I just added a donation button to my site because readers have been asking for it in comments, PMs, emails and so forth. I’m temped to say that it’s almost by request, but honestly the only reason it wasn’t up before was because I didn’t know if anyone would be interested in donating. I tend to be a bit cynical when it comes to people’s generosity. Well, it turns out I was wrong, and quite a few people have already donated.
After having read literally hundreds of emails and comments on my FB wall, I know that people are appreciative of the work I’ve done and found it very valuable. Life changing, even. A few of you might ask yourselves what’s so “life changing” about my writings on diet and training. If that’s what you’re thinking, you’re lucky enough to not have been stuck in the confined pattern of constantly worrying about eating every second hour and obsessing about other trivial things related to your diet or training.
It’s no exaggeration that having a passion for health and fitness is a double-edged sword for some. On one hand it keeps us healthy physically. On the other hand it has the potential to rule our lives by instilling in us a belief system that impacts negatively on other parts of our lives. I talked about these rules many times before; read “Top Ten Fasting Myths Debunked” if you can’t level with me on this issue.
My goal has always been to offer well-researched articles about what’s true and what’s not, a sane alternative, and dispel myths that plague the health and fitness community. By educating people about what’s true and what’s not, I guess I have managed to change a few lives for the better in the process. And that’s great, I think.
Whether you donate or not is completely up to you, of course. I’ve donated to people who I thought deserved it. I most recently sent $100 to this guy, simply because I like his show and think he’s doing a great job. I didn’t have to; his content would still be there and it would still be free. But I still did it to show my appreciation. And I’d still buy his book if he ever wrote one.
Here’s a few more reasons to donate.
- Each article is a day’s worth of writing, more or less, so it’s a big time investment on my part. I’ll be moving to a new place in March, so right now looking for a place to live is high on my priority list. Since I keep very busy with other projects, I simply can’t prioritize articles and blog posts as they barely make me any money. Call me crazy, but the reason I write is because I like to share information that adds some kind of value to people. Making money from ads and such has never been my motivation for writing. Anyway, if enough people would contribute a little something, I might be able to keep the site active during the upcoming months, which will be more hectic than usual. (Simply because I can do less of the other stuff that brings money.)
- I will reward donors. I’m not sure how, and when, but I have a few ideas. I am thinking of rewarding the top 5 or top 10 donors and then randomly select a sample below the top 5-10.
- My birthday is a little more than a week away (Feb 22nd). So you can think of the donation as a birthday present 😀
But you know what, don’t let me attempt to persuade you with the above reasons. Never mind them. It’s as simple as this: If you like my stuff and if it has made your life better, donate. If you like my stuff, but don’t want to donate, well, that’s OK too.
Big thanks to the good people that have contributed so far (before the donation button was added): Greg El ($200), John Mitchell ($100), Jon Larsson ($80/500 SEK), Anna Johansson ($80/500 SEK), Jack Lypka ($70), Owen Leahy ($50), Jenn Diamond ($50) (Check out Jenn’s website about Leangains, diet and training in general. Some good meal ideas there.).
If I have forgotten someone, and I probably have, then I’m sorry for that (email me). Another thanks to Owen Leahy who gave me the idea for the button.
Keep in mind that you don’t need a PayPal account to make a donation. I appreciate any amount you want to contribute.
