Input & output – channels for growth

I’m trying to form some new digital habits in my post social media world. After I nuked my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (I still have my @hotdogshirt account because… well, it’s amazing) last January, I began to get my news and information and connections from other sources.

I’ve played around with Gab. Crazily enough, I got more followers on Gab in a month that I had in years on Twitter (which really made me feel like Twitter was limiting my reach). I opened an account at Gettr – another conservative, free speech platform that debuted last year. I have begun switching over to Rumble instead of YouTube since they too have joined the “banned-wagon” and have kicked off conservative commentators and even ministries. My ID is journeyguy on both those platforms as it’s always been.

[ASIDE: I use journeyguy because when I was first opened a Twitter account in 2008 (Yeah, I adopted early), I was the pastor of Journey Church in Monticello, Arkansas. I loved the concept of “being on a journey.” It’s why I named my blog Notes from the Trail. It’s the idea of traveling and sharing what you learn along the way.]

As I look ahead to 2022, I want to form some new digital habits. These include input (listening, reading) and output – my own creative content in writing and podcasting.

Here’s what I’m going for in 2022:

1. Become a regular listener to a few podcasts that inform, inspire and equip me.
2. Have a regular slate of newsletters/blogs that I read weekly for cultural insight and leadership development.
3. Develop my own outlet for communication and creative content that is strategic, fun and engaging for others.
   • I want to transition this blog to be a subscription-based newsletter/blog on Substack. You can already check it out there at journeyguy.substack.com.
   • I want to continue producing episodes of the Ordinary Celebrity podcast and also work on more of a shorter, several-day-a-week podcast that’s more random and not so thematic as OC.
   • I began writing a book on the life of Peter the apostle during my sabbatical in the summer of 2020. I want to finish that this year, find an agent and get it published. I’d rather not do the self-publishing route I did with my first book, Super Center Savior.

As far as input, here’s what I’m thinking so far, and I’d love your recommendations too!

Podcasts

In 2022, I want to find a few really good podcasts and try to discipline myself to listen/watch. I’m a reader more than a listener/viewer, so this will be a challenge for me. Here’s a few on my short list:

• Relatable by Allie Beth Stuckey
• Just Thinking by Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker

Newsletters/Blogs

Here’s a few that I am already following and enjoy. I recommend them to you, and I’d love any recommendations you might have on quality content and writers that you may follow.

• Abiding in Jesus by Doug Hunt
• Boldy Pursue by Caitlyn Scaggs
• Into the Foolishness of God by Shara Case
• Seeing God for Who He Really Is by Chad Hensley
• Unreported Truths by Alex Berenson

What about you? What are your channels for growth?

I’d really love to know what you listen to regularly, what you’re reading, etc. What are your own habits for input and output? And if you have none… perhaps this post may nudge you to embrace intentionality this year with what you put inside your head! We all receive input, but we need to evaluate what we allow “in” to our lives and be creative and diligent about our thinking. I also believe it’s vital for everyone to think about how they give back – what is your own output?