Howdy, Bubba! Hey, if you're new around these parts, I just want to say how much I appreciate you dropping by! Oh, and you may want to subscribe to my feed. Thanks, and a tip o' the hat to ya!

Have you ever done something so dumb, you felt like this poor fellah here? Y’know; “nobody home”?

OR; how about that shameful episode you’d just as soon forget about? You know the one I mean, right? That time you got your hand seriously slapped for doing something you shouldn’t have (or not doing something you should have)?

Hey, don’t worry; I won’t tell.

But you can!

Now, you may be askin’ yourself, Allright, Bubba; why on earth would I want to share something like that with the whole world?

Well, lemme answer your question with another question. (Don’cha hate it when people do that?) What did you learn from that incident? Yup; that’s the nub of the gist, all right. And, since the Main Thing here at the Middle Zone is to celebrate lessons learned from life, then what better way to do it?

That’s right, y’all; starting next Monday, July 6^th, we kick off our next WILF project, and the topic is What I Learned From Bloopers, Mistakes, and Embarrassing Moments. (Whew, now that’s a mouthful, ain’t it?)

So what’s a WILF project, you ask? Well, it’s where you write a story telling us about a lesson you learned from whatever the topic happens to be (a new topic is chosen each month by yours truly). Then you post the story on your blog and send me the link! Simple, really.

[Note: If you happen to be one of the 27 people left in the Universe who've never heard of WILF before today, then I want you to run, not walk, to the WILF Archive and read all about it. While you're there, you can also peruse a few of the 673 entries we've garnered so far.]

Worried that folks will think less of you if you admit to making a mistake? Don’t be; the truth is, it actually makes you more human. (And if you’re not human, then please don’t hunt me down and, y’know, eat my face or anything.)

Your entry can be as eloquent or as brief as you like. You can make it relevant to your blog’s theme or not – it’s totally your choice. (You can even submit it to me as a guest post if you like. Just drop me an email about it at rhruzek@sbcglobal.net.) You get to choose your format, too; so far we’ve had everything from multi-part prose (up to 5 parts) to poetry. (I’m still waitin’ for the first video entry; I figure it’s only a matter of time.)

So get ready to grab the writing device of your choice, y’all, and come join us next Monday, July 6^th for the kickoff!

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Photo: Brainless, by Robert Hruzek

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Well, as you can see by the number chosen by Random.org, our winner this month for the free copy of Problogger: Secrets to Blogging Your Way to a Six-figure Income is #5.

Counting down yesterday’s list of entries leads us to… (sound of drumroll) Monica, for her poetic entry, Post-Mount-Carmel-Nosedive at My Big Three.

Congratulations, Monica! Thanks for joining us for this month’s WILF, and a big ol’ tip o’ the hat to ya!

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A big ol’ waa-hoo (sound of waa-hoo), not to mention a round of applause (sound of applause) for all the fantastic writers who joined us for this month’s groupwrite project: What I Learned From a Mountaintop Experience.

For this month, we had a total of 23 entries! (sound of crowd cheering enthusiastically) I truly appreciate you sharing your stories (and more importantly, your lessons learned) with the rest of us, not to mention the world at large.

Hey, don’t forget this month’s WILF is a contest, too! That’s right; I’ll be drawing one lucky winner who will receive a copy of Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett’s book, Problogger: Secrets to Blogging Your Way to a Six Figure Income. (Tune in tomorrow for the winner!)

Now, for your edification you’ll find each and every entry listed below (in no particular order, other than it’s how I found ‘em). Do yourself a favor and check ‘em all out. Heck, why not do something really out of the ordinary – why not drop by the authors’ blogs and start a conversation, why don’cha?

You just may be glad you did!

• Walking Back from the Mountaintop or: The Powers of Nature, by Ulla Hennig at Ulla Hennig’s Weblog
• Sales Tip – When You Find a Winning Formula, Drive It into the Ground, by Brad Shorr at Word Sell, Inc.
• What I Learned From a Mountaintop Experience, by Maarten Lemmers at Musings
• A Life-Changing Experience, by Keith Legg at Pike’s Peak or Bust
• Post-Mount-Carmel Nosedive, by Monica at My Big Three
• Vision from the Mountaintop, by Nancy Kourmalis at Treasures of Darkness
• Big Wheels Keep on Turnin’: Calabash ‘09, by Geoffrey Philp at Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot
• Big Wheels Keep on Turnin’: Calabash ‘09, Part 2, by Geoffrey Philp at Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot
• Fear Factor On The Way Up, by Andrew at Good Honest Dollar
• The Mountaintop is Easier After the Treadmill, by Marcus Goodyear at GoodWord Editing
• A Great Place to Learn Humility, by Jean Browman at Transforming Stress into Personal Power
• Sitting on Top of the World, by Joanna Young at Confident Writing
• Climbing to the Top, by Andrew at Good Honest Dollar
• Cautions From a Mountaintop, by Amy LeForge at Earnest Parenting
• What I learned from a mountaintop, by Paul Merrill at Shiny Bits of Life
• Lost on a Mountaintop, by Luke Gedeon at Luke Gedeon
• Go Tell it on the Mountain! by Terri Choate at Plum Duff
• It’s All Down-Hill From Here, by Luke Gedeon at Luke Gedeon
• Are You Looking Up or Down? by Tabetha Gedeon at Denim and Silk

