One Lovely Blog Award - Part II

Once again, I am the recipient of the One Lovely Blog award.

First of all, Thank You Tricia Drammeh for nominating me!  Tricia is a fellow Missouri writer and author of The Claiming Words.  You can find out more about her here:

http://www.blog.triciadrammeh.com/

Now for the terms of this illustrious award:

Here are the rules for the One Lovely Blog Award:

• Include the blog award logo in your post.
• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Provide 7 random facts about yourself.
• Nominate 7 other bloggers and let them know you have done so.

Seven Random Facts About Me

1.  I love the Christmas Holiday Season.  For us, it starts on November 1 and we try to make it last until January 6th (the Twelfth Day of Christmas).

2.  I have written two novels.  Both are in the editing stages and should be ready for publication next year.

3.  I use Pinterest as a To Do List rather than a dream board.  What I mean by that is I truly intend to follow through with most everything I pin.  If you look at my Pin Board "Pins I've Tried" you'll see some of the recipes and projects I've already completed.   (Now with that being said, once we build our dream house or decorate a home we purchase, I'll probably delete the boards I've created for each room in the house and post pictures of our final results).

4.  We have two cats that keep us entertained.  Bandit is my writing buddy.  Right now he's hanging out on the desk while I prepare this post.

5.  I collect penguins.  They are my favorite animal in the animal kingdom.

6.  My favorite color is blue, most all shades.

7.   I am an elder in my church and will be starting my service on our Session in January.

So now...the nominees are:

Gigi LaStrange

Elaine Calloway

Chris Gattis

Nicholas Taylor

Arthur Crandon

Alice Audley

Lee Allen Howard

Have a great weekend everyone!

A Life Worth Living

Solitude is for me a fount of healing which makes my life worth living ~ C.G. Jung

I think most of us are winding down our holiday celebrations.  A few might have some New Year's plans, but not this author.  The older I get, the more I hate being out on New Year's Eve.  We even almost had some plans this year, but hopefully the forecast snow will keep us in.

No matter what your holiday schedule, I hope you were able to find some alone time as well.  If you're pursuing a dream goal, I hope you were able to achieve your goals for the month.  If you're working in sales or any other business, I hope your December was as successful as you wished.

And I hope you had some alone time so you could think about next year's goals.  It's during times of solitude that I am able to reflect on my success in the past and develop a set of goals for the next year.  Even though my partner and I have been on this vacation from work together, I still make sure I get some alone time each day to ponder my goals for 2013.

Do you make sure you get alone time each day?

Making My Pinterest Dreams Come True

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

So I've definitely been spoiled by Santa this year.  I saw a picture on Pinterest some time back with decorative shelves used above the toilet for additional storage.  In my small town home, we don't have a linen closet to store towels.  When we moved in nearly three years ago, we purchased a wire rack that fit over the toilet.  It was flimsy and, well, um..., ugly.

But thanks to Santa, we had the cash to purchase the shelves today and my partner, Thomas, installed them.  They look fabulous!  For pictures, look at my Pins I've Tried board on Pinterest.  I've also posted them of Facebook.

The reason I'm sharing my DIY project with you is because it's a "mini dream" that I made come true this year.  I saw that Pinterest pin some time ago and knew that was the solution we needed in our own home.  Just like with my writing.  I knew I wanted to write a novel one day and I sat down and did it.  It took me four years, but I did it. 

I hope your 2012 is as successful as you wanted it to me.  I surprised my self and went above and beyond my 2012 goals.  Now it's time to relax and start thinking about my goals for 2013.  I had a great 2012 and want to keep that momentum going in 2013.

What mini-dream have you accomplished lately?

The Best Moment

This moment is always the best one in which to express your care for others ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach


I am typing today's blog post on my iPad using my new bluetooth keyboard! I hope you're enjoying your day, no matter if and how you celebrate this day. Now that the holidays are winding down, it's time to start thinking about goals for the next year for me. I'll be sharing those goals with everyone in the next few days.

How are you spending the holiday?

