What Did You Learn This Year? A Final Group Writing Project for 2006

by Ben Yoskovitz

One of my goals from Thanksgiving to Christmas was to run one last group writing project. I thought about a few ideas, but decided to look back in time and ask the question, “What did you learn this year?”

I’m not the type to overly reflect on the past but given how much I’ve learned and how much experience I’ve gained over the past year, it strikes me as the kind of thing that many of you would be interested in. Not just what I’ve learned and my experience but everyone’s newfound insight and ideas. And of course, your own.

When you sit back and really examine what you’ve learned I know a ton of super interesting things will come out.

So, here are the details:

Starting Monday, December 18th write at least one post answering the question, “What did you learn this year?”
You’ve got until Sunday, December 24th when the group writing project ends.
Post a link to Instigator Blog from your post(s). (And feel free to use the image in this post.)
Tag your post(s) (for Technorati if you do so), “what I learned”.
Email me to let me know about your post (easiest way for me to find out about it.)
I’ll provide at least 2 links back to your post and encourage everyone to check out your blogs!

To add a little gift-giving fun to this project, I’m also going to randomly give away a few prizes:

Phil Gerbyshak’s book 10 Ways to Make It Great! (two signed copies!)
The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living by Randy Komisar (recommended by Austin Hill)
What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting by Ted Demopoulos
Marketing Outrageously by Jon Spoelstra (recommended by Jim Kukral)
(More prizes may be forthcoming!)

(Note: Even if you donated a prize or recommended one, please contribute to the group writing project anyway. If you’re picked to win something, I’ll make sure I don’t give you what you donated!)

Obviously you won’t get these prizes before Christmas but I hope they’ll be a nice little boost come 2007!

Let me thank everyone in advance who participates and enjoys this group writing project. I can’t wait to learn about what you’ve learned in 2006.

Please help me spread the word about this group writing project. I’d love to get 50 submissions, but that’s going to take some work!

Inspire. Motivate. Energize.

December 12th, 2006

39 Responses to “What Did You Learn This Year? A Final Group Writing Project for 2006”

#1 Successful Blog - A Holiday Gift: The 31-Day Calendar of Blog Post Ideas for January December 12th, 2006 at 2:38 pm

[…] January 25 — Hold a contest, a carnival, a poll, a reader input event — or write a post for one. […]

#2 Top Law Student December 12th, 2006 at 9:25 pm

What I Learned at Law School This Year…

Here are a few lessons I learned this year as a 3L in law school:

For closed book exams, using law school practice exams was very, very valuable because it improved my ability to think through the issues and identified areas I needed to study more.
Wh…

#3 Group Writing Project Adds 2 More Prizes - What Did You Learn This Year? » Instigator Blog December 13th, 2006 at 2:38 pm

[…] For the final group writing project at Instigator Blog in 2006 we’re asking the question, “What did you learn this year?” […]

#4 Casual Keystrokes » Mouse Got Your Fingers? I Have Solutions. December 13th, 2006 at 3:48 pm

[…] Easton provides us with a list of 111 things to blog about. Now, if you can’t find something on the list that gets you going, then check out Liz’s gift of 31 topics January. Still stumped? Join our Red Hot Bloggers blog carnivals or a group writing project. If you are lucky, you may get tagged with a fun meme. If you aren’t so lucky, start your own. […]

#5 2006: What did I learn? at Andrew Garrett’s Mutation December 15th, 2006 at 5:02 pm

[…] Thanks to Ben over at Instigator Blog for pinging me to take part in his ‘What did you learn this year?’ group writing project. […]

#6 The Clearing Space December 17th, 2006 at 12:33 am

What I Learned This Year… …

At Instigator Blog, Ben Yoskovitz is asking us to join in a group writing project by looking back in time and asking the question What did you learn this year? As this has been a huge year for me, I…

#7 what i haven’t learned « Levite Chronicles December 18th, 2006 at 4:15 am

[…] Tomorrow, I need to write about what I have learned this year. This thanks to Ben Yoskovitz who is holding a group writing project. […]

#8 You Never Know Who You’ll Meet » Instigator Blog December 18th, 2006 at 11:43 am

