Dan Miranda from CommandYourTime.com - This kid is legit
Contact: danfmiranda [at] gmail.com
Twitter: @TimeCommander
Websites: http://commandyourtime.com/
Why you should listen to this interview:
I know what you’re thinking: this 13 year-old blogger thing can’t be for real. Well let me be the first to tell you that Dan Miranda is the real deal and he has some incredible insights at such a young age. We talk about his blogging origins, the criticisms that he has received, and how he differentiates himself from other personal development bloggers.
When I was his age, I was chasing around girls and playing basketball after school. Dan still hangs out with friends and plays sports, but most importantly, takes the time to engage the online community and start building his personal brand. Can you imagine if you had started building your brand at 13? Imagine the damage that you would be able to do by the time you hit 18 or 21!?!?
Dan is only getting smarter and more influential everyday. I look forward to seeing him grow as a person and as a blogger. Enjoy the video!
Conversation Breakdown
00:47 - How did you get started with blogging?
Dan actually started his first blog without knowing it for his baseball team. He updated their stats and wrote team news on the site.
2:02 - What was the first blog that you read that got you started in writing about personal development?
The blog that influenced Dan to write about personal development was Motivate Thyself by Eric Hamm
2:25 - Do you feel that all of the personal development blogs are saying the same thing?
Yes, Dan does feel that most personal development blogs are all saying the same things. Dan wrote this post in reaction to this: Don’t Listen to Your iPod while running
2:57 - How have you driven traffic to your blog and separated yourself from the masses?
Commenting on blogs is the most important thing that Dan does. He’s always the first to comment on many high profile blogs.
3:29 - What is more important: making a lot of money or doing what you love?
Dan believes that making money is important, but it’s not the most important thing in the world. It’s all about living your passion
3:52 - How am I going to make money doing what I love?
Dan says that it’s possible to monetize Smurfs. You need to talk to your community, write great content, and organize Smurf Tweetups so that you become the expert Smurf person and people will pay you money for your expertise
5:14 - Who is your target marketing right now with your blog?
Dan’s current target are people who are older than him. He would like to target people his age or even those in high school, but unfortunately this demographic is not concerned with personal development and growth.
9:17 - Have there been people who criticize you because of your age?
This is the person who has attacked Dan - http://redheadedfury.com/im-the-reason-your-kid-shouldnt-be-on-twitter/
10:41 - What cool things with social media do you plan to do in high school
Dan really has his head on straight. He wants to build his brand so that he can get into a prestigious university. I’m confident you will do it Dan.
12:00 - How can a blogger get more traffic to his blog?
Link to other blogs. Links are the currency of blogging, once you link to others, you’ll notice that they’re starting noticing you.
Hi Dan,
I smiled when you hear to “a 13 y/o couldn’t do it”, because I write YA Fiction, and I often get people saying: “your character acts too grown-up for a 12 y/o (or whatever), a real boy/girl could never do that”.
Most probably, most boys (hey most adults!) don’t even try.
Hah, you are right Miguel. People are quick to tell you that “it’s impossible,” or “there is no possible way” but ignoring the harshness is probably the best way to act. When you are on top of the world, they will be at your feet.
You really will be thirteen then, or thirty.
Dan has a lot more sense than a lot of people I know, and this includes bloggers. He’s got focus and drive - a trait not so common among young persons. It’s quite a surprise that he still leads a balanced life - academics, sports, and his new passion - his personal development blog. Thanks for featuring Dan. He deserves this. “,)
Thanks for blowing me away with compliments, Jan. Much appreciated. I think where the drive comes from is from the tremendous amount of positive response I’ve gotten from the community around my blog. Again, thank you for being part of that select group.
Great job, Dan. I’ve really come to respect you through our chats, emails and tweets. Anyone who watches you for the next several years will watch you grow to incredible heights.
My favorite quote from your interview: “Links are like the currency of blogging” - how true!
Kudos, my man!
James Hofheins
Utah
Links are the currency of the internet. And by linking to your favorite site you are, in essence, giving money to your favorite site. Eyeballs = dollars.