Taking a Break Part 2

I still wanted to share this quote with you today, even though our family traditions are starting in full swing:

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say ~ Anais Nin

Taking a Break

I'm taking a bit of break from blogging this weekend, but I wanted to share this quote with you:

A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects ~ Herman Melville

Whatever Light You Can Hold

But we can't live in the light all of the time.  You have to take whatever light you can hold into the dark with you ~ Libba Bray

It's when I've gotten most frustrated that I've looked back at my dream board to get me through those times.  My dream board is the little bit of light that gets me through the dark.  Now most of that is on Pinterest!

I hope you're enjoying the holiday season.  For the first time in years, I've been able to take a "guilt free" break from writing.  I will be off my J-O-B next week through New Year's, so I'll get back to editing then.

What is your little bit of light that gets you through the dark?

Alone Time

Alone time is when I distance myself from the voices of the world so I can hear my own ~ Oprah Winfrey

Even if your dream journey is building a sales organization or a team of people, you still need your alone time to plan, regroup, and energize yourself to be the best leader you can be. 

I appreciate the alone time I have every morning.  I get up, play on the Internet, work out, and then work on my writing or editing task for the day.  That is my alone time.  After that it is fair game for whomever needs my attention (until it's time to go to work, of course).  The morning is the time of day when I am most alert and most productive in getting these task completed.

When do you get your alone time? 

Every Alphabet of Your Work

Watch your life as if it were a film.  Absorb everything. What you see, hear, and feel will stamp every alphabet of your work ~ Nikky Finney

Little Changes and Choices

Little changes [and] little choices add up to be revolutionary changes in your life ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

I made one little choice/change this year, and boy has it made a difference in my life I changed my schedule from a traditional 8-5 to 1 pm to 9 pm.  It has made a difference.

I get up by 7 AM most days of the week, I work out six days per week, and write after I'm done working out.  I relax and watch TV until it's time to get ready for work.  I work from 1 - 9 and then come home, watch one program that I DVR'd earlier then I'm usually in bed by 11.

I've finished my first novel and completed a second novel this year.  I can't believe it myself!  I am happier than I have been in a long time and part of it is due to my schedule.  And I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical of taking such a schedule at first.

I'm still amazed that such a small change has created such a huge impact on my life. 

What's a small change you made recently that had a big impact on your dream journey?

Reap the Harvest

At night I read and write, and things I have never understood become clear; I reap the harvest of the rest of the year's planting ~ Annie Dillard

A Loving Silence

Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention [...] A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words ~ Rachel Naomi Remen

I'll never forget when I was first nomination for the Lovely Blog award.  I nominated another "old" Facebook/Twitter friend and then I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she was reading my blog everyday.  She wasn't an official follower but subscribed to it through her Google Reader (I think). 

Anyway, I was enamored by the fact that she included me in her daily reading and that's when I realized that even on my darkest days there are quite a few people out there silently rooting for me.  And that makes me feel good.

If you have a presence on social media and you're regularly sharing your dream journey adventures, I bet you have the same cheering section out there, even if you don't always know it.

Have you ever had an aha moment when you realized there were some silent cheerleaders out there cheering you on?

Your Joy, Your Happiness, Your Dreams

Right in the difficult we must have our joys, our happiness, our dreams:  there against the depths of this background, they stand out, there for the first time we see how beautiful they are ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

As crazy as it seems, it's been during some of the most difficult times of writing and publication process that I've seen the fruits of my labor and my dream even more clearly.

When I was challenged by my writing routines or challenged by what I was actually writing about, it was during those times I resolved to figure things out and get moving on my novel again.

Now during the editing and submission process, I also feel that surge of energy and tenacity to get it published.  An ex-boss once told me that we learn the most in some of our most dire circumstances. 

I use the energy I find in those dire circumstances to figure things out and move forward.  And usually, I don't just move forward, but I leap forward towards my dream. 

What have you learned along your dream journey when things seem bleak?

In a Room by Yourself

Everything that matters in our intellectual and moral life begins with an individual confronting his own mind and conscience in a room by himself ~ Arthur M., Schlesinger, Jr

Although there's a time for solitude and getting work done, I'm excited that the holidays are here.  We've been decorated since the end of October and had most of shopping done since the middle of October.  Tonight is our Christmas party with our friends and local family.