Oops! Here’s a few more late entries:

• Head in the Clouds, by Jennifer Lee at Getting Down With Jesus
• Lessons From a Mountaintop Experience, by Shari Smothers at Telling Stories
• There’s Gold in Them Thar Hills, by Luke Gedeon at Luke Gedeon

And last, but hopefully not least, here’s an entry from yours truly:

• Mountains and Valleys, by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings

Y’all give yourselves a big hand, my friends; once again you’ve outdone yourselves! As always, a big ol’ tip o’ the hat to ya!

Don’t forget, y’all – be sure and drop by tomorrow to find out the winner of a free copy of Problogger! And then plan to join us next month for the next What I Learned From… project.

What’s the topic going to be, you ask? Well… now that would be tellin’!

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What is it about mountains that affect us so deeply? They have the amazing ability to stir up the most inspirational thoughts, don’t they? Especially when you’re up at the top, looking down.

Is it the dramatic sense of height you get when you’re up there – that indefinable “above it all” feeling? Maybe it’s the fact that (when the weather cooperates, that is) you can literally see for miles and miles and miles…

A Ski Vacation

Some thirty or so years ago, my family had a sorta combination family reunion and ski vacation in the beautiful resort town of Crested Butte, up in the mountains of Colorado.

I’ll tell ya, this particular trip was a boatload of fun because I love snow skiing – even though I’m, uh, not exactly an expert. And you never know what’s gonna happen, you know? Truth be told, I’ve learned a hard lesson or two on previous ski trips.

However, this particular vacation was a blast! And it was made even more fun because of the number of folks we shared the experience with. By the time the different family members arrived, there were about twenty or so of us livin’ in a couple of huge condominiums. But by far the best part about our lodging was they were located right on the slope!

Sure made it easy to get out there and do my thing, I’ll tell ya. I could literally get out of bed, snap on my skis, slide past the breakfast table (grabbing a handful of bacon and eggs in passing), zip out the front door and head downhill, right to the lift. And, at the end of the day, from the top of the mountain to “home” it was downhill again – right to the front door! (I tried to get Mom to hold the door open so I could ski right into the living room, but for some reason she was a mite reluctant. Go figure.)

Hey, now that’s the way to enjoy a ski vacation, ain’t it? No driving, no shuttle buses, no long trudge uphill just to get to (or from) the slopes. I’m tellin’ ya, it was perfect!

And don’cha love that mountain air? Crisp, bracing in its coldness; there’s just something special about bein’ out there under bright blue skies, among towering mountains with their white, snowy mantles.

Now, it’s one thing to see those mountains during the day. But it’s a special treat to see them at night under a full moon – and that’s just what I got. It was amazing, to say the least! The cold, mountain air made the view perfectly sharp and clear, and the full moon’s glow gave everything an ethereal quality that just begged for admiration.

But the scene that sticks in my mind the most was the remarkable view of the tiny little town of Crested Butte from our balcony. It looked like a someone had laid a cluster of multi-colored Christmas lights down in the snow. The silent splendor was breathtaking.

[Note: Sorry, y'all; this image from Crested Butte's website just doesn't do it justice. Thirty years ago it was a much smaller - and more picturesque - town. Alas, this is all I could find.]

Perspectives

I’ll tell ya; there’s one thing about being up on a mountain. You get a feeling of, I don’t know, hugeness, don’t you? And paradoxically, smallness at the same time. All the things below us seem so small and insignificant (even though they’re not), yet the mountain itself keeps us from feeling too big. Does that make sense?

I love bein’ on a mountaintop – because of the view. The perspective from up there is so amazing. You simply can’t duplicate it anywhere else, y’know? I can understand why most of us use the term “mountaintop experience” to describe a time of great accomplishment and joy. It just seems to fit, y’know?

Another expression we use, perhaps not as often though, is the “valley experience”. It’s when things, well, aren’t goin’ so well. Derived from the reference to the Valley of the Shadow of Death in Psalm 23, it describes a time when things are goin’ pretty badly for us. Valley experiences, as anyone will tell you, are most definitely not fun.

Ah, I love bein’ on the mountaintop, don’t you? The air, the view, the great sense of peace – ironically enough, though, I can appreciate bein’ down in the valley, too. After all, that’s where the town is. A place filled with activity, people, and… experience. And isn’t experience one of the greatest teachers of all?

Interesting dichotomy, don’cha think? Up on the mountaintop – or down in the valley. Probably all of us, as we travel through life, get to enjoy (or agonize through, depending) both extremes at various times. Hey, it’s a fact, and no mistake. And it’s a true statement to say that most of us would probably rather be “on top of the world” than “down in the valley”, if you get my meanin’.

But I’ll tell ya; there’s no hidin’ the fact that, in reality, most of the time, we live somewhere in between.

