As You Focus on Success, Include Gratitude.

Today when the sun warmed my face, I knew it was a good day. It was one of those days when we all are glad to be alive.

But are you glad to be alive on stormy days? When the weather is blizzard cold, and your feet can’t get warm or dry? When the knot in your stomach feels like it will burst at any moment? It is on these days we are tested.

But it should be a no-brainer test because Every day is a good day to be alive especially when we utilize the two factors of Gratitude and Focus. Sometimes Focusing can be used for negative reasons, but I liken it to a point of light reflecting back into a camera lense thus projecting our virtual focus on a clear image of our future.

As the image becomes clear, a feeling of gratitude for the support and encouragement received from like minded friends and associates will manifest.

Suzanne Lieurance at Working Writers Coach speaks about Gratitude and Focus in her post.

Suzanne says, “Two factors help me live the freelance writing career of my dreams: gratitude and focus.”

Suzanne also hosts a weekly teleclass called Writer’s On Call. Each Thursday evening she or a guest will host an hour teleseminar on topics such as marketing and promoting your freelance career, time management and goals.

Diane Eble who is often a host will answer your Publishing questions at http://www.wordstoprofit.com/

I have been attending these teleclasses for some weeks now and have met so many phenomenal and talented people.

Pat McCarthy is a wonderful photographer and published author.

Ettarose Lazaros has a new book out called Heaven Help Mom: and Maybe the Kids Will Help. Check it out here.

Tim Anderson of The Medical Migrant will keep you informed on the oddities of the medical world with news you may not know.

Kate Garvey at Pet Care Resource of America will teach you to walk your cat.

Rosemary Kapitan is just beginning her career as a children’s writer.

Suzanne says she is "a typical working freelance writer" and you can get a taste of what it is like as a full time writer when you visit. As Suzanne says, “The writer’s life of your dreams won’t mean sitting on the beach and writing when the mood strikes you.”

However, it does sound like a rewarding busy life.

Write it down,
Carma

Hope Writes a Contest

Congratulations Hope!

Hope Wilbanks of Hope Writes has introduced a new contest to celebrate over 1,000 unique visitors to her blog. She is offering prizes too.

So run on over to enter the contest and while you are there visit a while to see all the first-rate information Hope has compiled for you.

Write it down,

Carma

Should You Believe Statistics?

Should we let them rule our life and/or dissuade us from writing or publishing?

Will you let this information influence your professional writing life or will you make your own statistics?

Or will you take the viewpoint of Benjamin Disraeli?

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics" -Benjamin Disraeli, British Statesman.

Writers and Authors

81% of the population feels they have a book inside them.

27% would write fiction.

28% would write on personal development

27% would write history, biography, etc.

20% would do a picture book, cookbook, etc.

6 million have written a manuscript.

6 million manuscripts are making the rounds.

Out of every 10,000 children's books, 3 get published.

Jerrold Jenkins. 15 May 99. http://www.JenkinsGroup.com

While the US Population is growing and education levels are rising, book sales are not....due to heavy media competition for leisure time.

--Business Trend Analysts, Inc. as reported in Publishers Weekly, October 27, 1997. http://www.businesstrendanalysts.com/ http://www.PublishersWeekly.com

Who is your audience?

Women buy 68% of all books. -Lou Aronica, Senior V-P Avon Books. Publishers Weekly, March 22, 1999. http://www.PublishersWeekly.com

The median household income for book buyers is $41,600, compared to $35,300 for all adults. -Bookselling This Week, November 10, 1997. http://news.bookweb.org/

Men are more likely to shop in chain stores than women. Women are more likely to shop in discount stores and supermarkets than men. --Publishers Weekly, May 12, 1997, page 13. http://www.PublishersWeekly.com

The above information was obtained from Para Publishing web site at http://parapub.com/sites/para/resources/statistics.cfm

Write it down,

Carma

Art Deco Opens Creativity

Thanks Robyn McMaster at Brain Based Biz for your thought provoking meme. It’s not a real meme because it doesn’t ask how many of what and how often do you, or what do you want? It asks “Have you ever thought of your life as a building?” This is one question that will jar your gray matter.

I enjoyed Robert Hruzek’s of Middle Zone Musings description of living his life forward as a building. It was grand. Imagine your life as grand as New York, New York casino in Las Vegas.

Robyn McMaster is a girl after my own heart with her depiction of how she could live life in a luxury tent, described my kind of camping. Let's not forget how Joanna Young at Confident Writing, got us started by showing us how fantastic and exciting life can be lived when we put our minds to it.

As I progress beyond the PM years, I find myself drawn to older things such as Art Deco style buildings and homes. Art Deco is from another era when creative minds were not so stifled by government regulations. This artistic style of architecture is making a comeback. The colors and designs are one of a kind. To live my life as an Art Deco Building would mean I would use my imagination to create beautiful things that would inspire and motivate people.

I would love to know what type of structure Lisa Gates of Design Your Writing Life envisions for her future life. Also let’s hear from Hope Wilbanks, Suzanne Lieurance. Yes, I know you all are busy writing so let’s write about buildings.

