Hello again;This has truly ben a week of blessings. I am honored to have been mentioned on two popular and prestigious blogs. And as my way of saying thank you to their owners I wanted to share their posts with you.

 

In The Same Breath

 

I met Ashley Faulkes, owner of Mad Lemmings as a result of leaving comments on another blogger’s post. I am not sure whose, but I would bet it was Adrienne Smith’s. He eventually reached out to me and offered to help me improve the look and functionality of my website. As a blind computer user and website owner these are things I am constantly worried about. We became great friends. He has become my webmaster, and I trust him completely with my baby something that has ben hard to do. I have known for a while that he considers me an inspiration, but its something I have had trouble accepting myself. Posts like this and the generous comments I have received from others are starting to make me understand that by doing I am inspiring others. I am a big sports fan, and one of the more common sayings in sports is how great it is to be mentioned in the same breath. Now, I am not an athlete and never have ben. But I strive to be the best at what I do which is running my online business. . And as part of this I am a blogger. So, to hear Ashley mention my name with some of the top bloggers in the industry was a great boost to my ego.

You can read his post inspirational bloggers to find out who else made his list. I will tell you they aren’t all the usual super star names you are expecting. I like how he referred to me and a few of his other choices as “slightly lesser known but just as awesome bloggers”.

 

In Depth Interview

 

I met Lorraine Reguly, the owner of Wording Well through leaving a comment on a guest post she wrote for Ashly’s site called Help readers understand blog posts I feel a little guilty because she can remember the exact post, but I couldn’t have. Anyway, she emailed me and we started writing each other often. We became such good friends, that she approached me with a personal request. She told me there are lots of questions she has always wanted to ask about being blind but has never known anyone well enough to do so. So, she began asking her questions; and I did my best to answer them openly and honestly. Some may say I shared too much. Maybe I did, but if that is true; it is because of the skill of the interviewer. We talk about how my vision played into my weight gain over the years. We talk about how blind people handle every day tasks like grocery shopping, laundry, or just picking out your clothes. We talk about how I have build the website and started doing youtube videos. We talk about my personal and professional life and plans for the future. And she includes an appeal for assistance with these dreams either by people offering their services or by making donations.

 

You can read this excellent post at interview with a blind man Lorraine has also helped out with the website. She was the one who helped me get the donate button installed. Actually, she is the one who finally explained why I needed one in the first place. And she went above and beyond by getting her new ebook ready so it would be available to people seeing the site as part of reading the interview post. I feel very proud of the interview and of the fact that Lorraine wanted it to be part of the rebirth of her site as a new self hosted site owner. For those who don’t really understand all this website and blog stuff, I can assure you this is a big deal especially for an author who needs to have ownership of his or her work.

 

My First Podcast Appearance

 

Last week Ashley also interviewed me for his podcast. While he is a well established blogger, he just started doing podcasts. There were lots of more well known people he could have chosen, but he decided to pick me for his second show. He said it was because my story would be educational and inspirational. We talk about how I have gone about building my business as a blind entrepreneur and the methods used including building the website, starting the blog, establishing myself on social media networks, growing the email mailing list, recording youtube videos, and expanding to also doing Google video hangouts. We also talk about accessibility to websites and software applications. And we discussed my plans for the future including my deep desire to travel for my business and to take the youtube show on the road to educate the public and promote the amusement industry and the equipment my clients have for sale.

 

Listen To The Podcast

 

You can click Building an online business Max Ivey blind blogger, to read the post, or you can listen to it here.

 

 

How Did I Get These Opportunities

 

I figured this was a question some of you were asking yourselves. Well, I am probably going to disappoint you because it isn’t anything new and it certainly isn’t top secret. About six or seven months ago I got really serious about joining the blogging community and getting to know other bloggers. There weren’t a lot of blogs in the amusement industry I could reach out to and there still aren’t. So, I spent my time visiting sites about website promotion, social media, personal development, etc.I read their posts, left quality comments, clicked all their sharing buttons, and even wrote some of them directly with more questions or comments. Most of these people had comment love premium so my post titles as well as theirs showed up. If I got to like and respect a blogger I would check out the people who left comments and go visit their blogs. Eventually, I was asked to join a few groups where people support each other’s blogs by commenting. From consistent activity I was featured on Adrienne Smith’s post 5 bloggers I admire and in a guest post on Carli Alice’s site called weight loss surgery a first hand account And I fully expect more opportunities to educate and inspire will come, so I decided to add a page where people can find all the sites where I have been featured in one place. That page is As Seen Online

 

Why I Am Sharing

 

I know some people will think this post is blatantly self promotional. Maybe it is. But the intention is to show my appreciation. Ashley and Lorraine have put a lot of hard work and valuable time into each of their posts. They saw something about me that they believed their readers would want to hear about. They see me as an inspiration someone who can motivate others to take action and follow their own dreams. I will confess that this was hard for me to accept. But if hearing my story gives someone the energy to get up and start moving towards their goal, then I am happy about that. If someone looks at me and says hey if he can do this why can’t I do it too, then that will make me smile. But none of that happens if no one reads these posts or listens to the podcast. So you might say its my duty to write this post and share their work. And its also my responsibility to continue getting up every day and working hard to improve myself my life and my business.

 

I Am Available

 

I have gotten lots of help over the years. Some of it has been technical, but a lot of it has been encouragement or motivational. So, I want you to know that I am here to help you too. I know that your family and friends may not understand this online stuff or have the patience it takes to learn about it. Its always good to have someone to talk with who at least understands most of the terminology. I am also a good listener, and I love encouraging others. And while it wasn’t in my plans when I started this journey, I am now interested in speaking to groups or coaching individuals. To start with I will do this on a donation basis. Of course travel arrangements would have to b made for personal visits. However, just like with the midway, a lot can be done by phone, email, and skype. I believe I may be able to help motivate and inspire people. There is a real need for this, so I feel like I need to give it a try.

 

Sharing Is Caring

 

Here is where you expect me to ask you to share this post. Well today, I don’t necessarily want you to share my post, I want you to share Ashley and Lorraine’s posts. They did all the hard work, and they are the ones who should get the shares and the traffic that comes from them. So, please tell all your friends. Also, you should leave your comments on their posts as well. I will hear about them and reply to them over there. And if you should ever get an opportunity like I have I hope you will follow this example. I do enjoy hearing from you. Please feel free to drop me a line through the contact form. I look forward to hearing your opinions. Thanks and take care out there, Max