[…] Go into a gathering of people with too many strong expectations and there’s a chance you’ll come out with bubkus. Expectations can be like blinders; they don’t let you see everything that’s around you. This is my first post in the What I Learned in 2006 Group Writing Project. You can participate too! Write a post (or more) on your blog about what you learned in 2006. Link back here. I’ll donate $5 to charity and you could win some great prizes. […]

#9 Legal Andrew » What I Learned - The Perfect Job Will Find You December 18th, 2006 at 1:23 pm

[…] The ever-cool Ben Yoskovitz is hosting a group writing project over at Instigator Blog. It’s entitled What Did You Learn This Year?. Here’s my “teachable moment” (as Mrs. Enis, my high school math teacher, always said). […]

#10 What People Have Learned in 2006 » Instigator Blog December 18th, 2006 at 4:49 pm

[…] The results are coming in already. People are participating in the What I Learned in 2006 Group Writing Project. I want to make sure I highlight every post properly, so here’s an early batch of contributors: […]

#11 Eliza December 19th, 2006 at 12:05 pm

http://homemom3.blogspot.com/2006/12/5-things-i-learned-about-blogging-in.html

I wasn’t sure which comment to put this under, but I joined in on this one. It was a lot of fun, thanks for doing it.

#12 Ben Yoskovitz December 19th, 2006 at 12:27 pm

Eliza - thanks for the link. Great post! I’ve added it to the list I’ll be promoting soon…(today or tomorrow.)

#13 thoughtsphilosophies.com December 19th, 2006 at 4:50 pm

Annual Self-Analysis…

In less than two weeks, we’ll be looking out the windows and seeing a new year spread before us. Some will turn, as they do every year, to make fresh and new resolutions to make the coming 365 days more fulfilling. Some make more sense of their l…

#14 More Lessons Learned From The Blogging Community in 2006 » Instigator Blog December 19th, 2006 at 7:55 pm

[…] Join the What I Learned in 2006 Group Writing Project! […]

#15 What 2006 has taught me at A Mogul To Be December 19th, 2006 at 8:15 pm

[…] On a suggestion from the Instigator blog on a group writing project, I’m posting what I have learned in 2006. 2006 has seen a lot of changes for me personally and professionally, from moving half way across the country to buying our first house to taking blogging seriously. So here is a simple breakdown of this year: […]

#16 Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing Blog » » Viral Blog Stuff - What I learned December 19th, 2006 at 9:33 pm

[…] As you build more relationships online, you get invited to participate in more and more group activities. I am featured in several people’s upcoming books and recently I have gotten involved in a lot of viral blog efforts. […]

#17 What I have learned « Levite Chronicles December 19th, 2006 at 10:28 pm

[…] Ben is making us think about 2006. Actually, he isn’t making anyone do anything, but Ben Yoskovitz invited people to write about what they learned in 2006 and that is an invitation that I can’t refuse. […]

#18 paul merrill December 20th, 2006 at 1:20 pm

Great suggestion!

I had to join in…

#19 Msterilinn December 20th, 2006 at 3:03 pm

Nice blog Ben. I had many teachings in 2006. I will just mention a few…

#20 Ben Yoskovitz December 20th, 2006 at 3:05 pm

Paul - thank you for joining in.

Msterilinn - thank you as well!

Both of your posts were great, I’ll be linking to both soon!

#21 Finding Opportunities For Big Success is Easy » Instigator Blog December 20th, 2006 at 6:47 pm

[…] digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Finding_Opportunities_For_Big_Success_is_Easy’; This is part of the What Have You Learned Group Writing Project. You can participate as well! Write a post about what you’ve learned in 2006, link it back to Instigator Blog and tell me about it. […]

#22 Sashidhar Kokku December 20th, 2006 at 7:12 pm

Thanks for inspiring me to write on what I learnt this year. You can find my entry at
http://community.dynacx.com/blogs/sashidhar/archive/2006/12/20/2006-_3A00_-What-did-I-learn_3F00_.aspx

Thanks again,
Sashidhar

#23 Ben Yoskovitz December 20th, 2006 at 7:43 pm

Thank you for contributing Sashidhar. Your list is great!

