goals – Page 22 – Success Strategies

21 Authors Share How Their Writing Journey Began…

Writers Write. Readers Read. Together they are one

I am always intrigued by stories, especially those told by others about new beginnings. Here I share as writers told how they writing journey was inspired.

I wrote to escape the loneliness of my husband who had to work away from home as we transitioned to the cold north.
When I moved away from my childhood friends
My short essays and fiction have all been written from my life.
It must have been engrained in my blood
A nosey irritating neighbor who believed I needed company
Daydreaming during a long commute that had dialogue and scenes that demanded to be written down
26 months solitary confinement with short stories from my childhood as a start
A terribly boring book I read to my son at age 6. I knew I could do better
God gave me the desire to write
The pandemic and Quarantine made me take the plunge
A dare from a neighbor
Getting into trouble for talking in the study hall and being assigned to write a 500 word theme to write on anything I wanted as punishment. Next day I turned in a 13 page short story.
My first novel resulted from an ugly divorce
The loss of my beautiful baby boys.
The ideas and content come to me in dreams. I have to just put them in order.
Car accident that left me disabled for a while
A dream and three nouns
My right (creative) side of the brain dying a slow death in a left side dominant (rational) job
My imagination
Sitting in the airport for a 2-hour-layover, waiting on a flight to hunt with my kids. The rest is history
Nature walk with just me and headphones

Interesting new beginnings! How about you? Do share how your own writing journey began. Here’s mine.

Cheers!

The Price Of Success…

You’ll never be brave if you don’t get hurt. You’ll never learn if you don’t make mistakes. You’ll never be successful if you don’t encounter failure.
Unknown

My daughter’s Little 9-year old team lost the game in the basketball finals. Naturally, he was disappointed. Sulked all the way home. But later he came to me a little brighter, and said he remembered a Quote:

“You will never succeed if you don’t encounter failure”.

Then he walked away.
I know his future’s bright because that’s what you do when things go wrong, You get back up and try again.

So today I encourage you to never give up on your dreams, goals and aspirations.

See you at the finish line.

Cheers!

Entrepreneurs Share Positive Learnings From 2020. Here Are 15…

2020 The year of the pandemic which shocked many. There is hardly anyone left untouched. Rich, middle class or poor. The lives of many were turned upside down as lives were lost, jobs cut, business closures as the world simply stopped. As the year draws to a close in this fourth quarter, a social media tribe was asked the question:

What’s the best thing that 2020 has taught you?
Susan Ancillotti

2020 Learnings

Here I share excerpts captured as entrepreneurs chimed in:

Always have more than one income
Be willing to pivot rapidly
To love peace and calm over a frenetic stress filled life
Building a completely online business around your purpose is pandemic proof
Just get it done
Be true to yourself while honoring others to do the same
The need for true leaders to step up
That so many people put ‘fear’ in the gas tanks instead of filling up everyday on ‘love’
Take full self-responsibility for health and spending time with loved ones
Doing nothing differently
Containment
Plan B
Don’t book a holiday until the last minute
I can rebound
Be yourself. Don’t follow the crowd

What is your opinion of the year? Any omitted from this list? Do share. We would love to hear!

Stay positive,

Cheers!

What’s Your Why? Here’s Mine…

Success Strategies

Actions are visible, motivesare secret. ~Samuel Johnson

Affluent, distinguished, go-getter one day she suffered a stroke. In an instant Alice’s life changed. Weekly physical therapy became routine to return to normal. Sadly, the job she previously had also left her.

Despondent she wanted to know what to do. She decided to search before the end came. Sad and down she called. We talked and talked for days, weeks and after several rounds of coaching she excitedly announced to her peers that she got another job….one directly related to her dreams. She felt alive again.

Sheryl, a journalist for well more than a decade was tired of her job. But each time we talked about her career change… it seems she got pregnant. Two children later she decided she had enough. It was time to take the leap. She acted. Today she’s excited about her new job and her career change.

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To Read Or To Listen? Booklovers 9 Reading Apps….

