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5 Quotes that Helped Reshape My Mind.

I’ve learned a lot since beginning this writing journey. I’ve met some great writers who don’t hesitate to help and I’ve even fallen in love with reading again. With that being said, my reader attention has been heightened, taking more notice of words everywhere I go…they resonate with me in a fresh new way. Without further ado, here are 5 quotes I’ve heard over the course of my life that have changed me in more ways than one:

“The head is a beautiful mechanism; use it, but don’t be used by it.” – Osho, philosopher

When it comes to writing, the mind couldn’t serve as a better tool. That’s where thoughts, ideas and wonderful stories are birthed. But I’ve learned of the strong connection the mind has with the heart. It’s important to have a balance between these two components because on their own, both can get carried away. It’s good to have an imagination, but we have to be grounded at the same time in respect to reality.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” The Bible

This scripture has done a complete change in me not just as a writer, but as a person. Trust me; I am NOT speaking from a religious standpoint, but rather a practical one. So many people spend time trying to be like someone else and don’t take the time to discover who they are. It wasn’t until I was ready to do some self-reflection that this scripture came to life for me. Many things in the mind need to be attacked and uprooted because they’re the cause of many setbacks and sad stories. Changing the way you think will open so many doors for you and reveal the path to your destiny. Okay, I don’t mean to sound like some mythical speaker, but it’s true. J

“If you think the grass is greener on the other side, water your own grass!” – unknown

I read this somewhere, and cracked up laughing – but I don’t remember where I read it! If nothing else has motivated me to work on my craft more, it’s definitely this lovely quote. I don’t know who said it, but it makes perfect sense to me. There’s nothing wrong with admiring other people’s work, but being able to circle back around and use what you’ve observed for your own improvement is the whole point. Besides, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side although it may seem that way.

“Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw

Believe it or not, this quote inspired me to begin my writing journey. So many things in other areas of my life have blossomed besides my writing. Once I heard my sister say it to me over the phone one day, it set things in motion for me. I was not going to sit around anymore. Whatever I was dissatisfied with in my life was about to get dealt with. I started cultivating; tending to things I wanted to see happen, and boy, have they started happening! At the same time, I’ve learned that there are questions that won’t ever be answered and things that are beyond my control. So I just work on what I can….I create! Such a perfect tie into writing! There are a few outlets in this world that allow such a powerful event to take place.

“Anything that’s too easy is not good for you.” – My ninth grade Earth Science teacher

Don’t asked me what I learned in Earth Science, because I’d be lying if I told you. That darn class was at 2 in the afternoon and I just remember being spent and ready to go home. Plus her classroom was always hot! That just made it even more difficult for my brain to process any information during that time of day.

But I digress.

During class one day we were having an off-topic classroom discussion about life in general. She decided to through some words of wisdom our way and they definitely stuck with me. I’ve come to understand how I must work hard. When I do, not only is it rewarding, but I know that no one can my my way and discredit me or tamper with what I have. Especially since my reward wasn’t handed to me; I worked hard for it and deserve the benefits I’m reaping from it.

Do you have an empowering quote that changed your life? I’d like to hear about it!

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Why Reading Really is Fundamental

“The most important thing is to read as much as you can, like I did. It will give an understaning of what makes good writing and it will enlarge your vocabulary.”

J.K. Rowling – Author

To be honest, the photo actually prompted me to write this post. It’s usually the other way around – I usually write something up first and find a photo to go along with it…growth and development folks!

Brain harmony
Reading puts your brain to work, which is always a good thing. As writers, this can definitely serve as a benefit to our creativity and ability to articulate. Because your brain is put into so much action when reading, the effect lasts for days afterwards…this is a good thing. It doesn’t pay to have a stagnant brain with no activity. Now, no one has to read a whole library full of novels by the end of the year, taking the time to read some news articles or e-books on an interesting topic can make a world of difference for the brain. Feeding our creativity will help us reach out to our audience more, fueling fresh ideas and boosting writing confidence.

