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Newly updated for 2023!

A clarifying note: When using the word "site," I'm referring to the main website's URL, www.ericbeaty.com. When using the word "blog," I'm refering to the blog's URL, www.ericbeaty.com/blog.

TL;DR: This site's main purpose has always been to provide a home for the continual evolution of my creative expression, learning, and self-discovery—all the while providing the same for my audience. If you're a super-fan, or are thinking of becoming one, read on—at your own peril!

Welcome to my Blog

My name is Eric Beaty (mainly known for my YouTube Videos and Instructional Courses), and I want to extend a hearty Welcome to you for visiting my website and blog.

The main purpose I created this site was to have a place of my own where I can enjoy creating and sharing the things that interest me, apart from my other websites (mainly dedicated to my courses).

As I've continued to grow, refine, and find my own creative voice here on the blog, the site has evolved to become a motivating, inspiring, and helpful resource to all who've wanted to grow alongside me, especially in the area of personal creativity.

My site's tagline has been "Embracing the Creative Life" for many years now, and it has remained true to my personal goals to become more creative in every area of my life.

Some of my Interests Include (click for samples from the Blog):

  • Writing (Articles, Fiction, How-to, etc.) 
  • Books, my own or others (Reviews, Reading, etc.)
  • Videos (Instructional, Screencasts, Livestreams, etc.)
  • Entrepreneur & Business (Time Management, Productivity, Focus, Goals, Apps, etc.)
  • Guitar & Music (Tone Creation, Performances & Clinics, Original Song Releases)

This Site's Main Focus:

  1. 1
    Creating content I'm interested in (see above), find value in, and that I feel will be helpful and informative to my audience.
  2. 2
    Concentrating on and honing my writing skills via the use of this blog. (And potentially releasing snippets of my works and/or works-in-progress, or WIPs.)
  3. 3
    Sharing various other aspects (updates, journal entries, etc.) of my life with the general public.
  4. 4
    Overall, my main intention on the blog is to focus on the joy of writing and become a better communicator with others through the stories, insights, and lessons I intend to share here.

The Purpose of EricBeaty.com: A Bio of the Blog

My main passion in life is playing guitar. In 2007 I created my very own YouTube channel dedicated to simple guitar instruction and have been maintaining it now for over a decade. In the spring of 2011, as a result of my effective teaching style, I was fortunate enough to be discovered on YouTube and was offered the chance to create my first professional guitar instructional product. That became Secrets of Texas Blues Guitar.

Shortly afterwards, I began work on another project for people interested in Bluegrass guitar—my personal favorite. In 2015, I completed and released this course, entitled Bluegrass Guitar Essentials. Since then, I have gone on to write and record several other courses, including what I currently consider my proudest achievement masterclass, The Creative Guitarist. (Grab your copy of The Creative Guitarist Free Resource Guide in the sidebar.)

Also in 2015, I began to take my writing more seriously and started writing various stories and books, two of which became Amazon Bestsellers in their corresponding categories. These particular books I authored are the first and second in my three-part series SMART FOCUS, filled with strategies for setting and achieving personal goals. Click here to check out the complete SMART FOCUS series in multiple ebook formats (also available in paperback here).

It was about this time in 2015 that I saw the need for this website to act as both a training ground for writing and a safe haven where I could escape the endless rat race of continually changing algorithms. A place I could call my online home. In order to keep things simple and consolidate my catalog of work online, I believed the best approach to be creating this blog as the central hub for all of my activities, separate from my product websites and various social platforms.

In the years that followed, EricBeaty.com has been the place where I have had the good fortune to freely express myself and help others learn from my successes and failures in life without having to feel bound to what I refer to as "Chasing the Money" (doing things for money rather than for the love of doing them).

This site's main purpose has always been to provide a home for the continual evolution of my creative expression, learning, and self-discovery—all the while providing the same for my audience. (See also #4 above.)

After a long hiatus due to the pursuit of releasing my debut album, Revival in the Air, the birth of mine and my wife's baby boy, DJ, a worldwide pandemic, burnout due to the enslavement that can be social media in its many forms, and the renewed desire to explore my writing even further, I've taken the liberty to personalize this blog to suit the needs mentioned in the previous paragraph.

With the installation the first new site theme since launching this blog nearly a decade ago (more on this in the Colophon section below); the desire to write blog posts in a more streamlined format for faster publishing (as opposed to previously having multiple images, pop-ups, etc.); and the renewed discovery of perusing the multitudes of journal entries with the potential to help readers worldwide overcome similar creative roadblocks and frustrations, I'm more excited than ever to start afresh with new and exciting content—exciting, at least, to me and, I hope, many others.

For more information about why I created EricBeaty.com (as if you'd need any after reading this longer-than-short bio), check out a recent article I wrote entitled "Tending to the Forest of Entrepreneurship."