I hope your December is a productive as you want it and need it to be. I have been taking it easy, but I will be at it after Christmas since I will be off my regular job completely. 

Happy Holidays!

Life is Revealed

It is through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed ~Vida D. Scudder

Remember creativity can be found in the most everyday tasks.  If you are growing your business, you are creating.  If you are going to school, you are creating.  And of course there are the creative businesses:  writing, film making, graphic arts, etc.

I have found that the happiest moments in my life have been when I've been actively working on a dream goal.  My life has revealed itself to me through these creative pursuits to better myself.

And the last year has been an extremely happy one as well.  After completing the first draft of my first novel, I kept on going and wrote a second novel.  Now I'm in the editing process for both and looking into self-publishing options for them for next year.

What has your dream journey revealed to you lately?

Live Passionately, Love Passionately

Those who live passionately teach us how to love.  Those who love passionately teach us how to live ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

Do you have mentor in your dream journey?  Do you have someone you look up to?  Do you have someone to bounce ideas off of?

I've made a lot of great friends through Twitter and Facebook and follow many authors at my same level.  But I've also made some great friends with published authors who have given me some great advice. 

If you don't already have a mentor, this might be a great month to reach out and find a mentor.  That way, when the new year starts and you're ready to go with new goals, you'll have your mentor in place to help you out.

Do you have a mentor for your dream journey?

Driving a Car at Night

Writing a novel is like driving a car at night.  You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way ~ E. L. Doctorow

If you've been following me for a while, you know I would substitute "writing a novel" for "following a dream."  It is just like driving a car at night, the whole trip is made by only seeing as far in front of you as the headlights, but you make it there eventually.

Believe me, I have run into the realities of the current publishing world and it's stalled me a bit.  But I'm not stopped.  Just stalled.  In the meantime, I'm working on editing for my second novel until I can move forward with my first novel.  It probably means I'll publish two novels next year through Amazon!  Woo Hoo!

I have dreamed of the time between November and December being a vacationy type time for me for quite some time.  This is the first year since I started writing my novel, that I feel like I can relax and not stress about the editing of the second novel.  In years past, I always had those feelings of guilt because I hadn't participated in NaNoWriMo and then wasn't working on it all.  But not this year.  With a well thought out plan for for next, I am easily taking some time and enjoying the season.

Are you enjoying the Holidays this year like you imagined?

Love is Universal

If love is universal, no one can be left out ~ Deepak Chopra

Once again, I have nothing to add to today's quote.  I hope you are enjoying the weekend and getting ahead in your dream journey, whatever that might mean for you.

The Mystery of Grace

I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it founds us ~ Anne Lamott

I like this quote so much today, I'm going to leave it at that.  I hope your dream journey is providing you all the grace you deserve in life.

Burst Apart, Spring Forth

It is alone, truly alone, that one burst apart, springs forth ~ Maria Isabel Barreno

No matter how many "buddies" you find along your dream journey or how many other people have gone before you, your dream journey really is up to you.

I am the first one that will tell you to find a buddy to help you along your dream, but it is also important to understand that your dream is yours and your alone.  Only you can stick to the routines you develop.  Only you can create the timelines to make your goals work for you.  When it all comes down to it, only you can be responsible for your own dreams coming true.

What is task on your dream journey that you prefer to do alone?

What Might Never Have Been Seen

Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen ~ Robert Bresson

No matter what your dream journey, you can always make visible what may have been missed by others.  It's inevitable.  No matter how many people made the journey before you, yours will always be a unique story.

If you've had the weekend off or taken the weekend off, I hope you're enjoying it.  This has been the first four day weekend I've had off probably since March and I am so enjoying it.

What mark are you making within your dream journey tribe?

Happy Thanksgiving!

All we have is all we need.  All we need is the awareness of how blessed we really are ~ Sara Ban Breathnach

It's Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.  Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope this day brings you joy, however you celebrate, what ever you do.

