Lately I've been doing a flurry of reading. I got Jeff Goins new book Art of Work last week and love it so far. He has truly become an inspiration in my life over the past year or so that I've been reading his blog and listening to his weekly podcast.

I have another new tool that I’m using to broaden my horizons and that is Wikipedia. For the past week I have been reading the daily featured article on the English version of Wikipedia and even took a look at some of the linked articles from those as well. Because it’s a completely different topic every day, I've learned a little bit about the Nauru reed warbler, the Exhumation and reburial of Richard III and the D'Oliveira affair. I have to be honest and admit that I didn't know the first thing about any of these items. I knew who Richard III was and I've heard of the island nation of Nauru, but these specifics were brand new to me.

They may seem like silly facts and not worth much, but they are beginning to inform my writing. I have stories bumping around in my head now that have bits and pieces of the information I’m picking up in these articles, pieces that I would not have in my head without reading these articles.

I encourage everyone to try and learn something every day. Even if it’s something small, it could come in handy down the road.

Last week was my birthday…well technically it was the 33rd anniversary of my birthday.

I have always been a little annoyed by the convention of calling that anniversary my birthday since there is technically only ONE birthday for each person on earth. This was something I pointed out on the day my son was born. It was his one and only birthday that day. Unfortunately for him, he didn't even get to enjoy cake!

So what does it mean to have a birthday? As with most people, the older I get, the less I really want to focus on my birthday. When people ask me how I feel on my birthday (birth anniversary) I often say it’s “just another trip around the sun.” Some people may think that is a silly way of looking at things because it’s returning me to the place where I started last year, and the year before that…but it’s really something new, just like every day is.

We are moving around the sun and the sun also moves in space, so we truly are never in the same place. From the time you started reading this post, you have traveled millions of miles through space, even though you can’t feel that motion. Tomorrow you will be in a completely different part of space than you are today. The good thing about that is that every day is different. Every day is new.

Take advantage of that opportunity to do something new and exciting today. Write about your adventure and share it with the world. Who knows, maybe some alien species from across the galaxy will find it someday and learn a little something about this particular trip around the sun.

I was a bit surprised (though I probably shouldn't have been) when I went to Google this morning and found a special "Happy Birthday Jonathan!" Google Doodle on the search page. The more I thought about it, Google probably knows more about me than I know about myself...which means I need to pay more attention to me.

Then I thought that it's kind of nice to have Google recognize my birthday. They didn't HAVE to put a special doodle there for my birthday. It's only meant for me, but did make me feel a little special.

It turns out that little things like that are what make a big difference in the world. Doing something to brighten someone's day even when you don't have to...which reminds me of something else I saw this morning. Check out this cartoon thanks to lunarbaboon.com

I spent the afternoon on Saturday this past weekend at my parents house. My mother showed me a number of folders containing old papers from my high school years (actual dates not to be divulged here...)

One of the gems that I discovered was my full high school transcript. I found it amazing that two of the three lowest grades I received in my four years of high school were in my English classes. Little did I know at the time that I would end up receiving my degree in English and becoming a writer.

As I thought about this odd turn of events last night, I realized something. Part of my displeasure with those structured English classes in high school was centered on the need to adhere to rules and standards of writing in a specific way. I don't remember being given the freedom to write as I wanted to write. Had that been open to me, I think I would have been committed to writing from the beginning.

The good news is that I AM a writer.

I AM A WRITER!