When the newest version of your book GreenLight shows up next to a celebrity’s, what do you do? You promote!
GreenLight audiobook is now available wherever you listen. On medium such as ListenUp, OverDrive, KOBO, Libro.fm, scribd, googleplay, and more.

Feeling down or discouraged? Listen in now. Or Gift it to someone who is sick, fearful or demotivated during this very long period of the Pandemic.

Booklovers Reading App

Naive to the fact there are many reading apps available? As a writer I guess it’s important to know the different media available as a resource. So too should booklovers. So I delved in and here I share 9.

AMAZON KINDLE
AUDIBLE
BLINKIST
GOODREADS
LIBBY BY OVERDRIVE
COMIXOLOGY
EPIC!
MARVIN 3
SCRIBD

Hope this has enlightened you to review the lust and select one or two as your favorite. Oh and by the way, if your own medium is missing, do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

My Favorite Getaway Space…

The sun, sand and sea is my favorite place to be.

I was asked to write about my favorite space to share with a visiting friend. I must confess that my love of nature transcends everything. It provides inspiration and a peace that boosts my writing prowess. That said, as my friend Chrissie comes for a 5-Day-visit, I will steal away to the island that captivates. None other than Captiva Island in Sunny Florida. It is a place I getaway to whenever I need to relax and unwind. When you get to Captiva Island, it feels like you are away from all the worries and cares of the world. Indeed the perfect distraction. The rooms overlook the bay or garden, your choice dependent on your budget.

Once I hosted a group business session at the end of the year to this ideal place. The goal was to reflect about plans for the new year with entrepreneurs and career changers. Suffice it to say, the two-day retreat and planning session went well … with participants so relaxed that it provided the right spot to add a bit of future gazing.

Back to my friend. Chrissie is an entrepreneur. So I figured that would be the ideal getaway place for her. Not only is she guaranteed to relax all week, there is no doubt the time would go by in a flash through this envious plan.

5-Day Getaway Plan

Day 1:
Road trip to Captiva
Lunch at Wicked Wings, a low-keyed hole in the wall pub that satisfies starving travelers before hitting the road to their final destination

Day 2:
Relax in the Sun, Sand, Sea engulfed in a delightful adventure riding the waves

Day 3:
Spa Day – Body massage, Facial, Mani and Pedi, a sure rejuvenation for the exhausted

Day 4
Shopping and Late dinner at the Harbor Side Bar and Grill

Day 5
Early morning beach wet. Late breakfast followed by reluctant afternoon ride back to the fast life.

Where’s your favorite getaway space? Do share. We would love to hear!

Cheers!

The Biggest Challenge Writers Face….

Success Strategies

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
― Maya Angelou

A public writers forum asked the question “what is the single biggest challenge you as a writer face?” Here I share responses as writers chimed in:

Writing everyday
Marketing
Not enough erasers
Find an agent
A full-time job that isn’t
Learning all the required skills – writing, editing, cover art, publishing, marketing, salesmanship, accounting …
Identifying my audience
Details
Time
Reviews
Getting books sold
Selling myself
Lethargy
Butt in chair
Discipline
Marketing costs. Dispite what some may say, it is expensive to self-publish. Editor, copy editor, cover design, copyright, ISBN numbers, authors copies, advertising, website, domain name, contests, give-aways, and on and on it goes
Self-Doubt
Stay Motivated
Writers block

The list goes on. Are you a new or published author? Is anything missing? Do share. We would love to hear.

Need help? Let’s

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Writers 5-Star Books That Inspire…

In a social media forum Readers and writers responded to books they rated as 5-star. Here I share gleanings from their responses.

Others have shared. How about you? Any 5-star books missing from the listing that you can recommend? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

Living Your Life As A Mask…

We have all been placed on this earth to discover our own paths and we will never be happy if we live someone else’s idea of life.

Success Strategies

A new writer shared her Instagram name. It was nowhere close to her real names . I beckoned to her… smile in tow…”you do make it hard, don’t you? In haste she retorted “it’s so my employer can’t find me”.

I smiled.