I feel really blessed this year to have my writing on track where it needs to be, to have a job that absolutely enjoy.  I have a schedule that allows me the time in the morning to work on my writing when I am at my best and I have bosses that allow me the time off on Friday so I can enjoy a nice long weekend.

Whether it's Thanksgiving or not where you are, what are you thankful for this year?

A Calm White Page

[Writing is] being able to take something whole and fiercely alive that exists inside you in some unknowable combination of thought, feeling, physicality, and spirit, and to then store it like a genie in tense, tiny black symbols on a calm white page ~ Mary Gaitskill

Being a dreamer is also like taking your thoughts, feelings, physicality, and spirit and storing it in your work.

There are about six weeks left of the year.  For some, you've met your goals and you can glide through the holidays pretty easily.  For others, Thanksgiving is the time that the busy season begins through the end of the year.

Whatever the season brings for you, I hope you make the most of it.  If there is still time for you to meet your goals, I wish you the best of the luck.  I feel very fortunate and humble to have exceeded my goals for 2012.  I finished my first novel, A Place to Call Their Own.  After some editing and feedback I am ready to send it to an editor. 

But I exceeded even my own expectations by completing the first draft of a second novel, Disappear With Me.  I am ready to start my own round of self editing and then it should be ready for submissions or self publication next year as well. 

I haven't figured out my goals exactly for 2013, you'll have to keep in tune.  I am very happy with what I've accomplished this year.

Did your 2012 go as planned?

Whispers

I bet you thought I forgot about you today?  Not at all, I just had an announcement I wanted to make and reflect upon, but had to wait until today to write about it.

I was nominated and elected to my church's Board of Elders this morning at church.  I am honored and humbled to have been nominated in the first place, let alone elected to serve a term of three years on the church's governing board.

Earlier this week, I saw a slide show on Oprah's website that was a list of opportunities you should never turn down.  The list includes things such as a godchild's plea, garlic, an invitation to Sunday dinner.  When I was notified that my name was nominated by the committee at church, I had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to accept this nomination. 

This feeling is very much like my journey as a writer.  I feel very much that same:  that is a calling which I must answer.  Your dream journey should call to you just the same.  I believe Oprah calls it a whisper. 

What whisper have you  heard in your life lately?

Start From Scratch

No matter how long you've been at it, you always start from scratch ~ Jeffrey Eugenides

You always start from scratch.  Each time I get a new idea for another novel, I always start from scratch.  When I was in direct sales, we started from scratch on each new promotion. 

So this quote has two lessons.  The first lesson, is even if you're just starting and it feels like you are plowing new ground, remember, even people who have been doing what you're trying to accomplish start from scratch.  The second lesson I garnered from this quote is that even after you've accomplished a goal (i.e. writing one novel), you always start from scratch on the next step or the next repeat of your goal (i.e., writing a second novel).

After you reach a goal, do you feel like you always start from scratch? 

The Stories You Have to Tell

Don't forget, no one sees the world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories you have to tell ~ Charles de Lint

No matter what your dream journey, it is all your own.  Only you will endure the obstacles your way, only you will accomplish your goal in your way and in your own time.  And no one else will be able to tell the stories that you will tell others.

Although this quote is meant specifically for writers, it really is for any dreamer on a journey.  In the end, no one else will be able to tell your stories like you do.

Have you started telling your story yet?

Dream While You're Awake

As a writer you ask yourself to dream while awake ~ Aimee Bender

As a dreamer, I think we dream when we're awake. Whenever I run across a new catalog, or see something for the house I'd like to get, I always bookmark or Pin it so I have it for future reference.  That's what I love about Pinterest, it's a big dream board (and recipe exchange!).

Do you have a dream board or file?  Whether it's an actual bulletin board above your desk or a file that you keep things in, it's important to keep those goals in front of you.  If I've been disappointed for frustrated, all I have to do is look at my dream boards (most of it is Pinterest)and that reminds me about the big picture.

Do you keep a dream board or file?  When do you access it?

A Dreamer's Soul

Every secret of a writer's soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works ~ Virginia Woolfe

You could exchange the word "writer" with the word dream and this quote will still be applicable to thousands of dreamers out there working on their dream goals.  Instead of written you might say is seen large in his/her works.

