writing a vegan cookbook
i’m pondering the idea of writing a book. more specifically, a short and sweet vegan recipe + information ebook that i’ll self-publish as a PDF.
i spend a lot of time emailing recipes and information to folks who aren’t vegan but are curious about the way i cook, what i eat and how i can make well rounded meals without meat. i think there might be a market for “vegan curious” folks who might not want to go full-on vegan (or maybe they do), but are interested enough to try eating a little more in that vein. i’m not sure how i feel about using the word “vegan“ but i have come to terms with the fact that it might need to be used, since it might be the most accurate descriptor (although i’m hoping i can get away with “plant-based”).
the ebook would be a quick/short guide (with recipes and photos) to eating a: well balanced, whole foods, gluten free, plant-based diet (enough descriptors eh?).
you can follow along with my mostly-food related photos on my instagram, where i’m @mojave.
i’d love your feedback on writing my first book – pjrvs.com/writing-a-vega…
— paul jarvis (@pjrvsWP) January 3, 2012
a non-tech guide to launching your website
the most important part of any website project is actually launching it. here are a few tips for you (an owner of a website) to have a successful website launch.
you need a plan
set a launch date, and make sure it is reasonable with your web designer/developer. check in with them throughout the project to ensure everything is on track. and make sure you are keeping your end of the deal (i.e. making time to review items, give feedback, test things, etc). keep a list of things that need doing and refer back to it often – and if something needs to be added to this list, make damn sure it’s important and doable within the timeframe.
you need content
most web design projects don’t include content – so make sure you’ve written (or have had written by a professional) all the words required for every part of the site. this takes more time than you’d think, so budget for double the time you think you’ll need. if your website has a blog, make sure you’ve got at least a couple blog posts in there before launch – this will give visitors a sense of what to expect in the future.
you need social media
have you setup your twitter account? facebook page? linked in profile? ensure all your social media lines up with the new site (colours, logo, design, etc) and that they’re all connected. feel free to tease your social media followers with the launch date, and get them excited about it and make yourself accountable to the date.
you need third-party services
all sites need some additional services to be as awesome as possible – like feedburner (for RSS/email subscriptions), google analytics for stats/tracking, disqus for more intelligent commenting and/or a newsletter program to collect and send out emails to your subscribers (like aweber, mail chimp, campaign monitor, etc). cloudflare is another amazing (and free) service that speeds up your site by doing some DNS and caching magic. these services all need to be tested and working before launching your site.
you need to test everything
you are relying on your web designer/developer to build you a kick-ass site, but it’s also your responsibility to test everything they’ve done. click every page and link, fill out every form, proofread every sentence, test your RSS feed... do every single task a visitor to your site can or will do to make sure it works correctly. it’s better for you to find bugs before launch than have visitors do your bug-testing for you, publicly.
you need to launch
on launch day (congrats, you made it!) – start your promotion engines and get promoting. tell your friends, family, followers, subscribers, everyone (but don’t be annoying). offer discounts or freebies, if applicable. have some ephemeral and/or fun thing going on for the launch. look at your stats and mentions and personally thank folks who are promoting and talking about your new website. do a little dance (it makes your website load faster, i promise).
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everything else that needs doing, your web person can do for you – like setting the DNS, making sure the site is index-able by google/search engines, generating a sitemap (as a page and as XML), creating a favicon (the little icon beside your URL in the browser), as well as a myriad of other tech details. you are relying on them to do the nerdy bits, so keep up your end of the launch by taking care of all the other above tasks.
happy launching.
here’s my non-tech guide to launching your website, pjrvs.com/website-launch…
— paul jarvis (@pjrvsWP) January 6, 2012
a year without consumption
i resolve to not purchase anything in 2012, except for necessary consumables (like food, hygiene products, gas for my vehicle). what i instead want to spend my money (and more importantly my time) on is experiences – travel, connecting, interacting – basically i want to be doing more and buying less.
why? because i want to – a) test my hypothesis that stuff has no co-relation to my happiness, b) see if possessions really are tethers, and c) challenge my day-to-day will power and see how it stacks up against high-level values i think i have (in regards to thinking my consumerist tendencies, on a lot of levels, are more harmful than good).
the rules. i’ve never been one for these, but i figured some ground rules will help with clarity – both for myself and those curious about this endeavour.
- “necessary consumables” are things that are needed to be purchased often in order for me to live healthily. like groceries, tooth paste, soap (laundry, dishes, body washing), etc. to this end, i will keep at trying to eat as close to an entirely whole food (and obviously 100% plant-based) diet as possible.
- travel is a priority for me, specifically road-tripping, so i’m going to include gas and car maintenance as a necessary consumable. i have an airstream that i plan on using a lot in 2012, so it’s necessary (to me) to travel – so i can consume more experiences. it should be noted it’s a tiny RV being pulled by a fuel-efficient clean diesel compact car (a VW golf).
- replacing necessary items will possibly happen – like if the one pair of pants i own tears or the car breaks down. but only replacing items like this if it’s absolutely necessary and after careful deliberation. caveat: if i do buy something, i will document it.
- actively reducing items i have already purchased by donating, selling or gifting. i’ve already spent a lot of 2011 getting down to having only items i feel are completely required to live the way i feel is healthy, but i know i can do better.
i don’t feel this is an exercise in being deprived of things (ok, maybe i do a little bit), i just want to move past the feeling like i need to keep buying things, owning things, and having things to be fulfilled. the real goal is to reduce worthless items, while increasing things like experiences, self-improvement and happiness.
after the next 365 days, i hope that this experiment will help me more intelligently question things i am thinking about consuming in the future. i have no desire to give up all my worldly possessions, but i do think there’s a good balance between that and where i am now.
so let’s see how this goes... and if you’d like to talk about it, hit me up on twitter.
update: unconsuming judgement.
i’m giving up buying stuff for a year – pjrvs.com/unconsume/
— paul jarvis (@pjrvsWP) December 28, 2011
an examined life
the end of a year often causes reflection and examination. what were some memorable moments? what did i learn? what’s in store for next year? after all, an unexamined life is not worth living and all of that.
some highlights of the past year:
- visiting the grand canyon with my wife, at a very remote part of it, and being the only people for hundreds of miles, with our feet danging off a precipice thousands of feet in the air.
- travelling for 2 months around the US without any plans or goals.
- working on some pretty amazing projects with some amazing clients.
- playing some pretty rad festivals (with some great riders) with my band.
- getting an airstream(!).
what i feel i might have learned:
- focus is key. i cut out everything i don’t want or need (this is an ongoing process). this applies to everything from stuff i own to projects i want to do, and people i want to work with. i am lucky enough to be able to pick and choose my work, so i need to start doing that.
- possessions are tethers. i’ve been actively pairing down everything i own this year. if i need to live on the road or travel indefinitely (ideas i’ve been throwing around my head a lot), i almost can now.
- knowing what’s important, and what is not. i’ve learned a lot about what i value in my life and what my priorities are. this makes it easier to make future decisions, since it’s a template for what i know i should or shouldn’t do. that said, i will totally scrap or ignore those priorities if i want to.
what has been your most memorable moment? what have you learned? let me know via twitter.
deliver
when people ask me what my secret is for being successful at what i do, i typically tell them it’s almost stupidly easy – i just do exactly what i say i’m going to do.
and that’s it.