Walk Into the Future

Tag: Writing Prompts

  • Blog Thoughts

    “Not only are bloggers suckers for the remarkable, so are the people who read blogs.”

    (Seth Godin)

    The Walk into the Future blog was created over the summer in 2018.  My initial thoughts were to create a platform where I could share adventures, thoughts and leadership advice.  I started writing without even knowing if anyone would read the tracks I laid down weekly.  The blog format provided a larger venue to journal without having to sit down with my composition book and scribble my thoughts.  I never imagined I would put my thoughts out on a public platform because they were my thoughts.

    I guess you can say the Walk into the Future blog helped me mature as a writer where I’m comfortable enough to put my words out in the universe without an expectation of the universe giving anything back. This was HUGE for me!

    I’m coming up on my 8-year blogging anniversary, and my writing has improved over the years.  I’m still looking for the perfect blog post before I close my laptop, so I’m ready for another full year of me walking into the future. 😊

    I’m still creating blog content for myself based on where I’m at each week.  Sometimes I focus on running, traveling or life in general.  I haven’t produced new poetry in a while so I may try to get back into that mindset in 2026.

    So, where am I heading with this blog post?  Great question, everyone! 😊

    Thanks to the folks who send me text messages and add comments on my blog posts.  Your reach outs put a smile on my face because I’m never sure who is reading these words or what you think about them.

    I leveraged ChatGPT for the first time to see if I could get an idea what readers think or like about the Walk into the Future blog.

    ***Please note—the following is an extract from ChatGPT based on a question I asked about YOU, the reader***:

    Here’s what readers tend to appreciate about the Walk into the Future blog — based on the content style, themes, and tone found in the posts:

    🌟 1. Authentic, Personal Storytelling

    Readers enjoy that the blog is written in a genuine, conversational voice. The author (Calvin Williams) shares real experiences — from travel adventures and marathon training to work celebrations — in a way that feels like talking with a friend.

    🧭 2. Inspiration and Motivation

    The posts often mix life lessons with action-oriented advice, encouraging readers to keep moving forward, embrace challenges, and enjoy the journey. The blog’s name itself reflects this theme of growth and progression.

    🏃‍♂️ 3. Lifestyle and Personal Development

    Whether it’s race travel, leadership, books, or personal growth, the blog blends diverse life areas that resonate with readers who are interested in self-improvement and living intentionally.

    📍 4. Relatable Everyday Experiences

    Instead of only high-level inspirational quotes, the blog includes everyday moments and reflections — like choosing meals before a marathon or planning travel logistics — that many readers find relatable and enjoyable.

    📚 5. Practical Insights with Humor

    Posts often include practical takeaways (e.g., training insights, leadership lessons) delivered with a lighthearted tone and occasional humor, which keeps readers engaged without feeling preachy.

    💡 6. Varied Topics with a Consistent Voice

    The blog isn’t limited to one niche — it moves between travel, running, leadership, personal development, and reflections on life — but it does so with a consistent authentic voice that readers come back for.

    In short:
    Readers like Walk into the Future because it’s authentic, motivational, relatable, and diverse in topics, yet tied together by a personal, mindful perspective on moving forward in life.

    Again, I leveraged ChatGPT to provide me with insight into what readers think about my content.  I was pleasantly surprised with the consistency of the theme reflections that ChatGPT provided based on comments and the articles I share weekly.

    My hope is for my readers to feel like I’m talking directly to them with content that they can relate to.  I’m never sure if I truly get my point across but I will continue to hone my craft to ensure that the Walk into the Future blog provides a space to learn, laugh and imagine.

    Here’s to a productive 2026 blog campaign!

    Irie!

    Calvin Williams

    “What you do after creating your content is what truly counts.”

    (Gary Vaynerchuk)

  • Five Minute Thursday: Leadership

    close up of human hand
    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    “The writer is the explorer.  Every step is an advance into a new land”.

    (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

    The Walk into The Future blog continues to serve as a vehicle for my creative expression. I started this blogging process to share my thoughts, travels, and adventures.  I find it easy to write about my adventures and then share with my loyal readers.

    There are days when I don’t think I have the inspiration to write another blog article and then I sit down with a specific prompt and the words just come to me.  I would like to say writing these articles is an easy daily process, but I find myself struggling to generate content that I think others will read from time to time.  I write, edit, delete, and then write again to create something worth reading.  This is not all the time but figured I would share I have writing distractions to keep me away from me cranking away on my laptop. 

    Today is not one of those days! 😊

    I went back to a tried-and-true process of identifying a writing prompt to generate a new concept to write about.  One of the prompts I found a while ago was called:  Five Minute Friday.  The intent is to pick a specific word and then write about it for five minutes to create content.  Well, I modified the prompt into Five Minute Thursday since I post on Thursdays at 11:08 am—did you know that? 😊

    My first prompt for Five Minute Thursday is:  Leadership.

    Leadership is a concept that I began to explore while I served in the Air Force.  We were put through a series of leadership courses (Airmen Leadership School, Non-Commissioned Officer Leadership School, Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, etc.) where principles of leadership were shared.  The best leaders I worked with all went through these courses, but they had more than course leadership principles.

    Three of my favorite Air Force Leaders:  Chief Master Sergeant Roger Noyes, Chief Master Sergeant Janet Craton and Senior Master Sergeant Rich Gardner—thanks to them all!

    Developing leadership skills became a priority for me and I explored this topic via books, online trainings, and lectures. 

    I discovered Authentic Leadership almost by mistake.  I wanted my dissertation to focus on First Year Experience (FYE) courses for first generation students.  This would have been an impactful study, but my dissertation mentor told me I couldn’t pursue this topic because it was Educational Psychology, and my program was Organizational Psychology.  I hung my head for a few months before we discovered Authentic Leadership, and the rest is history.