Your actions and work really are a reflection of your soul and experience.  I had to dig deep down and remember that this week in light of recent feedback I received on my manuscript.  I'm going to check a couple of facts, add some imagery, and then it will be time to send the manuscript to an editor and start working on the self publishing route.

Is your dream journey a true reflection of your soul, experience, and mind?

The Ability of Dreamers

The ability of writers to imagine what is self, to familiarize the strange and mystify familiar, is the test of their power ~ Toni Morrison

It's the ability of dreamers to imagine what is self that is this test of their power.

Can you believe the end of the year is almost upon us?  For my friends participating in NaNoWriMo, they are busy at work this month.  I continue to support them with Facebook messages and Twitter replies.  I reached my goal for the year, which was to finish the first draft of A Place to Call Their Own.  That was a goal four years in the making.

I hope your 2012 has been everything you wanted it to be.  You still have seven weeks to make a dent in your goal, if not achieve it.

What goal are you finishing up in the next seven weeks?

Change the World into Words

True alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words ~ William H. Gaas

We are truly living in historic times.  On Tuesday night, President Obama was re-elected.  The state of Wisconsin not only didn't vote for their home-state candidate, but also elected the first openly gay senator.  Three states approved marriage equality laws, striking down a conservative belief that marriage equality in other states was the result of liberal bias in state legislatures and courts.

I remember reading history books and stories as a kid and wondering if I would ever experience the wonderful things that I was reading about:  the westward expansion, the rise of the millionaires during the Gilded Age, Prohibition, wars, sweeping social change.  It pleases me to report to you that I, indeed, feel like I am living during wonderful times as well.

I hope you feel the same way and I hope you are pursuing a career or other goal that attributes somehow to a legacy that most of us want to leave behind.  Then you, too, can leave behind a piece of yourself to be remembered about the historic times in which we are living.

The Middle of Difficulty

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity ~ Albert Einstein

So it's been another week of some disappointing rejection emails.  I know that it goes with the territory, but I wonder what kind of response I might get if I told everyone who I was querying that I would be publishing their responses on my blog or in a compilation of some sort?  No worries, I'm fine, I didn't even read the whole email because it was so unhelpful.

And then a Twitter follower suggest I read a book about self-publishing, and I'm hooked.  I've finally been pushed over the edge and I think I'm going to self-publish my first few books.  It will get my work out there quicker, I'll have more control, and make more money.  And like a fellow indie author told me not too long ago, the manuscript won't make me any money sitting in the slush pile.  I'd planned to do a bunch of my own marketing anyway, so why not reap a bigger commission per unit?

So even though I'm not devastated over the rejection email, just a bit let down, I've found a better path anyway.  The universe works in mysterious ways and on its own time. 

How has the universe worked mysteriously for you lately?

The Aim of Life

The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely, aware ~ Henry Miller

I hope 2012 is everything you've expected it to be.  If not, it's not too early to think about your goals for 2013.  If you start thinking about them now, you'll have yourself psyched up to start working on them come January 1 or 2 (depending on the nature of the goal).

I hope you're enjoying the weekend!  Have a great week!

Sunshine Award

I've been blessed with another award!  First I must link back with Sharon and then answer some questions and nominate ten more people/blogs.  Here goes:

Sharon Jones

1.  What is your favorite Christmas/Festive movie?

A Christmas Story holds some special memories from growing up and seeing that movie with my brothers.  I still watch it as much as I can during the holidays.  A close second is Christmas Vacation just because we have become Clark Griswold with our indoor decorations.

2.  What is your favorite flower?

My favorite flower is the zinnia.  I wish I could get them to grow better in the pots on my patio.

3.  What is your favorite non-alcoholic beverage?

Coke with a bit of limeade.

4.  What is your passion?

My passion is writing and helping people.

5.  What is your favorite time of year?

My favorite time of year is Christmas.  For us that starts on Nov 1 and last until Jan 6.

