Q&A with Johnnie Weathersby III, Senior Business Intelligence Data Analyst/Architect, The Motley Fool
Editor’s note: Nancy Cox is the founder of Research Story Consulting and former CPG corporate researcher. Her work and play include words, sketchpads, cooking (not baking) and the occasional sock puppet.
Passions, hobbies, healthy distractions and even guilty pleasures – discover how the research community plays and how that plays out in their work life. In the Venn diagram of work and play, what happens when work and play overlap? Research colleagues share their work and play stories in this interview series by Nancy Cox.
Hello to Johnnie Weathersby III, senior business intelligence data analyst/architect, The Motley Fool.
What is the “play” in your life?
I have three that have stuck through my life: my blogging, working out – I started when I was in eighth grade and I just love working out every day – and watching Japanese Anime. But by far, blogging is No. 1 and has influenced my work the most. My current blog is SoSoDope – that blog’s purpose is to push conversations toward a fulfilling life that’s not just “dope” and not just “so dope,” but “SO SO DOPE” (hence the name). Exploring things that bring personal happiness to myself and many others.
SoSoDope is my second blog. I started blogging in 2010 with the blog GentlemanREDUX – a lifestyle blog of gentlemanly conduct. Choosing to blog was intentional. I remember seeing somewhere a long time ago that the better you become at writing, the better you will be able to express yourself. The better you’ll be able to express ideas when you speak, the better you will present professionally, and in all areas of your life. The original interest spurred from that. I feel a groove with the blogging. I can feel the joy of writing. I get into that flow state.
People always ask me how I come up with ideas for my blog and if I write beforehand. I write in the moment, that’s how I write my best stuff. I keep a lot of little lists. Tons and tons of Post-its. Then I write about the thing on the list and scratch it off. It’s a great thing to keep lists, even a little nugget that popped into your head, and then come back to it. It’s the “slow hunch” – a little thing that you let linger and linger. As a writer, if it’s a nagging thought even if you think I don’t want to write about that – you should.
How has your play influenced your research work?
My writing outside of work turned into opportunities to write things up at work. To help others with presentations. Right now, I’m creating a training course from scratch because on my team I’m uniquely positioned because of my writing interests outside of work. It’s made it a lot of easier to write presentation scripts for example. I know I’m using a definite tone of voice; I can picture myself presenting and how it’s going to sound. I’ve learned my cadence – that half a 1.5-spaced Word document page is one minute.
My list thing – I’m not sure if that’s blogging influencing work or work influencing blogging. Blogging has reinforced the power of lists. I need the tactile – journals, notes – that helps me a lot. Everyone else at work might use something like Trello but I like my notes. At one point at work, I literally had a plate that I kept on my desk for my to-do notes so people could see what I had on my plate. As I finished clearing my plate, that would let people know – OK I have more room now, there’s less on my plate. It was a fun, geeky thing. There is total satisfaction in looking at your plate and seeing it emptying!
What would you tell readers who want to know more about your area of play?
Start with a platform that allows you to write vs. defaulting to video. Write a post on Facebook or LinkedIn or create a Medium account if you want to get serious. Write about something you are passionate about. Write regularly. Have something to say.
Speaking of something to say, I intentionally took a long break in my blogging – I stopped my first blog (that I had for six years) in 2015 because I had promised myself when I had said everything I had to say about that topic I would stop. But a post started my new blog. I put a post out there that took off in 2020. People who used to read my blog told me they had missed my perspective. That post was a definite first step for me to get back into blogging.
Again, don’t feel you have to stay committed forever to a blog once you start. It’s OK to step back and pause in a blog. Don’t feel that you owe people or that you shouldn’t stop a habit. With my current blog, I took a short pause during a move because I knew that the move would totally occupy my mind and I didn’t want every blog to be about moving! Don’t force yourself. Don’t put things out there that you would not want to read.
Keep lists of things that interest you until you have lots of ideas you are excited to write about.
Also if you’re starting, I still recommend an old book because the craft itself doesn’t change, “The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging.” An oldie but goodie.