As the sun sets on 2010, I thought a brief ‘end of the year’ post was in order. However, I also wanted to reveal two dirty secrets about this blog, and I decided now would be the perfect time to do so. First, the review.

Personally and professionally, 2010 was an outstanding year for me. I finished a couple big-ass projects, improved some key skills, and started to earn a freelance income. I also got some really sexy stamps in my passport and paid my first bribe to a border guard.

I could tell you more, but this blog ain’t about my life. Not too much, anyway. It’s about helping you create your own luck.

I do this by providing you with lots of exclusive, high-quality content. For example, in 2010, I wrote over 50 posts. Here are eight of my favorites.

• How I Became a Better Writer…and You Can Too!
• 7 Creativity Myths Exposed
• Two Strategies for Generating Ideas
• How to Manage Procrastination
• The Happenchance Guide to Overcoming Laziness
• The Power of a Routine
• How to Gain 2 Weeks of Free Time Every Year
• One Important Question

If you can’t read these now, you could bookmark this page and visit it later. You could also share this list with a friend.

Unfortunately, growth here is still far slower than I like. Right now, I receive just over 2,000 visitors every month. Why such a small number? Because of…

Happenchance’s 1^st dirty secret

• The author is lone wolf blogger. He’s a bad member of the digital tribe because he doesn’t relentlessly comment or do guest posts. He writes for the lucky people who have found his site.

However, since I’d like to see more readers here, I’m going to change my ways in 2011 by writing more guest posts and insightful comments. I’ve got a couple more tricks up my sleeve as well.

I’d also like to invite each and every one of you to stick around and join me as I grow this site. All you have to do is subscribe.

Now that I’ve shared my 1st dirty secret, let’s move on to…

Happenchance’s  2^nd dirty secret

• Since I started Happenchance in July’09… I have earned exactly $7 in revenue.

That works out to like $0.0005/hour. And you thought minimum wage was bad. For the 2 months I experimented with sidebar ads, I sold one affiliate product and a little CPM advertising. In short, the Happenchance business model is no model.

I’ve simply focused on writing great content.

It’s understandable to wonder why in the hell I would devote so much time and mental energy to something without even trying for a monetary reward. I have several answers. I started this blog because I wanted to …

• use my experience to help others
• build something awesome
• develop my writing chops
• learn more about topics that fascinate me
• and maintain my sanity while living abroad (not sure I’m successful there)

Notice what was absent: to make money from blogging. That simply hasn’t been a priority for me. I’ve earned a living in other ways. Because I freaking enjoy it, I’ve put in the time and mental energy to maintain this site.

However, I’m now working on developing an awesome product for my Happenchance readers. I’m also evaluating a couple high-quality products from other respected bloggers.

Don’t worry, though. I won’t bludgeon you with sales messages. That’s not my style.

If it was, I would’ve grabbed a hammer far sooner 😉

Now that my secrets are out, I just wanted to say…

Thanks for reading! Have a terrific 2011!

photo credit: jelleprins, mjphoto