Our Lives In Compartments

How many of us are like that? We live our lives in compartments trying to separate our true selves from what those around us see publicly.

To Hide To Be

It’s a hard choice but sometimes you have to hide in order “to be“. I pray one day that you will be able to just be. To reveal your true identity and just be the you that you want to be.

Cheers!

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Wanna Getaway? 5 Workation Hotel Stays You’ll Love…

Workation is the concept of a place to getaway for business and pleasure.

Forbes Travel Guide which gave 26 Ideas of Workations to take right now. It’s not really a new concept as I have always traveled for business. However, in my workaholic haste to return home, I regret not taking the time to chill and relax after my meetings and/or conferences….essentially, to smell the coffee.

Enter the advent of the worldwide COVID Pandemic. Hotels suffered grave hit as travel took an unfortunate plunge. As creativity stepped in, hotels have had to come up with innovative ways to stay afloat as individuals stay indoors to do the traditional yet now expanded survival work-from-home strategy. Unfortunately, as this tactic has becomes more common, misery stepped in at the end of the day. So this is a cute idea to take a deliberate action to getaway, work, relax and play after. Who can beat that 3-in-1 deal? I’d only suggest you ensure there’s WiFi! To give you a push start, here are 5 hotels that I have worked from which drove my own writing passion.

1. Disney’s Contemporary Resort

2. Sundial Beach Resort and Spa

3. Sonesta

4. GalleryOne DoubleTree Suites By The Hilton

5. Hutchinson Island

Hope these selections have opened your appetite to change things up a bit. But be very careful and disciplined with your selections. Your productivity may be compromised.

Happy Workation and keep Safe!

11 Tips To Help You Start Your Writing Journey…

What do I need to write my first book? That is the question I am often asked. After researching the topics of leadership and Success, I published over 6 non-fiction books, people figure that I am doing something right. Here I share 11 tips for beginners interested in starting their own Writing Journey

Aspiring Authors Writing Tips

Write. Keep writing.
Read a lot so you understand how others do what they do
Be yourself. Tell the story
It takes a lot of sacrifice so keep going.
Start writing. Just keep writing. Stand at a bus stop, look at a fence and …write. Sit in a cafe, get yourself a drink and write about the next person who walks through the door – not his description… but his life story, his family, his job. Just write
Read the classics and discover why they are rated so highly
If you don’t know what to write or have writers block, use writing prompts to get those creative juices flowing.
Don’t shy away from criticism. Being critiqued doesn’t always feel amazing, but it always makes you a better writer. Every time someone tells you what they think of your manuscript, you get closer to an objective understand of your work, which is invaluable
Don’t worry about perfection when you are writing your first draft. Good writing is re-writing
Believe in yourself.
Never give up.

Good luck as you start your journey.

Cheers!

Goals. The Path. When You Can’t See Clearly, Slow Down…

Success Strategies

Goals. The Path. When You Can’t See Clearly, Slow Down or even Stop. ~ Dr. Shelly Cameron

The news reported sisters returning from a trip to Disneyland. The driver a mom in her early 20s, could hardly see due to immense fog and rain. She accelerated to get past the fog. Sadly, she drove head-on into another car that caused two fatalities. One family member said they couldn’t see clearly and that’s what caused the accident.

Innovation and Industry Disappearance

A friend shared with me a compilation of research that discussed the demise of Kodak whose name years ago was synonymous with photos. Gone. Disappeared. Artificial intelligence has taken over business. Before the pandemic, if we consider the likes of Uber, where a driver shows up at the click of a button to take you wherever you want to go. Airbnb vacation rentals has created disruption in the hotel industry. Social…

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2020 Learnings

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Booklovers Reading App

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5-Day Getaway Plan

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5-Star Books

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Our Lives In Compartments

To Hide To Be

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1. Disney’s Contemporary Resort

2. Sundial Beach Resort and Spa

3. Sonesta

4. GalleryOne DoubleTree Suites By The Hilton

5. Hutchinson Island

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Aspiring Authors Writing Tips

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Innovation and Industry Disappearance

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