Your vocabulary improves
No one will take a writer seriously if they can’t express themselves properly. No, one doesn’t have to use Ph.D. level terminology in their posts, but they should be able to convey their messages clearly and with the right terms according to their audience. Reading how authors articulate and express their viewpoints can definitely help when it comes to relaying our own views, hence the quote by Rowling. In fact, it can lead to identifying the audience better which ultimately leads to better preparation of material for them. Again, reading helps to fuel growth and creativity. Not just in the mind, but on paper, in conversations….it goes on and on.

What I’m reading now
I have a few things going on at one time, so I’m reading more than one book at a time. One is by philosopher Osho, Emotional Wellness and the other is by L.Y. Marlow, A Life Apart. Marlow’s book is the first novel I’ve read in a long time and I’m excited as to which direction it will take me in my writing.

Need a starting point?
Of course, visit the local book store. Also hunt around for book clubs and take visits to the library. But if you also want to hunt online to get ideas on where to start, check out these links below:

https://www.goodreads.com/ If you’re interested, you can create an account and interact with other readers, get reading discussions and provide book reviews. You can also use this site to promote your work if you’re an author or publisher.

http://whatshouldireadnext.com/ Provides book reviews and is another good site to search for your next read.

Home

Books recommended by librarians around the country. They have monthly reading lists for you to sign up for and discuss.

Read any good books lately? I’d love to hear about it! 🙂

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Career Moves – Why I Got Promoted

Shoot, in my mind, I was already promoted! It was just a matter of me getting there!

If I did it, then so can you. I recently received the wonderful news of getting promoted after years of hard work, frustration and what I thought were set backs (they actually weren’t, but I’ll get to that later). As I’ve mentioned before, I have a full time job that I do in addition to my part-time freelance work. I want to share tid-bits of my journey to where I am today career-wise and hope it helps you out in some way.

Making a plan

As my readers know, I love to make lists. My career is no exception. When I’m ready to transition or push for a higher position, I usually start out by making a list. It visualizes everything for me, from what I need to do, whom I should talk to, reading I need to do and strategies I need to develop. That way, when I’m sitting before management making a case for myself I won’t look foolish. The confidence is there and I know what I’m talking about. My message is clear to them and they often admire that. Even if you just write down “get a new job” or “start consulting business” that’s a great start. The more you realize what you want, the better you can go about planning for it.

Rejection

I’d be a lying fool if I chose not to mention this part of my journey. It’s bound to happen at some point to everybody. We just have to choose how to deal with it. A couple of years ago I started applying for different jobs and got called for an interview. The organization was great, the location was excellent and the salary was out of this world. It was the perfect job for me. Out of 200 applicants, I made it to the final round of selection. When it was down to the final round, I went on a second interview and it went well. I just knew I had the job – I knew it was mine. Then it was silence, I never got the call that I’d been waiting for. After a couple of days, I called the manager that had interviewed me and asked if a selection had been made and he told me yes. They were impressed with my package but another candidate was chosen and it was a very difficult decision for them to make. I was crushed. I had to face my current supervisor and co-workers (some of them knew that I had gone on interviews – thanks to the supervisor) after that rejection. It took me a couple of days, but once I got myself together I made up my mind: that next time I come that close to getting a job, it’s because IT’S MINE! I didn’t care about circumstances, other candidates, or interviews. I was going to ace it next time and get the promotion. Sure, there were other applications I put in afterwards that weren’t accepted. I tried other avenues and looked at other careers in which I could advance. Nothing really happened for the next couple of years. But over that time I nurtured that one thought I had after the disappointment I faced with the dream job. I took the positive from the situation; the fact that I made that far out of 200 applicants spoke volumes. I interviewed well and I knew what I was talking about which meant I had pretty good market value. I just needed to keep trying and not stop until something happened. That’s what rejection does to you – if you handle it the right way. I didn’t let it consume me, I let it teach me (ha, I like that! (c) New3Creation Writing).