If you are reading this post you can also consider yourself tagged so jump on in.

Write it down,
Carma

Is There Such a Thing as Wasted Time?

Much of what went on here at my computer today was wasted time. Have you ever felt like that? I began reading, scrolling, perusing emails and opening attachments around 11 a.m. Ever since the arrival of "post-meno" happened, there are days when my mind just has a mind of its own and decides to go on an adventure.

It is now 3 p.m. I glanced at the pile of snail mail and it was still there. So I went back to reading email after email, link after link and before I knew it I had ten sites open and was about ten links deep into each one. But they were all so good and I needed this information for my writing research.

Here’s the thing. None of this was doing me any good because I wasn’t writing. I was dreaming and thinking about writing. However, not everything was wasted.

Sharing with Writers Newsletter by Carolyn Howard Johnson and Authors’ Coalition Friends is a fantastic place for writers to go to and I am going to nominate Sharing with Writers Newsletter for the Writer’s Digest 101 best newsletters. ("To subscribe to 'Sharing with Writers' send an e-mail to HoJoNews@aol.com with 'subscribe' in the subject line.")

I ran across this humorous story at Authors Coalition to share with you and I laughed. I hope you do too.

The pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.

The pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in another race, and it won again.

The local paper read: PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT.

The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in any more races.

The next day, the local paper headline read: BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS.

This was too much for the Bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey.

The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.

The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day: NUN HAS THE BEST ASS IN TOWN.

The Bishop fainted. He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, so she sold it to a farmer for $10. The next day the paper read: NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10.

This was too much for the Bishop, so he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the high plains where it could run wild. The next day the headlines read: NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE.

Alas;...... the Bishop was buried the next day.

MORAL OF THE STORY?? Being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery, and even shorten your life. So, be yourself and enjoy life... stop worrying about everyone else's ass, and you'll live longer and be a lot happier!*

Write it down,

Carma

Life After Menopause

It's never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot

Menopause does present some challenges needless to say but I am going to encourage you to embrace this time in your life. There are some downsides but I believe with a little humor and determination, you can succeed beyond your wildest dreams and won’t even pay attention to any down sides. Also I want to motivate anyone under 50 and show you what you have to look forward too. If you apply the principles of baby boomers just imagine your success when you reach the delayed gratification era (beyond menopause).

Prill Boyle describes this age of independence as defying gravity. Some women might consider menopause as the end of their productive life. Not so. This is when life gets better. I have come up with ten reasons to love life after menopause. Can you come up with others?

Carma’s Ten Reasons to love life after Menopause

1. No more PMS means that Hillary can become president.
2. No more birth control. Your body says Enough already.
3. The empty nest syndrome. Turn that bedroom into an office.
4. Freedom to sleep late.
5. More money in your pocket (now you can contribute to YOUR college fund.)
6. Wear white after Labor Day or red if you want. Fashion? The fashionistas don’t know how to dress a 50 year old. We must show them.
7. Date men who wear sequins (You gotta have some fun).
8. Recover your own identity Instead of answering to mom, honey, wifey, you now can use your real name.
9. Drive your own car – Be the boss.
10. Have a second career – Yes you can!

Men are affected by menopause too. Go read Jed Diamond’s web site to find out how men and women can help each other.

Write it down,

Carma

Book Shopping -

Thanks to Chris Brogan who wrote 100 Blog Topics I Hope YOU Write, I have a topic to write about today. Thanks Chris for sharing such a wealth of jump starts.

It has been pretty tough these last few days to come up with ANYTHING to write about! I was thrown off my quill when I had to go attend to my adult daughter who had surgery last week.

What writer doesn’t love book stores? When you walk into your local book store and see all the newly released books proudly displayed on the front table, do you picture your book there? I do. Visualization is a great tool to motivate and activate your sluggish momentum that has been dragging you down.

Someone might want to know what kinds of books writers read. I like true life stories, self help, motivational and biographies. Recently I bought (and am reading) “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell, The power of thinking without Thinking. Who wants to spend all their time thinking? If you are like me, you want your ideas to pop in with out any effort and you want to be able to make sound and accurate decisions in the blink of an eye. This book promises to be mind opening reading.

A couple of other interesting books recently purchased by me are “The Nazi Officer’s Wife” How one Jewish Woman survived the Holocaust and “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health” which is being released nation wide tomorrow, September 25. This is a collaborative book with 101 authors from radically different branches of the healing profession to help you overcome unhealthy habits. The authors were selected by David Riklan and Dr. Joseph Cilea.

One of the authors, Shayn Cutino from Anja Health Center, is a dear friend of mine. Visit Shayn’s website and discover how you can improve your self esteem. She and I are also co-authoring a new book that will blend the implementation of hypnosis and the insight of philosophy. More news on that is forth coming.

Reading is an important part of writing and there have been times when I feel I don’t have time to read. Today, my mantra is "I don’t have time NOT to read". Well it is off to the library to do research on my book proposal. Treading new waters is exciting and scary but remember nothing happens with out action.

Write it down,
Carma