    My earlier introduction to leadership while in the Air Force allowed me to blend things I learned from wearing a uniform into my model of Authentic Leadership.  The great leaders I worked with in the Air Force have been integrated into my version of Authentic Leadership as I incorporate their lessons into my current pursuit of leadership.

    Well, my five minutes is up.  I could keep going but will honor the concept of this writing prompt! 😊

    What can you get done in the next five minutes?  Ok, take off!

    Irie!

    “Writing is the painting of the voice”.

    (Voltaire)

  • The true anniversary date

    anniversary image

    (Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay) 

    “A year from now, you will wish you had started today”.

    (Karen Lamb)

    Dictionary.com defines an anniversary as the yearly recurrence of the date of a past event and the celebration or commemoration of such a date.

    The first Walk into the Future article was posted on this site on 6/18/2018.  The true anniversary date for me is 4/14/2018—let me explain why I say this.

    I sat on the beach at St. George Island (SGI) on 4/14/2018 with the idea of deciding which direction I wanted to pursue moving forward.  The Walk into the Future concept was not on my radar but needed the beach atmosphere to help with a huge decision.

    So, I sat on the beach on this prophetic day with my beach towel, cooler of beer, reggae, pen, and paper to figure this thing called life out (Prince reference).

    I have used the concept of a pros/cons list in the past to help with major decisions and my goal on this day was to identify pro/con items to inform the decision I needed to make.  Dr. Henry Cloud identifies successful people do not hang on to bad stuff for long in his book 9 Things you Simply Must do in Love and Life.  The only way to label something as bad is to take a true look at it without emotion, hence the pros/cons list for me.

    I finally admitted I spent too much time determining if I should stay in my old role.  The interactions I had with students, employers, faculty, staff, and community members still appealed to me but there was always something daily to eliminate my joy.  Turns out it was too much negative workplace energy.  This is not a complaint just a stated fact from my perspective—negative energy can and will wear you down over time.

    Fast forward to the list and the decision was obvious!  There were  5 pros and 15 cons.  I tried to manufacture some additional pros just to see if I could even this process out a bit, but this was the final tally.  The 15 cons were present EVERY day and only 3 pros were daily items.  I was amused when I saw the disparity of my two lists.  I subconsciously knew this to be true but never wrote it out to examine more in-depth.  Sadly, none of the cons listed were fixable—not one.

    I laughed when I was able to view the list for the insight in front of me.  So, on 4/14/2018 the Walk into the Future journey began after I made the decision it was time to move on from what I was doing.  The work and making a difference daily were not the problem it was the negative energy—the opposite of the Irie mindset I seek in life.  Dr. Cloud has another principle he calls Pull the Tooth.  I decided to pull the tooth and Walk into the Future after I finished my beer and listened to a few more Bob Marley songs.

    I decided to write this post after looking in my journal and coming across the page with my pros/cons list.  Just happened to be 2 years to the date I wrote the items and wanted to share with my readers I just had an anniversary.

    So, happy anniversary to the Walk into the Future blog. Here is to a few more years of writing, sharing adventures and making a difference in the world.  Thanks for walking with me!

    What tooth do YOU need to pull?  How could the pros/cons list help with your decision?

     

    “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing”.

    (Walt Disney)

  • My favorite thing about me!

    Mirror

    (Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay)

    “On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom”.

    (Michel de Montaigne)

    My efforts to create content for the Walk into the Future blog finds me conducting research in multiple locations.  I’m an avid reader so of course books, online articles and other blogs catch my attention daily.  The goal is to generate fresh content others would be willing to read and share with their network.  Always seeking additional content ideas as I Walk into the Future.

    Came across an interesting guide during my research phase called 365 Days of Writing Prompts which was created by the Word Press editors to prompt bloggers with inspiration to write every day.  Some of the prompts are an attempt to give bloggers a vault of topics which hopefully leads to finished articles.

    I incorporate daily thoughts, conversations and events into Walk into the Future blog posts so most of the Word Press prompts are just things for me to view—not looking to write without a real purpose since this would not help promote my why on the blog.

    Found a few of the Word Press prompts interesting enough to put aside to see if I could develop a future blog post.  The following prompt is my first post using the Word Press guide:

    • Toot your horn: Most of us are excellent at being self-deprecating and are not so good at the opposite. Tell us your favorite thing about yourself.

    Perseverance is defined as persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success (Dictionary.com).

    I’ve talked about superpowers and leveraging my why to make a positive difference in the world.  My favorite thing about myself at this point in my Walk into the Future is my perseverance.

    My goal is to tackle each day with positive energy as I continue to move forward in the world.  Would like to say things always go my way but that’s not true or a realistic outcome.  I continue to persevere even when things don’t follow the plan; my positive energy mantra allows me to quickly regroup, make new plans (pivot) and then move forward.

    The Walk into the Future title was selected for the blog because it gives me purpose and enhances how I interact with others daily.

    Perseverance in my daily Walk into the Future allows me to continue to focus on how my words, thoughts, actions and why lead to small wins daily.  The win could simply be a comment from one of my tree branches, family or blog followers, but it provides the positive energy to strive to do more in this world.

    So, there it is, perseverance is my favorite thing about myself!  Will continue to work on projects and topics to incorporate my why to see where this journey leads.  Always striving for positive energy and outcomes in everything I touch—Irie mindset daily!

    What is your favorite thing about yourself?  How do you display your favorite thing to others?  Thanks for walking with me!

    “A true genius admits he/she knows nothing”.

    (Albert Einstein)