Preparation

After learning from the hurtful bout of rejection and making my mind up to never be in that situation again, I started making preparations to actually be in my new job. Did I have it yet? No, but I was doing my darnest to get there! I increased my exposure to various parts of my career field, I went to seminars, I read guidelines and regulations, I volunteered for projects that no one else wanted to touch and went to meetings no one cared about. I picked management’s brain about career moves and what I needed to work on in order to advance (annual performance reviews weren’t enough for me and I made sure they knew that). Were any of these tasks giving me promotions? No, but they were definitely increasing my knowledge and helping me ad more accomplishments to my resume.

After taking a break from applying and pushing for a new job, I mustered up the energy to start applying again. I went hard core, or as a friend of mine says, went into “beast mode”. All of the interviews I previously went on, suddenly served as fuel because I’d become familiar with questions and expectations of positions. All of my responses helped me regain confidence in the push I was making. Before I knew it there were SEVERAL OFFERS on my plate for me to choose from!

Setting sail

I star my new position in a couple of weeks and I am ecstatic about it. The faith and hard work has definitely paid off. I say all of this of course to apply to writing; I want to advance in this career as well. I’m learning that it’s a slow process (molasses!) but I’m enjoying every moment of it as it continues to grow for me.

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Whatever Happened to Quality Journalism?

As an aspiring writer, I always look forward to a good, informative read. Whether it’s an established news resource or an opinion on a hot controversy, I open websites and newspapers with anticipation and expectation of decent material. I have to say content and its quality has changed dramatically over the years. Being able to rely on news and publication is important to me not only as a writer but as an individual who chooses to be informed and doesn’t mind taking the time to research reliable material. But when I go looking I come across endless amounts of tacky an deceiving headlines, not to mention useless information. Oh, and don’t forget about the obnoxious reports on celebrities, what they’re doing, wearing or whatever else they do with their so-called lives. Okay, well what about actual reporting on issues that could have a significant impact on my life? Why should I care about Kimye’s wedding or if Nicki Minaj dissed Izzy Agalea at the awards show (I’ve never heard any songs by the first and don’t even know a thing about the second one’s existence)? Sadly, they make the headlines everyday.

I’m no perfect writer, I make mistakes and grammatical errors every now and then, but sheesh, I’ve seen 9 year olds have better writing skills then what’s printed in these publications! What is going on and when did the quality of writing and reporting plummet?

Anyone know of places I could go to get useful information on news/current events? What’s your take on today’s news coverage?

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Doing the Most

Recently I came to the realization that going above and beyond can have a serious backlash. A couple of years ago, the staffing in our office were cut short severely; mainly because of retirements. So I decided to step up to the plate and really prove myself as a worker and even a leader. Mind you I was already a productive worker and management was aware. I just wanted to take it to the next level. I went all out, attending meetings, staying late, volunteering to take projects no one else wanted to touch and so forth. Before I knew it, I became the go-to person of the office. Whatever management needed at the drop of a dime, they knew who to go to. I never failed to disappoint. As time went by this new go-to role grew. The work increased – everything increased….except for the pay. Naturally I started wondering when something would happen to compensate me for the hard work I was putting in. I eventually started asking questions and got round about answers. There was of course talk of budget constraints and hands being tied to do anything for me. After a while the lines started to get old. I had to face it – I had been hustled, bamboozled, played, you name it.

I was pissed.

But then I had to really analyze myself and the situation. Why did I work so hard? Why did I put in all those hours (no overtime pay by the way)? Why did I really volunteer for the projects? Well of course I was looking into advancing my career, so I took on more work to prove myself to management. You see, the “plan” was that they would recognize what I was doing, speak up for me and then I would get promoted. Yeah, it didn’t work out that way at all. So I was left completely exhausted, hardly motivated and extremely disappointed. Why couldn’t anyone look out for me? I wondered if all my hard work had gone in vain.

Flickr photos - Heather Kennedy — This is minutely how I felt after realizing I had been pimped.

Fortunately, new opportunities have opened up for me that include advance for me and my career (Yay!). So I am moving forward on good terms with lessons learned. The next time I go above and beyond, it will be for the right reasons because I am a mission-oriented person and I have to show that before any skill or project is displayed.