Dan, I think you just said something incredibly important - “The drive comes from…the tremendous amount of positive response I’ve gotten from the community around my blog.” It’s a well-known fact that most people (kids AND adults) crave attention. Positive attention is best, but negative attention will suffice. I think we see that, daily, in the news. We should really make an effort to give more POSITIVE attention where it’s due, and WITHHOLD all attention from negative behaviors (like this latest shooting in D.C., at the Holocaust museum). Kids like you should be getting the lion’s share of the attention. Not only does it give you the drive to continue; maybe it will give other kids the notion that they CAN do intelligent, positive things and be taken seriously.
Wow, that sounded stuffy. Don’t forget to have fun, too!
Ha, I find it pretty funny how you give me all of this business advice and then say “oh, having fun is great too!” Just kidding.
On a more serious note, I would like to ask you a question I had trouble answering. What makes me any more special than the thirty year old guy blogging on self-improvement? I only say this because it was brought up in the comments section of that post “hating” on me.
Nothing, really, Dan (and it’s good that you don’t let it go to your head).
On the other hand, it’s interesting because it’s unusual for a thirteen year old to run a successful blog, let alone choose “self-improvement” (or time management, for heaven’s sake) as the theme. What’s “special” about it, to me, is that it’s just one more data point stacked against everyone who’s quick to underestimate kids based on stereotypes and limited experience. Your perspective on these topics is naturally going to be different from (but probably influenced by) the thirty year old blogger writing on similar topics. (That could lead to some interesting collaborations, if you think about it.)
As for that “attack on you” post, I had to laugh. Of course, YOU know why I laugh - I heard a lot of the same things, only I was getting it face to face. “You lie! You are NOT twelve!” There were many people who tried to make my parents doubt their good parental judgment in letting me take classes on a large, university campus - unsupervised - at twelve. Concerns ranged from whether I was mature enough to hang out with my college-aged classmates to whether I’d have lifelong regrets over missing my senior prom. I think I turned out okay. And I turned out extraordinarily NORMAL.
There was a comment in your favor, though, on that post - you notice it came from a teacher? I’m heartened to see that a teacher stood up for you there. I think that “attack” had more to do with someone not wanting to share their playground - not wanting to have to watch their own language around kids. But as a mother, I’d say that if YOU are going to step into a predominately adult environment, YOU need to be able to handle it - to know when to shut your eyes and close the browser, and when “not to talk to strangers.” The Internet won’t bend to accommodate you, nor should it. But you are not doing anything inappropriate, here - you have as much right as anyone to blog and to hang out on Twitter.
As a mother, I’d say make sure your parents DO look over your shoulder now and then; make sure they’re comfortable and supportive of what you’re doing. Ultimately, they know you better than random Twitterers, and they are always your best allies.
The fact that you took the time to write something that long is somewhat extraordinary.
You make connections with those you can actually connect with. Holly, it is obvious to me that we can connect on many levels. I feel like everyone needs to go through a period of time where they have to go against the world - and not just because it builds character. It’s because the world is a tremendous place, and it take no prisoners.
Talking on stereotypes against teens was <a href=”http://firstofseven.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/a-bit-on-stereotypes-beliefs-and-social-conditioning-or-on-dan-miranda/”<this post by Simon Lawry. He really covered that we, as people, are conditioned to believe that the average thirteen year old is a snob, immature and always wrong. He claims that we are wrong to believe this.
I did see the comment by the teacher. But I want you - and everybody - to know that I come on to the Internet with the idea that I am going to belittled, going to be tried to taken down. It’s a natural initial reaction.
My parents do look over my shoulder. They are my executives looking down on me judging my work at every bend and although I don’t particularly like this policy, I think it’s one that needs to be kept until I am old enough to settle on my own.
As long as you laugh it off, Dan. “Being belittled” shouldn’t be part of the expectation; however, like any form of bullying, it says so much more about the bully than the one being bullied. Just take it all with grace and don’t let it get to you.
“Something that long”? I’m a writer, Dan. I just don’t know when to quit. Actually, I do - when it’s part of the job. When I’m paid to write concisely. After five, though, I can cut loose. No matter how old you are, you still need fun. You do what you love to do, and it may be work, but it’s never a chore.
