Milestone - Coach Mahr

This blog has reached a milestone. I launched the Coach Mahr blog 4 years ago with my initial posts on May 7, 2017. My most recent post, The Grill Will Let Go of the Protein, was my 150th distinct post. I am amazed that the blog has reached this level. The cumulative blogs total at least 150,000 words over the course of 4 years. That is about the average number of words in a Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings book and more words than “Pride and Prejudice.” Not bad for someone who earned a D in Freshmen English.

To those of you who have been along for the ride since inception, you have validated the effort I have put into it. For those of you who subscribed or started reading the blogs more recently, I appreciate your support and trust you are finding value in the posts. When I started the blog, I was afraid I would run out of content. Little did I know that would not be a problem! At last glance, I have over 100 more posts in some form or another, waiting to be worked on, finished, and posted.

I felt a deep calling to do this blog but was hesitant at first. Then I reflected on Luke’s passage that “to whom much has been given, much is expected.” I have been blessed with many gifts and ignoring this calling would have stymied my spiritual growth and neglected an opportunity to serve. This blogging puts me, with my faith, out there and that was an intimidating step for me. The fact that I receive comments and feedback from a wide range of subscribers is fulfilling. The range of subscribers extends from family to high school and college friends, neighbors, colleagues, and to those I have never met nor even know. There is even another ‘Coach Mahr’ – from the West Coast – who subscribes. It is representative of contacts based on my journeys in business, sports, and faith.

I believe the driving force behind all of this is the Holy Spirit. I have said all along that how these blogs come together and where the words come from is beyond me. I am the one putting it on paper, but the direction and inspiration is divine. My first posting on May 7, 2017 was actually two posts, one that served as an introduction, God Wanted to Play DB, and the second post (one of my best character lessons for the football team and FCA Huddle) remains one of my favorites to this day, Leave A Legacy.

As part of this Milestone blog, I want to revisit and share some of these older posts that are worth rereading and highlighting. Inspiration has come from a variety of sources. My Dad, being a significant impact on my life, has been mentioned in over two dozen, with several specifically built around his sayings or bits of wisdom – Be a Blessing, I’ve Got A Name, Memories, Measure Twice Cut Once, and True Up. Plus, two that are guiding tenets of how I live my life – The Station and Being Thankful by Doing Thanks. I have also done blogs recognizing my Mom and my Trophy Wife, these two blogs generated many comments as the subscribers recognized their own Moms and Wives.

Stephen Covey is referenced in over 15 of my posts. I learned of Covey in 1990 and read his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People which had a profound impact on me. I was fortunate to meet him in person at a seminar I attended back in 2012. The posts, Goal Setting, Rest & Renewal, Synergy, Listening, and The Way We See the Problem is the Problem all come directly from Covey’s teachings. Abe Lincoln also gets more than his fair share of mentions.

If I were to statistically measure the most ‘active’ blogs, I could use my WordPress and Mailchimp accounts to look at opens, clicks, and comments. The ones that top that list are Hope is Not A Strategy, Enlightened Self Interest, Disappointment, Labels or Love? and Come Together.

I asked a handful of subscribers to share with me their favorite blog posts over the years. Please feel free to share yours in the comment section if it isn’t mentioned within this post. What struck me is that of the three-dozen suggested there was very little duplication. The blog has been relevant over a wide range of subjects. As difficult as it was, I needed to limit the favorite list to a reasonable number for this post, so I settled on these 10, okay 11:

Thank you for allowing me to share my insights; your faithfulness has been a blessing. It should not matter, but I do look to see how many ‘opens’ I have and love getting feedback, both challenging me or sharing how it touched you. You have told me the blogs are timeless and that they have the ability to keep the “main thing the main thing” and to “scratch where it itches” – future blog post titles??

To put it in words taken from blog posts – I trust that I have done my part to make a difference and strive to leave a legacy by sharing lessons learned. It is a privilege to be all in, meet in the aisle, and live in the vision. I will press on to finish strong with my final third.