Questions still remain thought. I wonder why things played out the way they did. Is it because I had selfish purposes? Or was it just not meant to be?

I would love some insight!

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The Here and Now

I was doing my usual channel flipping the other day and came across one of Oprah’s programs (I can’t remember the title). They were talking about “the here and now” and it basically sent my mind racing. It triggered various thoughts as the the words resonated with me.

I thought “hmmm, I think I get it…”

A lot of the times we worry about what’s going to happen, what we can do about it and how everything is going to play out. Because of worry and fear, we make a lot of bad decisions to gain insight into the unknown. Bad intentions also develop because of this type of fear. A person may work themselves nearly half to death just for the sake of having a safe cushion financially. This is fine but when do they actually take the time to enjoy the fruits of their labor? It’s pretty pointless to keep such a mindset if you never have peace of mind. How about if you’re trying to lose weight? You’re focusing so much on your target weight that you get frustrated in the process and just give up after a while.

The reality is, we can only control what we are doing today. Sure, it’s great to set goals and aspirations, but those are vastly different from trying to form and control the future. From my experience, we can only take one step at a time. Get rid of each bad habit and develop good ones….one day at a time.

Do what can be done TODAY.

This is where the self-discipline war comes into play and a lot of folks fail or just give up. The fact of the matter is you won’t be able to skate your way to anything good no matter how much you pray, how good of sweet talk you may be or how magnificent you are at plotting and scheming. Again, I’m speaking from experience. At some point you need to nurture the drive by strapping on your boots and getting to work. No one can help you with that. Its about what you can do in this moment. Over time, it just may set you up for tomorrow and things will be taken care of.

So what are you going to do? Are you going to stay comfortable in your habits, which include worrying about the future, or are you going to tackle it a day at a time?

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Don’t Just Talk About it, BE About it!

There’s nothing more annoying than people who just talk about doing something all the time but never get around to doing it. Either they can’t (or won’t) make up their mind or they just want to blow steam…or maybe they just like hearing themselves talk.

Do something already!

On a personal note, I’m currently going through career changes for the better. For almost two years I’ve been dissatisfied with my work situation for different reasons. Simply put, I was not happy and was exploring what options were out there for me. I would vent to friends and co-workers about it, but they would just dismiss it as me whining or complaining. Nonetheless, I took the steps I needed to take to change things. Now that those changes are taking place, I’m moving on in my career and they’re floored and frankly, I don’t understand why. I wasn’t just running my mouth when I expressed what I wanted; I was also working on it. I guess they didn’t connect the two. They got the message now!

My whole point is, if you have a vision action needs to be taken at some point. When I decided to start writing/blogging, it came after a fair amount of debating and thinking. I stalled for a little bit but I eventually jumped on my laptop and got to work. It’s actually been a relief for me now that I’ve finally started writing again.

Have you been debating or struggling to initiate something that you’ve been meaning to work on? Please don’t let the time continue to pass. The moment you start being about it, there will be relief and you will feel good about yourself.

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Are You Your Own Writer?

At some point, every blogger, editor, author and novelist should ask themselves this question. For those who are more advanced in the writing realm, their work may speak for itself. But for those starting out (such as me) it might be helpful to see how your writing can be defined. The world of writers has grown immensely over the past few years. Thanks to the avenue of blogging, many aspiring writers have used it as a platform to express their ideas, passions and talents. According to WordPress.com, thousands upon thousands of new sites are created each day its site alone, not to mention the millions of posts that are produced worldwide. Oh and that 44.5 million posts by WordPress users to be exact. It’s safe to assume not everyone posting is being original. They probably figured it would be easier to copy someone’s way of writing to get more traffic or just post for the sake of blogging. So where (or how) do you stand out? What type of voice are you using? Some writers write from an advice perspective, whether it’s on life issues or on writing itself. Some use blogging as a journal of themselves and have established pretty decent audiences. At the end of the day they have a unique voice that causes them to stand out. It’s great to visit other blogs and become familiar with people’s way of writing; it definitely helps you for your own building purposes. But going through the changes, making new decision and knowing your own train of thought is what forms your craft and unique style. I’m learning it’s not an overnight journey, but I am well on my way.

