Day 2: When nothing happened

A tale as old as blogs.

The first time I ever published a blog post — back in 2005 😱 — I was so proud of it. I thought I’d nailed funny and ironic. Smart and interesting. Instead, it came across as arrogant. The feedback was harsh.

One person suggested I should stop writing altogether. “Don’t try it again“, they said.

It stung. Badly, for a few days. But then… nothing really happened. The world didn’t end. Life went on. When the sting faded, I was left with lessons: my writing was far from perfect, but I had created a connection with an audience. People reacted, and I learned what I had done wrong.

I kept going. And I’m glad I did.

Getting it exactly right is overrated. You don’t need every sentence to be polished. You just need to show up, try to be clear, and let people hear you. And hear them back. If you get feedback, treat it as such, feedback, not the end of the world.

Do better next time. Better, not perfect.

Prompt (pleasure, not homework 🙂)

Write about a time you shared something imperfect (maybe in a meeting, a message, or a conversation), but it still led to connection, feedback, or learning.

If nothing comes to mind, write about a time you held back because you feared it wasn’t good enough (or you weren’t good enough). What would have happened if you’d spoken up or hit send?

Rules (daily reminder):

☕ Pick a time and tie it to a ritual (morning coffee, evening tea).

⏱ Write for 25 minutes — no less. More only if you’re in the flow.

🎶 Music helps stay in the flow (here’s the radio station that keeps me writing).

🪑 Show up anyway. Even if you don’t feel like it, stay with the page. Write anything, doodle.

🌎 Write in your preferred language. English, Romanian, French — Oulala, quelle belle plume!

📓 Write on your laptop or in a notebook. Writing by hand can help you focus (any notebook will do).

✍️ Make it yours. If today’s theme doesn’t click, write about something else that comes to mind. The point is to show up for 30 days.

💌 Optional: Shrug & Send. Share your piece with someone: a colleague, a friend, a group chat. Or reply to this email and send it to me. Let your imperfect words meet the world, even if it stings a little.