6.  What is your favorite time of day?

I guess my favorite time of day is when I work on writing, that is in the morning after I do my workout.

7.  What is your favorite physical activity?

Taking walks with my partner, Thomas.

8.  What is your favorite vacation?

Our favorite getaway spots is Eureka Springs, AR or Branson, MO.

And the nominees are....

Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Linda Jenkins

Christine Locke

SC Harrison

Jilly Andersen

Hemmie Martin

AV Barber

Jimin Han

David R. Slayton

Virgina McKevitt

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Preview of 2013

Imagination is everything.  It is the preview of life's coming attractions ~ Albert Einstein

I hope your 2012 is going well and you're finishing the year off strong.  It's not too early to start thinking about where you want to be at the end of 2013.  As Albert Einstein says, imagination is the preview of the future.

When I made my goals to quit smoking and to finish my bachelor's degree, I made both of those goals between Christmas and New Years and then it took four to five months to get going on both goals.  If you start thinking about your goals now, you'll be excited by January to start working on them. 

What's in store for you in 2013?  I'd love to hear!

The Capacity to See

Genius is the capacity to see ten things when the ordinary man sees one ~ Ezra Pound

You could also say, that people who have lofty goals and go after them also see ten things when the ordinary person sees one.

Just a quick note for today, I hope your October is winding down like you want it to.  For my fellow writer participtang NaNoWriMO, good luck, I hope you achieve your goals.  For those of you not in the know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month where thousands, if not millions of writers will be feverishly working to write an entire novel during the month of November.

For the last two years, I felt guilty that I wasn't able to participate in this quest to write another novel, but this year, I am choosing not to participate.  I am choosing to take the time I would normally use writing and using it to read some books recommended by a publisher to polish my manuscript A Place to Call Their Own.  I'm not saying I won't ever participate, but right now, this just isn't good for me.

Have you ever opted out of an activity designed to help you achieve your dream goal?

Heed the Lessons of Failure

It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure ~ Bill Gates

There's not much more I can add to this great quote for the day.  I hope you are enjoying your weekend and finishing the year strong on your goals, whatever they may be.

Everything in Life is Doable

Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it and the imagination to improvise ~ Sylvia Plath

I'd like you to consider that everything is life is doable, if you have the guts to do it and the imagination to improvise. 

I hope your year is going as well as mine.  I finished writing my first novel after four years and actually wrote the first draft of a second novel.  Now I'm working on revising and editing the first novel in hopes that a small press will publish it.

Depending on your goal, it might not be too late to get started this year if things aren't working out like you had planned.  And you also have all next year to plan on reaching your goals as well.

What are you working on to finish out the year strong?  I'd love to hear!

Your Are Never Alone

You are never alone or helpless.  The force that guides the stars guides you too ~ Shrii Shrii Anandamurti

Accomplishing a lofty dream goal can certainly be daunting.  Because you're doing it independently of most people you know on a close basis, that can make the task seem even more isolating.

But like the quote says, remember, the force in the universe is guiding you.  It's also why you need to seek out and become a part of the community in which your goal resides.

I've talked about having goal buddy to work with.  In direct sales, we called them business buddies.  When I was in school, we called them study buddies.  I have a whole slew of writing buddies both on Twitter and Facebook.  And it's that community to which I turn when I start feeling isolated.

Have you developed a network of goal-oriented buddies to help you when you're feeling isolated?

Energy Creates Energy

Life begets life.  Energy creates energy.  It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich ~ Sarah Bernhardt

Energy does create energy.  Have you ever dreaded doing a chore, but once you dove in and got going, it felt really good to have accomplished the chore?  We have a project at work that's like that.  It always out there and we dread doing it, but once we get going it feels like quest that must be conquered.

I've experienced he same thing in my writing.  Of course, when I started I was excited and happy to finally be writing a novel after two years of searching for topic.  Then work and life got in the way, I hadn't figured out the direction, and it seemed like a big behemoth project that needed to be completed.  Once I figured out how to fit the writing in my daily life and the outline for the novel, things moved along quickly and I finished the first draft of the manuscript this year.

