7 Links Project

Well, I’ve been nominated for the 7 Links Project by my fellow blogger Dividend Ninja. I appreciate it, Ninja! The goal of the project is for every blogger participating to pick out seven of their previous articles based on the seven questions provided and then pass the torch by nominating five other bloggers to follow suit. You can check out which articles Ninja highlighted here.

I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done with Dividend Mantra so far. My main purpose with this blog is to carve out my own little place on the internet. It’s a place where you can view a real, live journey as I actually try to put into place all the best practices that experts recommend if you’re trying to retire early. I try to be as honest and transparent as possible, for better or worse. You readers are getting more than a “peek”. You are getting all of me, mistakes and all. I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoy sharing it. You are all sharing a major piece of my life with me. Enough about that…on to the project!

My Seven Links:

Your most beautiful post

I’m not sure how to classify this. When I think of beauty, I tend to think of sugar-white sandy beaches, sunsets, seeing smiles on the faces of people I care about and seeing new places. I’ve included my article which I think is most relevant to these things. When push comes to shove, the main reason I’m eating ramen noodles and giving up a lot of modern luxuries like a car is to do more of those things I find beautiful. I’d rather see my family, spend more time at beautiful beaches, travel to new places and relax than spend the rest of my life running an endless treadmill that is the rat race. I ask my readers What Are Your Dividends For?. Not everyone invests for the same reasons, but my reason is to have the time to see more beauty in life.


Your most popular post

This one is easy. Due to my recent inclusion at The Daily Crux, my article 5 Steps To Retire In 12 Years has been by far my most popular post. So far, it has had 3,375 views. Thank you to all my readers for the comments. I think this article could be easily expanded to include many more steps, but I think these five are the most important. If you get these five right, you can likely do a lot of other things wrong and still be ok.

Your most controversial post

I don’t know if I’ve posted anything controversial, but I guess I’d have to go with Do You DRIP? where I ask my readers if they participate in a Dividend Reinvestment Plan. This article produced some really great commentary and I think the comments provided better information than the article did. In the end, it’s really great when an article can produce a rich, dynamic environment where fellow investors can share ideas. I currently do not enroll in a DRIP program and I provided reasons why. A lot of investors do participate in plans like this, and I can certainly see the reasons for doing so.

Your most helpful post

I would say my most helpful post was My New Ride!. I think this article was inspiring. It isn’t my most popular, and didn’t attract a ton of comments but this article was something that was in the making for over a year. It took a lot of courage to ditch my car and I hope that providing details on  how I did it provides a lot of inspiration and helps others out there who are considering the same move. It’s been a tremendously successful move on my part and my finances are thanking me every month. A lot of people would consider getting $400 a month in dividends a tremendous success, and that is a little less than what I’m saving by no longer having my vehicle. This move is definitely paying me dividends!

A post whose success surprised you

I would have to say my post Defense Stocks On Sale? was a bit surprising in the number of views and comments it received. I was even contacted by Guru Focus about republishing the article, which they eventually did. I had thought defense stocks are generally unpopular, compared to the big names like Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola, but I got to see that some other respected investors out there actively pursue defense investments.


A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved

Some blogs out there publish a lot of “filler”, or articles that are meant to fill in between meaningful articles. I don’t really do that. I put a lot of time into Dividend Mantra, so when I publish a post it’s meant to be a way for me to connect to my readers. I was a bit disappointed that my article on Paradise didn’t generate more views and comments. I feel strongly that living in a warm climate with no income tax is very advantageous to living frugally and maximizing investment income. Free outdoor activities and a general lack of need for energy consumption are both wonderful, as is a great climate for living car-free as I’m currently proving. This article was published when my blog was still in its infancy, so I can understand why it wasn’t popular.

So, now I have to nominate five bloggers to continue the project and include their seven posts. I’m not sure who has already been nominated, so if you are already on the project my apologies. I’ll nominate:

Dividend Monk
The Dividend Guy
Dividend Growth Investor
Buy Like Buffett
Dividend Partisan

In conclusion, I just want to thank all my readers and fellow bloggers for the support and readership. The process of sharing and learning from one another is what I do this for. We all have our individual goals and objectives, and I wish everyone the best of luck in their pursuits!

Thanks for reading.

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4 Comments

  1. Mantra, thanx for the double mention, and nice job on writing up your 7-Links, I’ll go back and catch up on these posts 🙂

    You do indeed have a lot to be proud of, not only with your blog, but also with your investments and nice big dividend payers! I’ve always enjoyed your blog becuase it such an honest and direct account of what you do, and how you got to where you are.

    And your a good writer too! Keep up the good work 🙂

    Cheers
    The Dividend Ninja

  2. Ninja,

    Thanks for the kind compliments. I really appreciate them. I’m glad you enjoy the blog, and I can only hope that my words and experiences provide inspiration and entertainment. I hope I continue to do a great job. Your support means a lot!!

    I really enjoy your blog as well. I’ve learned a lot there, and I always enjoy seeing other viewpoints on investments!

    Keep up your fantastic work! 🙂

  3. Nice job on your post and your blog!

    You should be proud, and I can relate to your blog mandate: follow a real, live journey with all the good and bad that comes with investing.

    You’re saving, you’re investing and you’re getting paid to be an owner in quality businesses – great work! That is definitely something to celebrate and emulate 😉

    Cheers!

  4. MOA,

    Thanks for stopping by, and I appreciate your support!

    I think as all of us grow our investments and our skills at becoming better people and really hone in on our goals…that will be an amazing process to watch. I’m excited to see where we’re at a few years down the road!

    Take care!

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