You Can Reach Out

There are things you cannot reach, but you can reach out to them, all day long ~ Mary Oliver

The only thing I would add to this quote is the word yet.  There are things you cannot reach yet, but you can reach out to them, all day long.  There are things we cannot reach, that's why we're on our individual dream journeys together.  But we can reach out to them every day.

We're almost through the first quarter of the 2012.  How is your dream journey coming along this year?  It have probably made more progress in the last three weeks than I did all year last year.  I know that's an exaggeration, but it sure does feel like it.  I am going to start recording my word count weekly so I can keep track of my progress.  It's been wonderful to tell friends that I've written 5000 words a week for the last two weeks.  I have a new schedule at work, and soon a new job, that allows me more creative time in the morning to work on my novel.

I've also created some new routines with updating this blog.  That's working very well; I feel a sense of urgency to have the next blog post written 24 to 48 hours in advance.  In the past, I was paralyzed with fear when I was trying to blog every day.  And blogging every day never worked out very well.

And at the same time, I understand if you haven't started on your 2012 goals.  Two of my biggest accomplishments were not started until April or May.  Just don't wait too long.

There are things that we cannot reach daily, but we can reach out and work towards them everyday.  Have a great week, everybody!

Any Time Not Spent on Love is Wasted

Any time not spent on love is wasted ~ Tasso

In my life, any extra time not spent on my loves:  my family and my dream, is wasted.  I hope that any extra time you have, you are also spending on your next step in your dream journey.  And I hope that you are loving every minute of it.

And I’m using the term “extra-time” loosely.  Remember if you are working towards a dream goal, you have to create routines and boundaries around your time to make that a reality.  And even after you create those routines and boundaries, you have to be flexible enough to change them.

I recently accepted a new job and will be changing careers just a little bit.  Part of the appeal is later hours in the day that allow me to get up leisurely in the morning and work on my writing before going work (and not having to be up at 5:00AM to do so).  I’ve had a taste of the new routine the last couple of weeks at my current job and one new boundary I’ve had to set up is only working on the novel for about 500 words at time.  Anything beyond that, I start exhausting myself where I can’t concentrate later in the afternoon.  That’s a good thing, because by limiting myself, my brain is just salivating the rest of the day with great ideas that I can type out the next day.  Sometimes I have time to work on them at work as well, so that helps.

Anyway, I hope whatever you spend your time on you absolutely love.  If not, why not find a dream journey to spend time on, in love?

There Are No Rules

The only rule is that there are no rules ~ Del Close

The Internet has opened more avenues for entrepreneurs than ever before.  The Internet allows anyone to create a very professional looking “storefront” out of which to operate.  And once the Internet started, the rules of doing business changed.  Then social media changed the way we do business again. 

Just using my example of writing a novel, there are millions of people offering help with writing, from very specific help to general creativity coaching.  After you get your work written, there are, again, many options to get it published hardcopy, e-version, traditional, indie, etc.  And then there are more sites that will help you market and sell copies.

My thoughts today are that to reach your dreams and goals you’ve got to be willing to break the rules and understand there are no rules.  Make your dream important enough that you are willing to break all the traditional rules to succeed.  If you do that, you are nearly guaranteed to succeed at achieving your dream goal.

What rules are you breaking to reach your dream goal?

Music...Magic Beyond What We All Do

Ah, music.  A magic beyond what we all do here ~ JK Rowling

Do you have a “soundtrack” to your life or a soundtrack to the work you’re doing?  I definitely have certain songs that are attached to certain memories in my life.

The “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler reminds me of the year I graduated high school.

Whitney Houston’s “I will always love you” reminds me of the year that I turned 21.

“Hey, Soul Sister” by Train is a recent addition to the soundtrack of my life that includes my partner Thomas.

I’m sure you have some memories as well of good songs.  As a writer, I also have a “soundtrack,” for my current novel.  Sometimes the I ran across the song after I had a scene or a chapter written.  Other times, I have been thinking about a scene and a song pops into my head and I think, this is the same mood I want to this scene to convey.

Music is just a part of our lives.  Imagine a movie without a background score, the Super Bowl (or any football game for that matter) without a Half Time Show.

