I’ve often struggled with what the meaning of “work ethic” is. I hear people (especially other men) talk about always “needing” something to do. Is that what it is? Can it be as simple as working when necessary to provide for your family?

Since my wife and I started our family, I’ve worked pretty steadily (except when we’ve attempted an alternative path) and I feel pretty good about that, but I also struggle with the idea that a man should work as much as possible, sometimes in conflict with his family life, in order to provide for his family.

Growing up, I know my dad worked quite a bit, but I also know that he was often too tired to take as much of an interest in my life as I (and I’m sure he) would’ve liked. What is the net-gain to working too much to attend “parent/teacher conferences”?

I’ve personally come to the conclusion that money doesn’t attend those conferences (along with all the other school functions), and that I would rather work enough to keep the bills paid, but I’ve given up on getting rich from the “9 to 5”.

Life is lived in the margins of what society tends to tell us (at least the old-school society many of us grew up knowing). Life is about balance. Do you know your kids? Does your wife feel abandoned?

I don’t think perfect balance is ever really achieved, but all we can do is strive to find it, right?

Balance is all about constantly gauging the needs of your family and doing your best (with the counsel of your spouse) to keep food on the table, a roof over your heads, and enough money in the bank to provide for at least a minimal level of comfort.

Perfection is a futile endeavor, but as men… as parents, we must never give up on trying to find where that balance is, for our individual lives and individual families.

I’m not entirely sure what this is going to wind up being, but I’m hopeful that it’ll be a place where I can be myself, others can find a friendly voice, and maybe we can together find a way to get through this thing.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.