not quite sure when that happened.  Of course, I’m not elderly by any stretch, but I know what the person who said it meant. There was a time when I was the youngest and  smartest (or so I thought) person in the room.  Not anymore. And believe it or not, I find sometimes that I get stuck on old ideas or old ways of doing things (“It works; don’t fix it.”) just like the old folks I used to criticize did.  Ouch.

So, I’m actively trying to open my mind to new ideas and to “think young.” The “think young” part isn’t easy because my brain keeps chiming in with thoughts like, “That’s messy!” or “That’s not professional.” I have to make myself push aside that first thought and take a new look.

As for writing too much, yeah, I’m guilty. I’ve always had the bad habit of writing more than anyone wanted to read. In elementary school, the other kids got minimum length requirements and the teachers always gave me maximum limits. I’m the writing equivalent of someone who talks too much, and no one likes the person who hogs the conversation.

So, I’ll be more brief.

Starting now.

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