#24 5 Little Things and 1 Big Thing I Learned This Year December 20th, 2006 at 11:21 pm

[…] To me, if you’re not learnin’, you’re dyin’. My friend Ben Yoskovitz’s “What did you learn this year?” group writing project got me thinking about all the things I’d learned this year. Coming up with a list was actually difficult, since once you learn something, it’s like you’ve always known it. I also think that learning little things may effect us more than the big ones. So I decided to highlight some little things that I learned, along with the one thing I feel had the biggest impact on me as a home-based business owner this year. […]

#25 Life Lessons From 2006 at SuccessCREEations December 21st, 2006 at 2:39 am

[…] Life Lessons From 2006 By Chris Tags: Ben Yoskovitz, Instigator Blog, Motivation, Passion, Success, what I learnedBen Yoskovitz has a group writing project under way over at the Instigator Blog asking the question, “What did you learn this year?” […]

#26 Lawsagna December 21st, 2006 at 4:29 pm

Lessons from the crib…

Ben Yoskovitz of Instigator Blog is running the group writing project “What did you learn this year?” I thought his question was very appropriate for my learning blog, so here are my reflections on year 2006. 2006 was a year…

#27 Robyn McMaster December 21st, 2006 at 5:12 pm

Ben, I was inspired by your challenge so I took up the baton and asked others to join. My greatest lessons came through nature this year and I think you’ll see why.

#28 Ben Yoskovitz December 21st, 2006 at 5:59 pm

Robyn - wonderful! Thank you for participating. I’ll be linking to your post in the next day or so.

#29 Working Solo - » A Time for Thanks and Wishes December 22nd, 2006 at 4:04 am

[…] Even though there are a variety of end-of-year blog writing projects I have to be honest and say that the energy required for these has “left the building” and I won’t be too far behind. […]

#30 FreakJoBlog » Archive » What We Learned This Year December 22nd, 2006 at 8:36 pm

[…] Ben Yoskovitz at the Instigator Blog (as well as StartUpSpark.com), whom I had the pleasure of meeting at BarCampMontreal, is inviting bloggers far and wide to participate in a group writing project under the heading, “What Did You Learn This Year?” […]

#31 A Glimpse of What I learned in 2006 « LivingLeadership December 25th, 2006 at 5:14 am

[…] What did you learn in 2006? The Instigator wants to know. […]

#32 Monique Attinger December 29th, 2006 at 11:30 pm

I’ve joined in the fun too! What I’ve learned in 2006 can be found at http://www.insuranceguide101.com/blogs/insurance_editorsblog/archive/2006/12/27/101323.aspx

#33 More Lessons Learned Snuck In After The Deadline » Instigator Blog December 31st, 2006 at 4:19 am

[…] Well, wouldn’t you know it … I extended the deadline on the group writing project where we ask the question, “What Did You Learn in 2006?” and a few more people responded! Very cool. […]

#34 Middle Zone Musings » What I Learned in 2006 February 28th, 2007 at 8:32 pm

[…] post was inspired by Ben Yoskovitz, whose invitation to post about this at his Instigator Blog was sent to me by my friend Dennis. Thanks, Bud - I owe you a cookie at the […]

#35 What I Learned in 2006 | Middle Zone Musings March 6th, 2007 at 6:02 pm

[…] post was inspired by Ben Yoskovitz, whose invitation to post about this at his Instigator Blog was sent to me by my friend Dennis. Thanks, Bud - I owe you a cookie at the […]

#36 Five Things 2006 Has Taught Me at THRILLING|heroics March 9th, 2007 at 2:26 am

[…] (from Startup Spark) is hosting a group writing project at his Instigator Blog, and for each participating blog $5 will be donated to charity. The prompt […]

#37 The Carnival of Entrepreneurs Starts Up! at THRILLING|heroics March 9th, 2007 at 2:27 am

[…] these two posts for more information on the What Did You Learn This Year? group writing project: information part 1, information part […]

#38 Five Things 2006 Has Taught Me « Pursuing Excellence March 17th, 2007 at 10:14 pm

[…] Things 2006 Has Taught Me 22Dec06 Ben (from Startup Spark) is hosting a group writing project at his Instigator Blog, and for each participating blog $5 will be donated to charity. The prompt […]

#39 Create Your Own Blog Network : Instigator Blog January 5th, 2008 at 6:53 am

[…] Group writing projects […]

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