Goals for this Blog

As mentioned above, my focus for this site is mainly as a writer and creator. As such, I plan on producing regular, quality blog content here as much as my new dad-life (amongst my many hobbies and professions) allows. I won't set a definite release schedule, but suffice it to say that I would like to release content at least once a month; hopefully more so.

From personal experience, I find it's best to not worry so much about creating enough content or coming up with new ideas. I'm never short of ideas for projects and new content, especially with the help of all my many Trello boards, so it's never really been an issue. It's best for me to let things happen as they may so I don't end up overwhelmed with too much on my (many spinning) plates to possibly get done.

As I come up with new resources (books and ebooks, courses, free downloads, etc.) I'll be hosting many of them here on this site. Although, my products and resources of lesser magnitude are usually hosted on my Payhip store offsite. Again, my intent is that EricBeaty.com be the central hub for all the things I offer.

I've also created various resource pages (Writing, Books, Music, etc.) for anyone wishing to glean insights from the many amazing apps, blogs, videos, books, etc., I've discovered over years of research and learning online (two other personal hobbies of mine).

Navigating the Site

Navigating EricBeaty.com is a piece of cake. Just look at either the topmost menu or sidebar for all your navigational needs, including (but not limited to):

  • Links to my courses, products, and services
  • Music releases
  • A Free Resource Guide for Guitarists and other Musicians
  • Ways to follow me on YouTube and Instagram
  • My Gear Recommendations via Kit
  • Archives and Categories for all of my past Blog Posts

Colophon

I'm currently utilizing the following technologies for this website:

  • For hosting, I use and recommend BlueHost. It's easy to use and set up, reliable, and inexpensive. It also has superb, 24/7 customer support.
  • The site itself is built on WordPress, which is included free when you use BlueHost.
  • The theme I currently use (and recently switched to) is a free theme called GeneratePress. It's highly customizable, has a professional, modern, and minimalistic appearance, and is open-source and in continuous development.
  • For video hosting, I use Amazon S3, the premier hosting resource for many major corporations and organizations. It's also a fraction of the price of other popular video hosting sites.
  • For years I've used mainly free plugins on my site, the one exception being...
  • For several years now, my preferred page builder plugin has been Thrive Architect. It's got just about everything you could want for building a professional looking—and performing—website and includes some great bonus tools like hundreds of landing page templates, customizable email list forms, Calls to Action, stylized boxes, and tons more. It's also super-customizable and boasts hundreds of tutorials in both article and video formats. Lastly, it comes included in a whole suite of website tools. Check out Thrive Architect here if you'd like to learn more.
  • For typography, the fonts I'm using (starting in 2023 with the use of the new theme) are Monsterrat for the main site URL's front page, Bitter for the main blog text font, Source Sans Pro for the footer, and Andika for block quotes. (Other, and/or older, pages may be different depending on how Thrive Architect handles their various element and template fonts.)
  • Topmost image courtesy of my awesome photographer aunt extraordinaire, Brenda Beaty Taylor, ©2021.

For Further Information

If you would like to be informed whenever I post new content to this site, please see the comments at the end of each post where you can enable a checkbox that will allow you to subscribe to my blog. (Alternatively, if you subscribe to my Author Mailing List at the top of my official Books & Stories page, you will also be automatically notified of new blog posts.)

I also highly recommend bookmarking this site in your web browser for future reference and easier return navigation.

Contacting Me

If you need to contact me for more information regarding my products, content-related questions, or any other aspects of this site, you can do so in one of the following ways:

  • Leave a comment below any post on my blog relevant to any questions or comments you have on that particular post.
  • Leave a message on my official Contact Page with your reason for contacting me in the Subject line.

These are the best ways to contact me since they are contained within this website and will be much easier for me to manage instead of my many social profiles.

Note: While I can't promise to respond to every inquiry, I will do my best to answer as many as I can as quickly as possible to provide you with the information you seek. My first and foremost priority correspondence resides with my current customers.

Affiliate Disclosure

Some blog posts and pages on this site may contain affiliate links. This means when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in a commission that is credited to this site. Some affiliate programs and affiliations include (but are not limited to) Amazon.com, Reverb, and Sweetwater. Rest assured, I only recommend companies and products I personally love and that I believe will benefit you as well. This disclosure complies with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

That's All, Folks

Thanks for browsing my website and blog. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog posts (see "For Further Information" above) so you can be notified immediately of new content.

My hope is that you enjoy the blog and that it proves to be a helpful, practical, and informative resource in your own personal or professional creative journey.

Please also share this site's official URL (https://www.ericbeaty.com) with others if it has made a difference to you by either copying and pasting it or by using the social sharing buttons located below.

God bless and, as always, keep creating,

–Eric–