Inspiration is Everywhere

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." (Jack London)

This is a quote I ran across while looking for inspiration to write this evening. Inspiration is all around us. A word, a song, or a picture can propel us forward to greatness.

When is your best time or where is your best place to be receptive to inspiration?

For me music is my main source of inspiration and next to that is reading. I can't count the number of times I have been driving with the stereo belting out my favorites and a thought or idea will pop right into my head.

Where are you when brilliant ideas pop in your head? I carry a small personal recorder with me in my purse. Now if you are in the shower that may be a little difficult but if you have pen and paper on your vanity, you could dry off your writing hand and write down your idea or run dripping wet to the computer and type it in.

Are you feeling stuck? Going to the park is a great way to meditate and prepare your mind to receive great thoughts. On weekends, I like to take bike rides very early in the mornings so that I can "hear" the quite and "see" the Forrest with out the trees.

Write it down,

Carma

Follow The Money

I was reading Anne Wayman’s newsletter today about Freelance writers regarding the fear of money and success. She points out some thought provoking solutions between the relationship of self esteem and fear of making money:

"I don't know how it happens, but for many of us, money - our ability to earn it, our right to have it, our very thinking about the whole subject - gets hooked with our self-esteem or self-worth. For the freelance writer, this lack of true self esteem often results in:

not recognizing and accepting our talents as writers
not charging enough for our work
not following through with invoicing and other money management necessities
not following through with potential clients

Any of these symptoms, and many more, result in under earning, also known in some circles as self-debting."

I don’t know about you but this topic has my name on it. My husband and I run a plumbing repair business and when money gets tight as it often will, my blood pressure rises, I have anxiety attacks, and I am not easy to live with. In addition, my creativity gets sucked into a black hole.

Another reason for not earning enough money is that we do not charge enough for our services. Do you wage price wars with your competitors and associates?

Do you call them pretending to be a prospective client and ask their rates?

I have known many people who do this. My husband and I provide excellent service and we do not need to apologize for our rates just because we are $10 more than Joe Blow. Don’t judge your talents and services by others.

When you begin to compare yourself to other people in your profession, you are doing a huge disservice to your career and business as a freelance writer.

I have two questions for you and me:

1. Do you fear making money or do you fear being successful?
Yes I fear making money because it would mean I am successful and I am not sure I can handle the scrutiny.

2. Can you manage money once you have it?
This is another major cause of fear. Maybe I don’t manage money well because I don’t want to be successful.

What do YOU say?

Write it down,
Carma