I remember how I felt at twelve and thirteen. I was intelligent, mature, silly, quirky, a little nerdy, a daydreamer, an old soul, a good kid, and mostly out of step with my peers. We shouldn’t LIMIT people due to their age. We shouldn’t limit ourselves with such silly notions, either. When I was taking my first college classes at age 12, there was another student on campus - he was remarkable because he was taking college classes at a youthful 96.
Trying to take bullying with grace is hardest, but probably most effective thing I can do, right?
You are right, I really should have said “something so caring.” So the difference between work and a chore is what exactly? A chore is something you have to do but hate doing and work is something you love to do and do anyway?
Yes, I know how you feel about being “out of step with your peers.” It’s not that they don’t respect me, because they do, we just don’t share the same views about life - yet.
Ninety six? Wow, that shows determination!
The funny thing is, I never met the 96 year old. But the convergence of 12 and 96 made us “newsworthy” that summer, and knocked me a few more paces out of step with my peers.
I think you’re close, there, but all I meant is that “work” can be a chore or a joy, depending on how you view it and your passion for doing it. I love what I do, but some days it’s a joy and some days it’s a chore. The trick is to remember what makes it a joy and keep that passion burning.
Taking bullying with grace doesn’t mean being anyone’s doormat, but that’s the hardest thing to explain to most kids (indeed, most adults, too). It means you defend yourself as needed, but you don’t stoop to the bully’s level to retaliate or seek revenge. Because THAT is about YOU, not the bully. Learning to be firm and calm in the face of bullying - to handle things without letting your anger and frustration control YOU - that’s tough for anyone. I think bullies, on the whole, are exceedingly insecure and unhappy people. They’ve found that the only way to get attention is through negative behavior, and they’re among the most emotionally needy people out there. They can also be among the most dangerous, but so can people who bottle up their hurt and rage when they’re victims of a bully.
Great interview! Like anything else, the earlier you start, the earlier you start leveling up in your game and will become the strongest player on your server as early as possible. I started my entrepreneurial career when I was 17. If I could push that back by 3 more years, wow, I can’t even imagine that.
I’ve always felt that the best time for anyone to do anything is the first moment they feel they can successfully generalize their statements. Now that is a somewhat broad statement, but listen:
If you can generalize your statements, you can change someones minds.
If you can change an individuals mind, you can inspire one person.
If you can inspire one person, you can inspire millions.
If you can inspire millions, you can change the world.
With that said, my goal is not to change the world. My goal is to change lives. Even so, the fact that - I believe - I can generalize my statements well enough to have a voice in the online community is a mind-boggling fact for everyone I connect with, including myself.
Great interview Dan! You’re the real deal.
Eric
Well thank you Eric. All it takes to be the real deal is to have an interview on Viralogy. These guys are the real deal.
Cool interview, I thought I was unique blogging at 16 (although that was 4 years ago). Dan, just promise me you’ll remain consistent, and don’t make the same mistakes as me!
I feel like consistency is a large factor deciding success. There is one reason - in my opinion - that Darren Rowse was so successful online. He was consistent with his posts.
Specifically, I’m not sure I know which mistakes you are referring to, but if you would like to explain, I’m all ears (or eyes)!
Wow Dan, I am thoroughly impressed with your talent and knowledge. Talk to me about the art of leaving a great comment and commenting back on your own blog. How many hours a week do you spend blogging and what is your peers reaction to what you do?
To your outstanding success
Bradley Will
Hey Bradley, it can take me as long as two hours to complete all my duties for blogging, but I only see that time increasing. I think I should start waking up a tad bit earlier now that these duties will increase, but honestly, I love the responsibility. I love blogging, building my personal and blogging brand, and throwing myself out there. That’s how I know I am going to stick. Because I love what I’m doing.
Hey Dan
Great to see you here in this interview. I have read your blog and you do have great articles in it. Great job and keep going.
Cheers,
Vincent
Glad you are liking the blog. Hope you continue to contribute and share your opinions on Command Your Time.