Star Trek Blogging: The Klingon Way
In the world of Star Trek, Klingons are known as a warrior people, formidable in battle, fierce in their passions, and concerned with honor above all. But the life of a Klingon has lessons for humans, even for that sedentary class known as bloggers. Here are three proverbs that can help you learn to blog the Klingon way.
Act and you shall have dinner. Think and you shall be dinner.
Because so much of Klingon life is centered around battle and the hunt, the ability to act quickly and decisively is highly prized. When your opponent is swinging a bat’leth at you, there isn’t any time to contemplate the best course of action. You need to act instinctively to avoid a painful death.
In blogging too, taking action can be much more important than thinking things through. One of my most popular posts was just written up quickly and when I did allow myself to think about whether I should publish it, I hesitated wondering whether my readers would like it or not. Fortunately I decided to act instead of overthinking it.
Four thousand throats may be cut in one night by a running man.
This proverb also emphasizes speed, but even more importantly, it warns against underestimating someone’s abilities, whether that is you or someone else. If a warrior can cut a single person’s throat, then the only obstacle to cutting four thousand is how quickly he can repeat this act. The warrior who can not only cut throats, but do it quickly, is the warrior capable of achieving greatness.
In blogging as well, the limiting factor for most blogs is how quickly and strongly they pursue their goals. Often they underestimate themselves, thinking that they can only do so much in a given period of time. That’s true enough, but if you perfect your technique by eliminating distractions and systematically pursuing your goals, gaining a few thousand subscribers might not be so impossible after all.
Mere life is not a victory, mere death is not a defeat.
To a Klingon, it isn’t enough to merely live. One must also live well. This means fighting great battles, going on great hunts, serving the Empire well, and finally dying a glorious death knowing that you have passionately pursued the things you want most.
Then too, it isn’t enough to merely blog. One must also blog well. This means writing great articles, posting great comments, supporting your blogger friends, and when the time is right, retiring your blog honorably knowing that you pursued blogging passionately.
Qapla’!*
* Success!
Joshua Clanton is a freelance web designer who blogs about design, productivity, and creativity. He’s also quickly approaching his long-term goal of watching every Star Trek episode ever made.
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