Owning Your Words

Some of my readers are writers, some of them health and wellness seekers, and others are finance readers.
For the writers, I just wanted to mention, that it really does make a big difference where you decide to
"sow" your words. Just throwing your carefully crafted words anywhere and everywhere all over the internet ......just might not be the best strategy.

Yes, there are the typical ways that folks try to build up blog traffic, and one of those ways is by writing as many comments as possible on blogs that have similarly interested readers. The hope is that a reader will find your comment intriguing and therefore click on your blog link to seek out more of your brilliant words or just simply because they find you interesting as someone they want to get to know as a friend or mentor.

But I just wanted to mention, that if you are a real hard core "author" and each and every word that you write has been preplanned and crafted into an artisanal masterpiece, then you might want to be equally as discerning as to just where you plunk your hard work.

If you want to  really "own your words" then you might want to consider only the on line avenues which will allow you to do just that. Set up your very own personal author blog and don't share the writing ops with any one. You will be the sole creator/author/artist of your blog. It is your domain. You control it's contents, it's look , it's advertising and it's focus.

Another option is to set your heart to more Indie type of publishing using one of the various self publishing sites that are popular now such as Create Space, Kindle Direct Publishing, Smashwords or Lulu.
I have used all of those. Each has it's own unique vibe and efficiency..

I'm very conscious of what is under my control and what is under the control of others.
There are microblogging sites that I write for, and when I write for them, I am under no illusions and I realize that I am really selling them my work for micro-pennies on the dollar. I am not "Author Royalty" sitting on a stuffed leather chair at a glossy mahogany desk, permitted to spend months crafting just one sentence of genius. Simply put....I am a mini-content farm and  "My words" are bucks for them. It isn't personal....it's business. As long as my words earn them viewers, they will continue to seek out to buy my words.

Ok, get to the point Carla. I just want to say, that in your writing you are going to have to make choices. Many or most of these choices are going to have to do with control. Who will you allow to edit your words?
Who will be allowed to post your written work? Which sites will you grant permission to publish your work?

Marketing your written work is often not best done by the author him/herself. It takes an objective eye who understands the dynamics of marketing written material to know how and when and where to promote your work. They might have to tell you gently that your book covers really need help, and that your
work isn't compelling or trendy enough for mainstream media. Know your niche. Know what you like and what you are good at. Then pursue it full steam ahead, all the while knowing that ultimately it must be you and only you  who decides who gets your words and who will not be admitted into the "circle of trust" to take good care of your written babies.

May your work be blessed and prosper, even as you sow it like precious Non-GMO seed into the earth.

Peace and prosperity.

Carla


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Mommy Blog? Nah...I don't like that term

Well yes, for the record I  am a mom and yes I am a blogger too....but please don't categorize me as a "Mommy Blogger".... it just evokes an image that I just can't handle.
My focus is not on how to pick the right pillows for my couch , or how to get grape stains out of my kids' t-shirts. And no, I really don't care what brand of dishes I eat from, as long as they please ME. If they happen to be valuable, then great...but dishes are not my raison d'etre.

How 'bout you. Do you have a hobby that folks often misname or misunderstand?
Do you cringe when folks call you a "crafter" when you're really a serious artist?
Or you folks label your ability to fix anything mechanical...."tinkering" ?

Push comes to shove, we have to be content when we are accomplishing our own goals, no matter what others are saying or writing about it.

Peace and enjoyment this new fresh month of 2015.



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Throw Some of your Earnings Into Tomorrow

Perhaps you are already so wise, as to have gotten a grip of this concept many years ago.
But although, I'm not always lightening fast quick on the uptake, I am incredibly persistent when I want to learn something. "Neva Geev Up" was coined for me.

Anywho, what I wanted to mention today, as it's the beautiful first day of this brand new year 2015.....is the idea to to:

Spread some of your efforts towards a certain point in time in the future.

How and why you may ask? Well, because it diffuses the delusion of only living "for today" and stirs up an expectancy for future blessings.

For example, if you run a blog or website, you can pre-write some of your post and post date them to appear one month or 3 months or three days from today. By that method you are not putting all your eggs in "today's" basket. You can Spread your blessings out over the long term.

