WWRR, Baybee!!!

Most people are much more unusual and complicated and eccentric and playful and creative than they have time to express ~ Oliver Herring

My new mantra for my dream journey is WWRR...that is Workout, Write, Read, Relax.  It's kind of a play on the Jersey Shore's GTL (which stands for gym, tan, laundry for those of you not in the know).  And it's been works sooo well for me and my goals this year.

I don't always follow the same order, although working out is always the first thing I do.  If my workout for the day includes riding my stationary bike, then I read at the same time.  Writing is always the second thing I do.  My daily word count goal is 800, except for Fridays when I just do a quick 250.  After I'm done writing for the day, I go sit out in the sun and get my tan on and read some more. Finally, I relax mostly by catching up on television shows I missed the night before while I was at work.

You have to figure out what works for you.  When I was in direct sales (Tupperware, SimplyFun Games, The Body Shop at Home, Avon) we were always coached to choose specific days of the week and specific task to accomplish everything that needed to be done to grow large direct sales organizations.  I've basically used that same principle and applied it to my writing career. 

Figure out what works for you and follow those routines.  Set boundaries around those routines and you'll be excited when it comes time to get to work on your dream journey tasks.

The Eye of Ignorance

It is the eye of ignorance that assigns a fixed and unchangeable color to every object; beware of this stumbling block ~ Paul Gauguin

When your dream journey gets revealed to you, at first you are excited and you dive into the work.  If you get immediate success that usually drives your momentum to keep going.  It has been when I have lost momentum that sometimes my "eye of ignorance" takes over and I run into the walls.

One of those stumbling blocks I've dealt with recently was my work-job work schedule.  After years of working a traditional 8 - 5 job (or something similar), I was offered a super opportunity to work 1 PM to 9 PM.  At first I hesitated and even asked during the interview if there would ever be an opportunity to work earlier.  But I accepted the position and the schedule.  And I don't remember being happier with a schedule for quite some time!

I love my schedule so much that when it gets changed and they ask me to come in earlier, it really puts a kink in my WWRR schedule in the mornings.  WWRR is my mantra, very similar The Situation's Jersey Shore mantra GTL (gym, tan, laundry).  WWRR stands for Workout, Write, Read, Relax.  It's my daily morning routine I follow before I go to work at 1 PM.

My partner will tell you that he would prefer it if I were home in the evenings, but I have gotten so much more done on my writing since I've had this schedule.

What have you changed recently, out of the ordinary, to help accomplish your dream goal?  I'd love to hear!

Ruby Slippers

Here's to the ruby slippers in whatever form they appear to you ~ Jill Badonsky

I made a wonderful, in-person connection with another author yesterday.  I went to Smithville, MO to meet Sherry Foley, author of Switched in Death.  She was hosting a book signing at a swap meet!!  It was a beautiful late Spring day, and we made it outside before the heat reached its high yesterday.

It was so wonderful to actually meet and get to talk to a published author about the business.  Sherry shared with me her background and mutual struggles with writing and her story of how Switched in Death came to be published by Winter Goose Publishing.

And she asked about my plans and routines. After I told her about my daily routine of exercise and writing, and my weekly writing goal, she described me as "disciplined." I will be the first to admit that this discipline has been a personal struggle for four years, but now that I have it down, it's wonderful.  It felt so good for Sherry to use that word to describe my routines.

Another routine that Sherry shared, and confirmed it's success, was thinking outside of the box for places to go for book signings.  I mean we were in a town square just north of the Kansas City area at a swap meet!  She also told me that she's done book signings in candy shops and other places as well. In today's world of book stores closing, this just opens up the possibilities for me to discover places to get out there once I get A Place to Call Their Own published.

I was in seventh heaven yesterday meeting and talking with Sherry about writing.  My ruby slippers couldn't have taken me to a better place. 