Then I experienced the same sort of dread when it came to editing.  And I've been through that twice.  The first round of edits frustrated me because I kept missing stupid typo mistakes.  The second round of editing loomed in front of me because I knew I needed to make some changes, but once again, didn't know where to start.

So whatever step in your dream journey is intimidating you, go ahead and start into it.  Soon, you'll find it's not so bad after all and you'll feel like you accomplished something once you're done.

What chore has been intimidating you lately?

When the Limo Breaks Down

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down ~ Oprah Winfrey

If you haven't already done so, I hope you've found a "buddy" to work alongside as you reach your dreams.  If you have, hopefully this is a buddy who will ride the bus with you when the limo breaks down.

Have you reached out and helped your buddy lately?  I'd love to hear!

The Quicksand I Walk On

I worship the quicksand he walks in ~ Art Buchwald

This line is also in the movie Steel Magnolias.  It reminds me that as much as I work to develop routines and habits that help me reach my goals, it can all crumble very easily if you don't keep up on it.

What I've learned recently, is that that routines that are good for us, working out, working on our goals, are sometimes so hard to get into.  Now once I've gotten into them, they've been very easy to maintain.  But, once I've fallen out of those routines, it can be very hard to get back to them as well.

Keep at the routines you've established to help you achieve your goals.  If you fall out of them, figure out why you fell out and then make the adjustments necessary to get back to them.  Once you're reached your goals, and ultimately your vision, you'll be glad you did.

What have you done to rescue your routines from the quicksand lately?

Meditation

Here's to the bliss that sets in while meditating ~ Jill Badonsky

I've never been to any classes on mediation.  As a Christian, I pray and that is a form of meditation.

While working on my novel, I had to meditate a couple of times.  The first time was back in February when I wanted desperately to finish the novel this year.  The second time I sat down and meditated was recently when I needed to do a second rewrite that included a revamping of the first two chapters.

So whether you're stuck on your dream journey or things are going well, meditation can help move you forward.  Do you meditate?  I'd love to hear!

Art

Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known ~ Oscar Wilde

I've stated before that when one does a task well, I consider that art.  So I'd like you to consider that anything you do well could be the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.  Many successful people in are seen as experts in their professions and called to share with others about their experiences. 

When you're on a dream journey, seek out others who are ahead of you on your dream journey or those that have achieved the goal you're working on.  Seek out their experiences and glean what you can from them. 

In the past, when I've been in the position of mentor, it usually helps me hone my skills and not be lazy, especially if I'm trying to teach someone else.  I have a couple of writing mentors out there with which I touch base from time to time.  It's always refreshing and inspirational to hear from them.

Today's post also reminds me I need to add a page on my web site for writer resources.  Maybe that will be my focus for this week.

I'd love to hear about how your mentors have helped your dream journey!

Small Towns

I hate small towns because once you've seen the cannon in the park there's nothing else to do ~ Lenny Bruce

I grew up in a small town, so I know all about this.  I will say some of my favorite rest and relaxation spots around the country are in little towns.  They are perfect for "reading" weekends.

I hope whatever you're doing this weekend you were able to work towards your dream goal or your 2012 resolutions.  Have a great weekend!

Change

My whole artistic life has always been about change, change, change, move on, move.  It's the only thing I find interesting ~ Paul Simon

Change is the only constant in the world.  No matter what your dream goal, the guidelines will probably be changed along the way.  You have to be ready for technical change in the midst of achieving your goal.

But another change that you might not even notice for a while is the change in yourself.  Once I started achieving milestone goals, my confidence level increased.  I was so worried that I couldn't even finish one novel that once I did, I kept going and wrote a second in one tenth of the time.  If you're a new writer, that's a confidence boost to have two novels written and one ready for presentation.

What changes have you experienced in your dream journey or in yourself lately?  I'd love to hear!

More Important Than Fear

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear ~ Ambrose Redmoon

I used to be a bit of a wallflower at social functions, I still tend to be.  But when I was selling Tupperware and I needed to ask people to date a party or if they wanted to sell Tupperware, my goal of building a business superseded that fear of talking to strangers.

