Happy New Year!

What are your blogging goals for 2010? Please share them in the comments section and let’s encourage each other as we spend the new year building better blogs and spreading our messages throughout the blogosphere.

(Note: Your Freebie Friday gift will be posted later today.)

When my Uncle Charlie was a little boy, he put a lit firecracker in his ear. His mother later spanked him. “She didn’t have to spank me,” he said. “I wasn’t ever going to do that again!”

In 153 B.C., the Roman Senate chose to align their calendar to coincide with the solar year. January was selected as the beginning of the year  because the god Janus has two faces: one to look backward and another to watch the future, representing a time of reflection and change. Typically, this time of year we look back and reflect upon the good, the bad, and things we’re not ever going to do again.

Let’s share together what we’ve learned in 2009, what we hope to accomplish in 2010, what worked well, and what we’ll never attempt again, even if we didn’t get spanked for trying it.

I’ll go first.

One of the best things that happened to me during 2009 was beginning this blog. I’ve made new friends, developed a growing community, and hopefully shared some ideas and instructions that have helped other bloggers or those who have hopes of blogging.

In the “You don’t have to spank me, I’ll never do that again” category, I’d put lack of focus. For years, I’ve skittered around from project to project, finishing few, and even the ones I completed, I didn’t do well. I was like a fox, always trying to come up with a new, better plan. Instead of working steadily at one thing, I’d scheme and connive, ignoring what had worked for countless others, hoping I could come up with an easier, quicker way to succeed in an online business.

The hedgehog plan is a better one, and one I hope to implement during 2010. Hedgehogs don’t have a lot of tactics. In fact, they pretty much have one play — roll into a tight ball and dare any predators (especially foxes) to get past their defense — but they play that one play very well. I’m not out to defend against predators, but I do intend to focus my attention on one game plan this new year. I’ll be sharing more about that game plan in my upcoming eBook, The Ultimate Guide to Blogging Well.

Now it’s your turn.

What did you learn in 2009? What do you hope to accomplish in 2010? What will you never try again, and why?

I hope you and your loved ones have a blessed holiday season. — Linda Fulkerson & family