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?