When I was writing my first novel, my fear of failure was superseded by my determination to finish the project.  Now that the novel is written, my fear of rejection and ridicule is being superseded by my goal to get published.

If you are committed to your goals and vision, your need to accomplish those goals should always feed your courage to work through the rough patches and difficult tasks (the nightmares I talked about on Tuesday).

How have you been courageous lately?

NIghtmares

I've had dreams and I've had nightmares.  I overcame the nightmares because of the dreams ~ Jonas Salk

If you haven't already experienced some accomplishments to help you through the nightmares of reaching your goal, hold on, I'm sure one is coming.  In the meantime, focus on visualizing your success to get you through.

But once you reach a milestone goal, everything is going to be fine.  One of my big milestone goals was just finishing a manuscript I had started four years ago.  I did that earlier this year.  Four months later, I finished a second manuscript.  Recently I finished a good rewrite/edit of the first manuscript and now I'm back to submissions. Once that is over, I am onto editing the second manuscript.

Your dreams help you through the tough times.  Once you start reaching milestone goals, you understand that your dream is a reality and those feelings get you through the tough times.

What milestone goals have you reached lately?  I'd love to hear!

Things That You Really Care About

...You must have a reason to be in the places which you go, and you must do only things that you really care about ~ Yo-Yo Ma

It's all right to say "no" when you're trying to accomplish a goal.  It's even better if you can say "no" right now, because at some point in the future you will have more time and will be able to say "yes."

When you're working on your dream goal, you've got to focus on the simple steps it takes to reach your goal.  Especially in the beginning, until you get your routines down and understand how you work and what motivates you to keep going.  Once you get your routines and boundaries set, it's easier to say "yes" to  more things.

Sinking Into Your Pillow

Here's the feel of your head sinking into your pillow after a long, tiring day ~ Jill Badonsky

Don't you just love productive days when you are a "good" tired after completing a chore or project? That's how it should feel while you accomplish your dream goal, or even the the little milestone goals in between.

That's how I'm feeling right now.  I just got done with another edit of A Place to Call Their Own and I'm ready to start editing Disappear With Me.  All that with balancing writing in the third novel everyday, deciding which agents to submit the manuscript, and continuing to build my platform through social media.

But that's the beauty of pursuing a passion, working yourself until your tired, so you can get up the next day and do it all over again!

What's your favorite task on your dream journey that tuckers you out?  I'd love to hear!

What's Necessary

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible ~ St. Francis of Assisi

When you look at any dream goal, this quote is so true!  Take my writing for example, there were days I struggled to write just 250 words.  There were months I struggled to make blog posts.  But I knew I needed to do both of these tasks daily to become a successful author.

When I figured out a blog post schedule and outlined the rest of my first novel, I moved into the realm of doing what's possible.  Not only have I consistently made four blog posts a week, I finished writing my first novel after four years.  I went from barely writing 250 words per week to writing 5000 words per week and finished the novel within four weeks of completing the outline that was desperately needed.

After I finished my first novel, I immediately started on the second novel and finished the initial draft in four months.  I never would have thought I would have been able to do that.  To me that is the impossible.  Now I am entering writing contests, getting ready to submit queries to agents and publishing companies.  Although it is my goal, it's still surreal to me that I am at this point with my writing.

What step are you at in your dream goal:  necessary, possible, or impossible? 

The Inner Voice

Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice.  It is written in everyone ~ Mahatma Ghandi

Yesterday started the fourth quarter of 2012.  How are you doing on your New Year's resolutions?  I've been blogging all year long that we make resolutions for year, not just the first two weeks of January. 

The fourth quarter can be an exciting time to achieve goals.  If you are in sales, fourth quarter is usually your biggest quarter of the year.  If education is your goal, to finish something by December means, in most cases, you're halfway through your normal school year.  If you're dream is artistic, the cooler weather in the fall, winter, and early spring might make it easier to concentrate on indoor projects.

No matter what your goal is, listen to your inner voice.  It is written in everyone.  If you haven't found your calling, find it.  If you aren't working towards your calling, listen to your inner voice and figure out why.

What has your inner voice told you lately?