Congratulations to all the skilled scavengers who tackled the Great Online Christmas Scavenger Hunt!

We were overwhelmed by how many wily readers are out there.

Thanks for playing and for the great comments you left along the way!

Thanks also to all of the wonderful sites who were involved in the hunt:

• A Circle of Women
• Mad Goat Lady
• All For Women
• Imaginif
• My Chic Things
• Spasmodic Dysphonia
• Crazy Meezer
• Santa’s Community Blog

Don’t forget to drop by again at Easter to join the Great Online Easter Egg Hunt and win!

Drum Roll…

The Magic Christmas word was:

WENCESLAS

And the winner of the hunt is….

KATHERINE A MORRIS

To celebrate in style, check out this amazing Christmas Lights display from one of my neighbours here in Western Australia!

Thanks for playing and see you in the New Year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Free Gifs and Animations

There is a Christmas carol that is less about presents and feasting and is more about the true Christmas spirit of goodwill and comfort to our fellow man.

The final lyrics have always stuck with me, two men walking through the darkness and snow and bitter weather, on an act of true Christian charity:

Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing

Despite the hardships of their journey they refuse to quit, sticking with their course of comfort…

To Stick or to Quit?

I have also recently begun a journey out into a foreign landscape.

Taking a break from a lucrative corporate career as a management consultant and trainer, I gave myself “until Christmas” to immerse myself into the strange, new world of the blogosphere.

Christmas is just around the corner and decisions have to be made.

A lifestyle I have grown to love wars with all of the assets I am supposed to be accumulating.

There is an important contract waiting for my attention.

If I accept it and all it entails, I know that my grasp on this new world will slip through my fingers like melting snow… There will be no time – and scant energy – for posts and carnivals, stumbling and digging, comments and competitions…

Should I stick or should I quit?

The phone rings and like a truly dedicated procrastinator, I turn up the stereo and sing along to corny Christmas carols…

Good, Better, Best

As part of my journey through the blogosphere, I recently found a copy of Seth Godin’s “The Dip” for sale in a major, discount department store.

Marvelling at the evidence of the infiltration of the blogosphere into everyday life, I quickly purchased a copy. It wasn’t until I got home that I read the tagline on the bottom of the cover: “The Extraordinary Benefits of Knowing When to Quit (And When to Stick).”

He talks of a Dip “that will get better if you keep pushing” and of Cul-de-Sacs “which will never get better no matter how hard you try”.

It is a book that encourages us to quit the wrong road and to stick with the right road. Not just to feel a sense of achievement, but to achieve at a truly extraordinary level.

In fact, to be the best in the world…

I cannot deny that to be number one is an attractive thing. To be “at the top” must ensure a wonderful view.

But as well as being the best, my interest, I have discovered, is now focussing more upon being good.

To be a positive and generous participant in this new landscape suddenly seems far more important than getting to the top of any pile!

A (Competitive) Christmas Spirit

And so as the Christmas month unravels, I put the corporate contract aside and focus not so much on winning as on living, not so much on being the best but being good.

And what better way to enjoy the blogosphere than in sharing the Christmas joy with others?

In true “blogger spirit” a wonderful group of people have given their time and efforts to take part in the Great Online Christmas Scavenger Hunt.

You will discover them – and their amazing sites – as you journey around the blogosphere.

Only one can win the prize, but may it bring smiles to the faces and a warm festive glow of all who take part!

And for the winner among you, may you turn up your corny Christmas carols on your iPod the next time you have a hard decision to make about sticking or quitting.