Stephen was blindsided. He lost his job. Had nothing to do with him. His employer decided to cut staff. Despite having a wife and two children to care for, he was sent home without notice to face his mortgage, bills, and cover life’s basic needs.
Maria left high school, got her first job and now after 3 years feels lost as she sets her eye on the supervisor position that just opened up. She asked herself should she apply? Would she qualify? Faced with the daunting fact that she has no certification or formal education, she felt depressed. She had delayed formal training after high school to make ’em dollars. Now what?
Lidia and Bill became engaged 2 years ago and want to take the next step to get married but feel scared to make the decision. Questions bothered them. Will they be able to afford a house? Should they…
Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. ~Mark Twain
I must write each day without fail, not so much for the success of the work, as in order not to get out of my routine. ~Leo Tolstoy
Haunted by the desire to write, yet each day ends the same with a blank sheet? Here are the daily habits of famous writers penned by Danielle De Wolfe. Five captured my interests. All seemed to write in the mornings and hated when they were interrupted by family, friends, or the outside world. Here I share my top favs:
Mark Twain. Began writing daily after breakfast. Skipped lunch and showed up for dinner at 5:00 pm. working uninterrupted for hours.
Stephen King Works in the mornings after breakfast to meet his writing goal of 2,000 words daily.
Jane Austin Wrote in the sitting room daily after breakfast with her mother and sister knitting close by. If someone came she would quickly pretend she was knitting.
Charles Dickens wrote in absolute quiet accompanied by his idiosyncrasies of writing utensils (desk by the window, pen, ink and fresh flowers).
Leo Tolstoy wrote in isolation. In his must write each day without fail, not so much for the success of the work, as in order not to get out of my routine.
Stay tuned for 20th century famous writers’ habits. But for now, what are your own writing habits? Do share. We would love to hear!
For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.
Benjamin Franklin
Being organized is a strength. But these days I must confess that it has been a challenge. A balancing act due to the thousands of distractions around me. From the productive use of social media for building and learning, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn snatches your time. The effects on our personal and professional lives is indeed a balancing act. How can we get back to doing what’s important each day? How can we figure out what’s missing? Procrastination anyone? Here are 7 ways:
Create a schedule using electronic notes or physical notepads. My preference is a combination of both. To remember deadlines, meetings, social events, birthdays e-calendar works. A passing thought? I use notes on my phone or a physical notepad always near on my desk or nightstand
A dream is a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.
How can you know what your true dreams are? That was the question a 22-year-old asked. An interesting question that has troubled hearts for centuries.
How Can You Know It’s a Dream?
It never goes away. It stays with you. You go to the left…it’s there. You go to the right…. it’s there. It never leaves until you confront it. Until you come face to face with it. Sometimes our dreams are so big they scare us. But that’s when we need to take a step back.
Let’s think of Steve Jobs. Everything we do now can be done through a little device – the cellphone. Be it text, talk, scroll, have sleepless nights because we’re too connected; talk with a doctor; device-in-hand, head down… we walk around as if in a trance. It all became a reality because of…
The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.
Michael Porter
When I started Playing the Word game I usually just think of a word and simply moved. For me it was just to play my turn whether it was a solo game or playing with a family member. My purpose was to simply keep connected. However I found that my sister (though I know she loves me), played defensively. Every move she made was strategic. So I began doing the same. Losing cannot always be the end result. I began to play with the end in mind. I asked myself… what do I want to achieve? It turned out to be 1) learning or being exposed to new words which extended my vocabulary; 2) keep connected to my family virtually; and finally 3) to win. With those goals in mind, every move I now make was for a purpose. Not only did I want to remain connected, but I also wanted to win.
Every Move Is For A Purpose
As I reflected, I began applying this to life. How can we apply that same strategy to achieve our lifelong dreams and goals to make sense? How can we ensure that every decision we make impacts our desire to achieve? Is it career selection, job change, entrepreneurship endeavor, business investment, relationships or starting a family? How can we ensure every decision is strategic?
There have been many household names who made major business decisions to form a partnership such as the McDonald’s Fast Food chain, or as Steve Jobs did with Apple. It may even be as simple as keeping connected with our kids or elderly parents. Whatever we do, it should be for a purpose.
Think About It
My personal charge is for you to think about it. Think about every decision you make. Think about the little things. Think about the big things. How can each move you make in life lead to your desired goal?
If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap. If you want happiness for a day — go fishing. If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a life time — help someone else.
Leyan was out with her friend buying last-minute items for the apparent Silhouettes of a trip to Europe, when suddenly they asked if she wanted to come. She thought about it. Being away from work for a few weeks she had nothing planned. Like a Trill without thinking too long she turned and said…oh why not.
Immediately they called to book travel arrangements and the next day she was off. Coincidence…don’t you just love ’em?
Have you ever done it? I mean thought about doing something way out of the blue at a moment’s notice? Here, we are not thinking about life situations where you have no choice such as sickness, and others. We’re talking here about just getting up and going somewhere that will benefit and relax you …
Just Because
Just because you’re you. May I challenge you to try it one day…
As I look over the circus of things I like, I realize that though I enjoy them and they bring me satisfaction, I find myself not doing them as much and in some cases at all. For over two decades I have been caught up in work, work, work. So this prompt helped me pull away and ponder the things I once enjoyed, or get to enjoy on a rare occasion.
But even as I finalize the list I realize that life’s not promised, so I intend to start doing the things I like and stop leaving them for …one day soon.
Because the greatest part of a road trip isn’t arriving at your destination. It’s all the wild stuff that happens along the way.
Emma Chase
Eric Rosen shared in Travel & Leisure Magazine, an article titled Will we be able to travel this summer? Who in the world can imagine such an atrocity? How can we not travel? What…then… will we do with the kids?!
How Can We Not Travel?
Yes, but quiet down. Lets be reasonable. How can we travel during a worldwide pandemic when we have no clue about a virus that is invisibly floating around like an obtrusive enemy? We never know who may get it next. It’s no respecter of persons from Presidents, Prime Ministers and major leaders within societies worldwide. No one seems to be exempt.
But then… as we approach summer, and the approvals have been given to calculatedly reopen, our eyes aghast as we picture the way to go. As travel expert Samantha Brown promised Travel will come back. Now there is hope as Rosen gives points about travel’s return from the experts.
Wellness and open spaces (i.e. parks, Museums, RVs etc)
Airlines present bargain fares and flexible flight changes in their attempt to boost a comeback to flying
Transformational getaways after all the time we have had to reflect. We want to start the move to get our personal lives back on track. The ultimate goal? To reinvent ourselves. Ascertain our future, and take stock.
Personal travel for family and friends for events such as weddings, grandparents birthdays and more becomes a nostalgic necessity.
The Rise Of The Road Trip
From the list, my personal fav is the traditional Road trip. Predictions are… it will rise this Summer due to cheap gas, lack of money due to the Corona effects, and tour partners customization and tons of collabs to produce the perfect deals.
All in all, here’s hoping this summer will be one of traditional memories for you and yours; or at the very least, provide treasured memories to last a lifetime.