Does your current dream journey have a soundtrack?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Simple Moments of Delight

Here's to ceremonies that exalt simple moments of delight ~ Jill Badonsky

I usually think of a ceremony as a special event, most of the time something big.  But something as simple as regular afternoon tea can be seen as a ceremony.  Even accomplishing a daily goal that you’ve set can be ceremonious, even if it does start happening every day.

That’s what has been happening for me on a daily basis.  I’ve been reveling in my morning ceremony of getting up, working out, and getting my writing accomplished and out of the way for the day.  During the week I had off, I was able to re-charge, do some serious brainstorming and now my novel is moving along at a breathtaking pace.  I was excited to tell a writer friend over the week that my novel has grown by about 5000 words in just the last week.  Here’s to another week of that kind of progress.

And now that I can see the end in sight, I have another ceremony on my mind:  my publication launch party.  If you’re a new writer on the same journey, are you planning yours yet?  And if you’ve already published your work, what about your next publication?  Have you planned that launch party?

Part of what is fueling my progress right now is my ability to visualize myself at my launch party.  I’ve planned the hors d’eurves we’re going to serve, the people that will be there, and how Facebook and Twitter will be used to interact with family, friends, and fans unable to make the launch party in Kansas City. 

What is vision of your success do you see for yourself in your dream journey?  I’d love to hear what it is!

Ideas Are Like Rabbits

Ideas are like rabbits.  You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon, you have a dozen ~ John Steinbeck

Once I get some inspiration or get an idea for a scene or story arc, my writing is very productive.  It's when I run out of steam and am empty of ideas that my progress stalls.  And, I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, employed brainstorming with paper and pen to get my plot moving forward.

What helped me with my latest brainstorm was a vast array of different works of fiction that I'd recently read.  And to be a fiction reader has a been a big shift for me since I started on my journey.  Up until about four years ago, my main reading material was non-fiction:  self-help and business books.  Of course, I was into Harry Potter and read all those books and every once in a while I read the book that became a movie.

But when I started my novel, I started reading fiction.  I now read a wide variety of fiction that has helped shape my writing and armed me with a plethora of ideas for my own stories.  I read mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, even chick-lit and YA titles.  I just finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy.  Not only was that some of the best reading I ever done, it taught me a lot about story structure and plot development. 

If you're a writer, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  If you're on another dream journey, you'll have to seek out the resources needed for you to generate the ideas you need to achieve your goal.  I remember selling Tupperware and attending every training session I could.  I gleaned at least one new idea to grow my business from each meeting.

What new ideas have your run across recently that gave some vigor to your dream journey?  I'd love to hear about them!

Vary the Routine Every Now and Then

Here's to varying the routine every now and then to keep life fresh, the spirit spontaneous, and the mind awake ~ Jill Badonsky

Routines are essential to achieving most of life's tasks, professional or personal.  The idea of creating person routines was introduced to me nearly fifteen years ago when I worked in cash services for a large commercial bank.  We always coached the employees to develop personal routines to help them achieve their accuracy when handling large amounts of currency (upwards of one million dollars per day!). 

I took this idea of developing a routine and applied to my job at the time and have employed it every position ever since.  As a corporate trainer, I had certain administrative duties that had to be completed after each class and usually only had Mondays to complete them.  As a call center supervisor and manager, I created routines to ensure all my tasks are completed in a timely manner.

Routines are important when you're working on a dream journey.  Since many of us on a dream journey are also juggling other responsibilities like a full time job and family responsibilities, routines help ensure our dream journeys continue amidst our everyday lives.  Routines also help our family, friends, and supporters understand how important the time is to you and understand that their time is coming soon, and in your plan.

At the same time, sometimes it's just fun to mix things up every now and then.  For example, instead of setting a goal to just sit down and write, I am breaking up my writing time into bits and pieces.  This morning, I went ahead and did my workout, sat down and completed half my writing goal on A Place to Call Their Own, took a break to play on Twitter, wrote out this blog, and then I will return to the novel to complete my writing for the day. 

For me, sometimes it is just easiest to get the writing done and out of the way.  Sometimes it's nice to break it up, either because I'm struggling with a section or because during the breaks I might be doing something else I don't like, such as chores around the house.

I hope your routines are helping you achieve your dreams and goals this year.  Vary them every once and a while and I'm sure you'll get a new spring in your steps towards your dream journey.

What are your thoughts?