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Photo: Cool Ski Jump! by planetxau

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[Note from the Proprietor: This is my entry for our current What I Learned From... groupwrite project, and the topic this month is "Mountaintop Experiences". Hey, there's still time to join us - just click on that link and read all about it!]

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[Note from the Proprietor: Today's post is (as you can plainly tell by the title) a guest post submitted by my friend Luke Gedeon, who blogs at Luke Gedeon. Although this week we're focusing on Mountaintop Experiences, this one is a mite time-sensitive (and marginally related to the topic anyway) so I'm posting it today.]

Thank you Robert for this guest post opportunity.

The theme of this month is What I Learned from the Mountaintop, and I will post on that soon. For today, I have something closer to a valley, but don’t worry. It has a happy ending.

Have you ever needed help really bad, and had nothing to give in return? No money. No girl scout cookies. Nothing!

Well… I did offer one person a bag of M&M’s. The gift was accepted but the results were well… a little less than I had hoped for.

I recently entered Caring for China, the non-profit I work for, in a group-writing project. Not the ordinary, just for fun project, either. The company sponsoring the project, Zemanta, is giving away several thousand dollars to the cause(s) that can get the most bloggers to participate. (Click here for more info.) It is still open until Saturday the 6th, if you are willing to help.

So of course I jumped at the opportunity! I sent out a mass email to friends and family, I posted about it on my blog and twitter, and even set up a twitter account for Caring for China and followed anybody who said anything about China in hopes that they would help.

Then I went back to work on two huge projects, and let the mini-mass-media do its work.

Silence.

So I tried again, this time individually contacting a few of the people I thought most likely to help.

That worked!

At least half of the people I contacted directly followed through. I am still hoping a few more will soon.

This guest-post opportunity also came about through direct communication.

So my big lesson for the month, what I learned from begging, is that personal contact is still essential, and that blog posts and tweets without the “at” sign do not count as personal contact. You still have to use people’s names and address them individually.

So how about you? Have you ever experienced the thrill of begging? Did you learn anything in the process?

[This blog post is part of Zemanta's Blogging For a Cause campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.]

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[Further note from the proprietor: As mentioned above, this post is also part of this month's What I Learned From... groupwrite project. If you'd like to join us (and you're more than welcome!), just click on that cute little link and read all about it. You have until Sunday at midnight, June 7 to enter!]

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Ever been at the top of a mountain (or at least a very tall building), with what seems like the whole world at your feet? It’s an awesome feeling, ain’t it?

It’s no wonder the ancients were attracted to high places. Sometimes it seems like the most profound thoughts come to us when we’re feelin’, y’know, up there, above it all.

That brings up the Question of the Day: Have you ever had what is commonly known as a mountaintop experience? You know what I mean, right? I’m talkin’ about an experience so amazing, so profound – maybe even so life-changing – that you’ll never forget it.

Well, chances are, you have, and if so, we’d like to hear about it! That’s why I’m making that the topic for our very next What I Learned From… groupwrite project. (sound of cheering) So… it’s time to put on your thinking caps, y’all (or at least your idea beanies), and select the writing instrument of your choice, because next Monday, June 1 marks the kickoff of our next WILF!

What I Learned From a Mountaintop Experience

All you have to do is tell us in your own words what happened to you, and more importantly, what you learned from it.

Simple, right? You can write a story, a list, a how-to or whatever. Tell it in a soliloquy, an essay, a poem, a song, a haiku, a paragraph, or even just a word or two (it’s been done) – hey, it’s up to you. (So far, no one has submitted a video yet – but I bet it’s just a matter of time.)

And, although we don’t officially kick off until next Monday, I’m tellin’ ya now so you have plenty of time to think about what you want to write.

Just so ya know, I’ll be accepting entries thru Sunday at midnight, June 7.

Spread the word, y’all!

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Photo: View From the Top, by Lanzen

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All righty, y’all – this is the moment the entire Blogosphere has been talking about for weeks. That’s right; even the likes of Donald Kawasaki and Guy Trump have mentioned it! (I wonder if I spelled their names right?)

Yep; this is the moment I announce our next winner of the FREE copy of Problogger: Secrets to Blogging Your Way to a Six-figure Income, written by none other than fellow Bubbas Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett.

This month there were 14 qualifying entries (not counting my two), so the winning entry is (sound of drumroll)…  #13. Wow, now there’s a lucky number for ya! Lessee now (gotta take at least one shoe and sock off for this one)… counting down from the top of the list of entries leads me to… Lillie Ammann with her insightful entry Lessons From Community. (sound of crowd cheering enthusiastically)

Lillie is the blogger behind A Writer’s Notes, An Editor’s Eye, and in fact is one of the most faithful participants of What I Learned From…, having contributed quite a few entries. (We always play this little game. I set a deadline for entries, and she turns hers in at the absolute last minute! I’m onto you, Lillie!)

Congratulations, and a big ol’ tip o’ the topper to ya, Lillie!

Now, in case you’re wonderin’ how YOU might be able to win a free copy of Problogger, hey, it’s easy! Just participate in our next WILF groupwrite project and you’ll automatically be entered to win. Hey, I still have two more copies to give away. I’m just sayin’.

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