Q & A with the Blog Trainer

It’s not what you know, but who you know!

And thankfully I know this amazing human – Phil Choi aka The Blog Trainer! For months I had been struggling to build a website so when Phil pledged his support to help me, at the September Feel Good Ideas Factory Cov, I was literally over the moon!

I wanted to start a regular Q&A Blog slot about the friends of Feel Good and who better to start with than The Blog Trainer himself, because without him there wouldn’t be a blog!

So Phil, how did you became interested in blogging/tech…

I always had a natural curiosity about websites. I wanted to know how they worked, so I found learning how to build websites and blogs became quite easy especially using WordPress.

What inspired you to help develop the #feelgoodcom website?

During the Feel Good Ideas Factory 2017 at Fargo Village, I was encouraged by the people who turned up and the ideas generated within the group. It was purely a people-powered event planning session. Inspired by the contributions made by others, I pledged to create a website and blog for FeelGood.

Tell us about your preferred method of working? 

I find a relaxed collaboration style is the best way to work. Sharing my technical skills and asking for creative input and direction from those involved with the project produces the best results. It’s essential to have regular communication and production sessions to get across the finish line. Ultimately it’s about sharing knowledge and working together openly without ego.

Tell us how you got involved with the Feel Good Community

I was introduced to the FeelGood community by Sam German of PocZero who recommended I look at FeelGood’s social media. I was captivated by Mel’s artwork on Instagram and Stellar Stories and wanted to find out more.

What inspires you about Feel Good’s hometown – Coventry?

I feel there is a lot of social activity happening in Coventry right now. Community wellbeing, social action, people-powered change – all that social activity inspires me. And of course being the UK City of Culture 2021 speaks for itself.

What is your fave app/tech at the moment?

A great mobile phone is essential for seamless work. I’m waiting to get my hands on the OnePlus 6 after my Google Pixel has broken down. Removing the headphone jack on smartphones is one of the worst decisions in tech.

My fave apps

• Slack for team communication
• Google Drive for cloud storage, syncing and collaboration
• Twitter for Social Media
• Spotify for music
• Blinkist for listening to non-fiction books
• Fitbit for tracking wellness and activity

One piece of advice for someone wanting to start their own blog…

Get started. Create a free blog on WordPress.com and start writing. Do it now. There’s never a perfect time!

If you were stuck on a desert Island what one book/film/album would you want?  

It’s difficult to choose from so many, but these are the ones I would take today.

Book – How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

Film – My Neighbor Totoro – Hayao Miyazaki

Album – Legend – Bob Marley

What is your favourite thing to do that helps you to Feel Good?

Recently it’s all about Fika. Making time to catch up with friends. Having a good conversation over some coffee and a slice of cake – also known as cake day!

Tell us a random fact about yourself

I speak Cantonese quite well and Hakka (a Chinese dialect) badly. I’m sometimes ridiculed because I sound funny. It’s a real privilege to experience and understand the differences between Eastern and Western culture.

Note from Melissa…

A HUGE THANK YOU to Phil for agreeing to write the first Q & A blog post for #FeelGoodCom and for helping to build the website.

You can check out Phil’s own website and keep up to date with his insightful tweets on Twitter