Here's a link to Sherry's web site:

http://www.sherryfoley.com/home.htm

Here's a link to Winter Goose Publishing:

http://wintergoosepublishing.com/

Where would you like your ruby slippers to take you on your dream journey?  I'd love to hear!

Send Light into the Darkness

Nothing right can be accomplished in art without enthusiasm.  To send light into the darkness of men's hearts, such is the duty of the artist ~ Robert Schumann

I was once again surprised by America's Got Talent on Tuesday night.  I think one of the reason's I love the show so much is because of the inspiration it provides me. 

Once again, a humble artist took the stage and surprised not only the judges and the local audience, but now the world after seeing him perform.  Nineteen-year-old Andrew De Leon walked out on the stage in Austin, TX and sang for the first time ever in front of an audience, and he sang opera.  Now that takes guts! 

I am only surmising here, but I think what propels this young artist to take such risks is that he knows he is shedding on his art and craft.  Once again, new viewers to the show will get introduced to the opera songs that he brings to the show.  I'm sure he will make it through to the live shows.

I hope you are enthusiastically pursuing your dream goal as we start the summer, just like the contestants on America's Got Talent.  And I hope your dream goal helps send light into the hearts of the people that you touch.

Here is a clip of the Andrew's performance on America's Got Talent from Tuesday night.


http://youtu.be/lzJUgxauIH4

Piercing the Mundane

Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous ~ Bill Moyers

This last weekend, we took a short weekend trip to Branson, MO.  We saw the show, Joseph, at the Sight and Sound Theatre.  It was a musical based on the biblical story of Joseph.  It was truly a beautiful production from the script, the songs, the costumers, and the backdrops.  The dancing was a bit stiff and the choreography a bit corny, but it really was a superb production.

The Sight and Sound production team took a five chapter story from the Bible and created a two hour musical extravaganza, complete with live animals going up and down the aisles as they entered and exited the scenes.  Talk about taking the mundane and making it marvelous, those folks have that down.  Joseph is only one of many productions this company has produced in their 35 year history.

And one of my favorite summertime guilty pleasure, America's Got Talent, is all about making the same old singing, dancing, magic, and other variety acts creatively entertaining. 

Most of our dream journeys concern selling our personal brands to others.  If you want to do that, you have figure out how to make make the mundane marvelous and you'll have people clamoring to get at "you." 

What have you done lately to make the mundane marvelous?  I'd love to hear!

Check out the Sight and Sound Theatrehere:

Sight & Sound Theatre

The Subject is of No Account

The subject itself is of no account; what matters is how it is presented ~ Raoul Duffy

Presentation is everything.  Have you seen the opening to the movie The Phantom of the Opera, the 2004 version?  What starts very slow and calculated eventually gives us a grand opening as the decaying opera house fades from the decay into the grandeur it was during the time of the story.  That is a Hollywood opening worth remembering  that just fuels the suspense of the grand story you're about to experience.

Yes, presentation is everything.  No matter what your dream journey, make the presentation of your final project worth experiencing and you will find success. 

What have you done on your dream journey to make the ordinary seem extraordinary?

Don't Worry About What You're Going to Get

My father used to say to me, "Show 'em what you can do, and don't worry abut what you're gonna get.  Say you'll work for free and make yourself invaluable." ~ Clint Eastwood

I have lived with the principle of making myself invaluable in my career really my entire life.  It really sunk in about fifteen years ago.  That's also when I stopped asking how much new jobs paid, whether they were just different jobs within my same company or they were with a new company. 

If you're pursuing a creative dream, like I am, this is very much the same.  As any writer will tell you, you have to toil away day after day, night after night, working the writing around a full time job and familial obligations.  But just like anything worth doing, it's very worth it to me to do it for free for a bit until I can attempt to parlay that into a full time career.

With the new season of America's Got Talent just starting, this quote also makes me think of most creative pursuits.  If one loves something, you'll keep on doing it, no matter how one fairs in contests or commercially.  If you work hard enough, one day the rewards one is looking for will pay off.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!  Let the summer begin!