How are my Spiritual Birthday and this Blog related?

Well, very simple. I went to a conference in March of 2006, and there met Ken Pierpont. It was at that conference I first heard about blogging and the power behind it. He also touched a bit on podcasting, which I had never heard before. I came home and purposed at that point to start “blogging”. I kept it as a bit of an online journal if you will for a while, then started digging deeper into blogging. That started my move into podcasting, and I’ve never looked back. I absolutely LOVE the connections and the conversations that I’ve had in this space. Not to mention the pure POWER behind this “new media revolution”.

I strategically planned this blog out. I didn’t want to get a wordpress.com or blogger.com blog. I didn’t even want to go under a pen name. I wanted to be me, and creating my own blog helped me achieve that. From the start, this venture was flooded in prayer, and I made a definite step by releasing my first post to the world exactly three years ago today. Here is the first post I ever wrote:

http://taylormarek.com/2006/04/02/spiritual-birthday/

Since then, what has happened still amazes me to this day. I have interviewed some very popular people on the internet, I’ve been reader of the month for my local library, I was interviewed for the monthly JA newsletter, I’ve had the honor of being written about in the book “Podcasting for Profit” by Leesa Barnes, and I had the pleasure of being able to attend the 2008 New Media Expo. The website has continued to grow as well.

I am still amazed that those whom I consider “rockstars” of the new media realm and doggedly follow actually know me personally. That alone encourages me to continue cranking out new content for you guys. God is good isn’t He?

Today I turn nine in the Lord, and this blog officially turns three. I embrace the expanding horizon with open arms thanking God for this opportunity He has laid in front of me and welcoming whatever new opportunities He will lay in front of me in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. Thank you for being a part of this special celebration.

Featured in Wisconsin’s Junior Achievement Newsletter

Before I begin, I would like to welcome all new listeners who have read “Inspirations”, Wisconsin JA’s Newsletter. Glad to have you on board.  If you have any questions at any time, feel free to contact me either toll-free, 1-866-867-2860, or e-mail, just click on the contact me button in the navigation panel. If you would like to start listening to the podcast, scroll down the site or click on the “Listen Now” button on the right side of the webpage.

For all who haven’t read the article, you will find it posted below along with my comments on it.

Junior Achievement of Wisconsin – Inspirations – Volume VI Issue I February 2007

Taylor Marek: Podcaster

Taylor Marek is 17 years old, a home-schooled South Milwaukee high school senior, and an increasingly popular podcaster. He is also a recent and inspired participant in the Racine JA Business Challenge.

I would encourage anyone to play this game. It helps you learn how to run a big business. Highly Recommend with two thumbs up! http://titan.ja.org

He began his own podcast after seeing Donald Trump’s, and chose to focus on three main areas. The first is Finances – learning how to control them, getting out of debt and staying out, and how to get rich the right way. Then there’s Business – how to start and run a business – which he has learned from books, from his own experience, and from JA. The third is Technology – how to make a website with an impact or elaborating on the latest gadgets.

Find him at http://www.taylormarek.com/blog to learn these things – in simple terms. It’s delivered weekly and since it was started in August, Marek has had over 100 downloads with a listenership in over 22 countries, covering every continent except Antarctica.

To help correct any misunderstandings, each episode usually has downloads of 100+ each. Total downloads as of today are around 4,500. And yes, I do have listeners in 22 countries, just view the map.

In addition to his podcast career, Marek, with sights set on college, has two additional businesses: a lawn care company, and a website design company where one of his current projects is setting up a website and quick quote system for a home repair and remodeling business. He is also an accomplished violinist playing with the Magnificent Performing Strings.

He comments, “JA helped me to get where I am now – it opened up my mind on how to run a big business and to learn how to manage a big company. It is targeted towards young minds, entrepreneurs – the next generation of adults. It has a big impact teaching better management and marketing – more knowledgeable people.”