Boo! It's a Scary Writing World Out There!

Don't let your fears keep you from writing. 
Fear is deadly and costly for those in the writing field. Let's face them TODAY and see if we can take the first steps in conquering them.

Fear #1: Fear of the Unknown

Yes, it will cost you some money — marketing costs, training costs, etc.

But if something costs you, say, $500 over the course of a year, and you generate, say, $3,000 during that year, is the cost really what’s most important?

Don’t let the fear of investing some money now blind you from the many different future avenues of profit and readers.

Fear #2: I don't have the time

Yes, writing does take time. There is no way around this.

So if you literally have no time to invest in building an audience and developing your talent in writing, you probably should give in to this fear and walk away now. But in my experience, most people do have enough time to at least get moving — even if it’s not as much time as they’d like to have (a distinction that is critical).

The key is to actually prioritize your personal goals and your future (because no one else is going to do it for you), and then make smart choices about what to do with the available time that you do have.

Fear #3: But I’m an unknown! How will I ever get enough sales to make money?

Patience with your timeline, take a big-picture view, and smartly follow the proven path laid out by so many people who have come before you.

Fear #4: Okay, but how can I be confident that I’ll make good decisions and not screw everything up once it’s growing?

Because you’re more capable than you think. And because there are so many mentors and examples out there whose lead you can follow.

And, more importantly, because your own intuition — once it is honed by the deep experience you will gain growing an audience and learning how to serve them — is the greatest and most underrated guide you will have.

Fear #5: This all just a crazy pipe dream.

It’s definitely not a pipe dream. The thousands of successful writers out there, and the billions upon billions of dollars they generate every year, are proof of that.

As to whether it’s “crazy,” well … maybe it is a tad bit crazy.

But you know what? Most successful writers tend to be a little bit crazy. So this fear is actually a sign that you’re on the right track. 

And just for good measure, here is one more fear you might be feeling …

Bonus Fear: How will I know what specific steps to take to succeed?

This is probably the most unreasonable fear of them all.

Why?

Because so many successful paths and successful strategies have already been tried, judged, improved, and refined by those who have come before you.

Take a moment and reflect on any of the fears above that may be affecting your thinking. If any of those fears are stopping you from taking meaningful steps forward, now is the time to consider whether or not they should be.

Because if they shouldn’t be, then these fears are holding you back from living the life you truly want to be living.

And that’s not a fear to respect.

That’s a fear to reject.


Blessings!

Reflections on Fathers

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. --Clarence Budington Kelland

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. -- Author unknown

A father carries pictures where his money used to be. --Author unknown

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years. --Mark Twain

Fatherhood is pretending the present you like most is the soap-on-a-rope. --Bill Cosby

Father!  To God himself, we cannot give a holier name. --William Wordsworth

Blessings!

Mother's Day 2009

Since Mother's Day is almost here, I thought you might get a kick out of this Memory Lane Tour that my good friend Ann sent me. Enjoy!

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:

You have to be a certain age to appreciate this. I can hear mother now:

• You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any clothes-walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.

• You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.

• You never hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would the neighbors think?

• Wash day on a Monday! Never hang clothes on the weekend or Sunday, for Heaven's sake!

• Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle.

• It didn't matter if it was sub zero weather. Clothes would "freeze-dry."

• Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were "tacky!"

• If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.

• Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothesbasket, and ready to be ironed.

• IRONED? Well, that's a whole other subject!

And if you're not bored by now, you'll also enjoy this:

Ode to the Clothesline

A clothesline was a news forecast

To neighbors passing by.

There were no secrets you could keep

When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link

For neighbors always knew

If company had stopped on by

To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"

And towels upon the line;

You'd see the "company table cloths"

With intricate designs.

The line announced a baby's birth

From folks who lived inside -

As brand new infant clothes were hung,

So carefully with pride!

The ages of the children could

So readily be known

By watching how the sizes changed,

You'd know how much they'd grown!

It also told when illness struck,

As extra sheets were hung;

Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,

Haphazardly were strung.

It also said, "Gone on vacation now"

When lines hung limp and bare.

It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged

With not an inch to spare!

New folks in town were scorned upon

If wash was dingy and gray,

As neighbors carefully raised their brows,

And looked the other way .. . ...

But clotheslines now are of the past,

For dryers make work much less.

Now what goes on inside a home

Is anybody's guess!

I really miss that way of life.

It was a friendly sign

When neighbors knew each other best

By what hung on the line!

Quote:

Only two groups of people fall for flattery: men and women.

Blessings!

Signs of the Time

A certain smell . . . in the air.
A certain feel . . . in the air.

An occasional wild goose that triggers memories.
Labor Day weekend.
Summer activities coming to an end.
School beginning.

Yellow buses flooding the streets.
Kids with lunch boxes.
Vacations (unless you're a lucky person able to go in the fall) over.

Nippy nights.
Less air conditioners.
Apples turning red (or yellow)

Shorter days.

Knowing its time to start fall flower bed cleaning, but fighting the urge to put it off.

Pumpkins popping up everywhere.

Magazines with fall pictures.

Eyeing the trees with nuts and just knowing wondering who's going to be the quickest to get to them -- you or Mr. Squirrel.



Thoughts of fall decorating.
Catalogs in the mail with fall and winter clothes.

The best time of the year!




Quote:
Far away, there in the sunshine, are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. --Louisa May Alcott


Blessings