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When a Song Gets into Your Head and You Can’t Get it Out….

Thank you Jewel and thank you Lifetime Movie Network. Before I rant on let me just say that I generally like all types of music, but I’ve never really taken to country music. The last time I heard a catchy country song was Kenny Roger’s The Gambler.

I was still in elementary school when everyone was singing that song.

Nothing against any kind of music genre, I was just a bit thrown off as I was flipping through tv channels one day and decided to watch the Ring of Fire movie on Lifetime which highlights the life and career of June Carter Cash. It was a good movie, so of course that scene where they’re singing the 1963 hit, Ring of Fire just resonated with me. The lyrics, tune and beat are on point. Again, I usually don’t listen to this type of music so I looked around my living room to make sure no one was watching me jam to the song. After sharing this, I might as well go ahead and download on my iPod. 🙂

So there’s my response to today’s Daily Prompt; as soon as I saw the title the song is the first thing that came to my mind.

“…and it burns, burns, burns,…the ring of fire…”

But wait a minute, didn’t Reese Witherspoon do the same movie with Joequin Phoenix? Or was he in the movie with Jewel? Maybe the Reese Witherspoon version is the one that had the sentimental Ring of Fire scene….

Okay, now I’m confused.

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Time Management (Ugh!)

My recent decision to start blogging has definitely come with its challenges. But it’s a decision I’m completely comfortable with since it took me forever to think things through and do it. As I mentioned earlier, blogging is not a full-time activity for me. I have a full time job and it takes up a lot of my time. By the time I want to sit down and put in some work to my websites, I’m too drained to do it – physically and mentally. The past couple of months have been so overwhelming as I research the blogosphere, the do’s and don’ts and what I can do to improve my style. The plethora of information can be confusing if one is not careful. You’re advised to find a core audience, open accounts with every social media outlet in existence, master this app, subscribe to this mailing list, it’s so much. One day I had to buckle down and come up with a way to keep my interest in writing online while maintaining my personal activities.

Honestly, I’ve always been horrible at time management. I procrastinate a lot, so when things pile up I usually don’t perform until the pressure’s on. I know, bad habit. But there are a couple of things I’ve taken on that has helped me manage blogging and my full time job effectively. Everyone has their own system, so if you’re building your own maybe these tips will help:

Invest in a good notebook/writing pad – take it with you everywhere you go. If you’re a daily commuter like me, you can use your time on the train or bus to jot down any thoughts that come to mind and not have to worry about forgetting them. This has helped me a lot.

Blogging doesn’t have to be an everyday thing; set one day aside if need be – before I started blogging, I would read through my favorite blogs and be amazed at how much information writers were able to put out on a daily basis. How did they do that? Well, one of the tricks I learned was they don’t write everyday. One blogger told me she sets one day out of the week to write up all of her content, then schedule them to be published throughout the week. Who knew? I sure didn’t!

3. Don’t force anything, the inspiration will come – don’t sit at your desk beating your brain on what to write about next. Just do what you normally do during work hours (whether or not you’re actually working is between you and your cubicle J). The time you spend stressing on coming up with a hot topic for your blog will just pile up more things for you. Remember, there’s a time and place for everything. Once you get a flow the ideas will come one after the other. Keep that notepad handy!

4. Cover yourself: not exactly a time management issue, but an essential as a new blogger. Check with your ethics department at the job to make sure there will be no conflict between your writing and what your employer represents. This is something you may want to consider no more how laid back or sensitive your job may be. That way you won’t have to worry about misrepresenting your employer or yourself. Be sure to get something in writing that will cover your employer not having any problems with you being a blogger.

I’m still learning as I go along, so this list will change or improve. Where are you with your blogging experience? Are you just starting out or are you seasoned in your writing? What tips can you share to help the newcomers?

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