Another example, would be putting some portion of your investments into something that won't pan out until at least 10 years from now. Instill some kind of preventive mechanism so that you won't be able to touch that investment until a decade from now. That gives you a Christmas present ten years from now to look forward to.

And now for the "Why".... Well, let me just say this....When folks go through hard times, sometimes they just
paint themselves into an inspirational corner, solely by living hand to mouth which feeds into a mindset of "living only for today". But that isn't a life affirming way to live. Living only for today encourages too much risky behavior and provides no nourishment for the years and decades to come.

Our life expectancy is a lot longer than it was for folks born 100 years ago. For someone my age, I was recently given a life expectancy estimate of around 88 years. That's  a pretty juicy long life.
Why would I want to burn all my candles while I am in my forties? Don't I want to save some blessings and energy for my fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties and however many years God gives to me on this wonderful earth?

So I just want to encourage you as my human friends. Don't give up on your long term plans.
Plan and sow something into your future that you can look forward to.
Some folks even schedule couriers to mail a parcel to themselves or someone they love ....for way in advance, like one or two years from now. What a great idea! Preplanned blessings.

So much to look forward to.
God's best for you in 2015.

Carla



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Changing State

Trying to get yourself motivated and just can't?
Try one of Tony Robbin's fave coins of advice, which he calls "changing your state".

It isn't something complicated. For me, I can change my state with
my own personalized prescription of 41 minutes of walking on the electric treadmill.
Why 41 minutes? Just 'cause over the years, I've realize that that's all that it takes for
me to change my frame of mind, my perspective and my physiology.

Sometimes, we just get stuck in proverbial inertia...
Wikipedia describes inertia in these words:

1. Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its state of motion, including changes to its speed and direction. It is the tendency of objects to keep moving in a straight line at constant velocity.

That's a pretty accurate description of "stuck humans". We resist any change in speed or direction because we are comfortable with what path we have been on for any length of time.
We instinctively resist change, because it is new and unfamiliar. 

Even when we know that we are really ready for something new to come about in our lives, we still have that natural draw to cling to what is our personal "comfort zone".

So, one of the ways that Tony Robbins helps empower his "students" is by teaching them how to "change their state". When we change state, we have a new emotional condition and a new set of physical circumstances. We mentally prepare ourselves for good new things.

So, before you hedge your bets on some enormous New Year's Resolution, consider
allowing yourself a change in state first, to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for whatever new idea that you have in store for this coming year.

Blessings, empowerment and peace.

Carla









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Blissful Creative Exile

Yesterday I tweeted about a cool review by Katherine Monk of Tim Burton's new movie
"Big Eyes". What stood out in my mind in the review were Katherine's two epic
words "Creative Exile".

While, for some, that phrase may evoke a lonely period of time, when you'd rather be huddled away in the clay stained art department in high school than out with the cheerleaders or in the lunch room.
Creative folks sometimes just long for a get-away where they can completely "zone in" to hone their craft and figure it out just what it is, after all, that their art is trying to express.

So when I started reading and learning about Tim Ferriss and the specific methods he uses to completely focus and zone in , without distraction, my artistic ears perked up and I find myself re-reading those parts of his Blog over and over.

One of the coolest things, other than that he puts Casino Royale on a loop on mute playing in the background while he's zoning in to write....,  is that he drinks epic proportions of Yerba Mate tea virtually all night long when he's on a tight writing deadline.

There's just something so "college cool" about Tim. He's steadily increasing his circle of influence, hobknobbing with folks like Sir Richard Branson, Tony Robbins and the like. But when he talks, you get the idea that you're just talking to the kid who sat beside you in math class, never wore matching sox and could never sit still.  Come to think of it....that actually sounds more like me.

Anywho, what does it take for you to zone in?  A fave cd? A fave playlist? Certain lighting?
Or do you have to leave your house and rent a room like Maya Angelou? Her fave writing haunt was at a hotel toting a bible, a bottle of sherry, and her famous yellow legal pads. Maya didn't write on computers.....  real pen on paper was her chosen route for creation. What is your fave creative media? Online? Or a word doc. or speaking into some "speech-to-text" app that transcribes your brilliant verbage into prose?

Carve it out folks, your niche can only be created by you. Make it yours, make it quirky, and let your family know not to bug you when you're in your zone.

Peace and productivity this week, friends.
Carla

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