IWSG - Encouraging Quotes

Today is IWSG day-the first Wednesday of each month. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Our purpose is to share and encourage.  You can follow other IWSG members here or on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG. We also have a Facebook page.

I thought I'd share some encouraging quotes today. Maybe these ten will give you something to think about.  If you find one that speaks to you, share how and why.

1) No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist.~ Anonymous

2) You can do anything, but not everything. ~Anonymous

3) Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. ~Dale Carnegie

4) Don't let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning. ~Robert Kiyosaki

5) Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. ~Jim Rohn

6) It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. ~Anonymous

7) If you want to achieve greatness stop asking for permission. ~Anonymous

8) Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out. ~John Wooden

9) To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. ~Anonymous

10) Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. ~Maya Angelou

I'm afraid numbers 4 and 9 really say a lot about me. Way too often, I give in to my fear and let it control me. I need to get a tattoo that reads lose the fear! Unfortunately, I FEAR needles!

Do you have a favorite quote that says a lot about you? Share!

From the Slacker ...

It's easy to get out of the habit of blogging. I've really been a slacker, haven't I? In  more ways than one. Hopefully, that will change with the first of the new year. Yes, I'm still alive, and tomorrow I MUST finish up my Christmas shopping--whether I want to or not.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes. Anything here you can relate to?

The author or speaker from whom you learn the most is not the one who teaches you something you didn’t know before, but the one who helps you take a truth with which you have quietly struggled, give it expression, and speak it clearly and boldly. ~Oswald Chambers

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success--but only if you persist.  ~Isaac Asimo

The more we fear starting a project, the more difficult the project becomes in our mind. This is self-defeating. ~Rob Parnell

Sometimes, when it’s going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a fetish for stationary. The true writer, the born writer, will scribble words on scraps of litter, the back of a bus ticket, on the wall of a cell.   ~David Nicholls

Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good. ~William Faulkner

My Christmas stories are featured on  Pamela Thibodeaux's blog on Tuesday. I hope you'll visit and leave a comment.  

Is everyone ready for Christmas?

Q is for Quotes (and family tales)

As you know, I love quotes and post them on my blog often. What you don’t know—and might think a little odd—is that I collect quotes and funny stories from the lips of my family. I wish I had my little notebook of family quotes but since my dad’s death and my mom going into a nursing home, I’ve been a little lax with organized recording. Now I jot things down on slips of paper that float around my purse and eventually get lost.

But I have some favorite tales I want to share:

Once my entire family went to the cemetery to put Christmas flowers on my grandparent’s graves. My mother was always very dedicated about doing that and she’d shop for hours to find just the right ornament. On this occasion, she’d selected white crosses. Because the earth was so hard, she’d brought a hammer to pound each cross into the ground. Now, you’d have to know my mom: she’s a perfectionist—a fine-tuner. Once she gets something ‘finished’ she inspects everything around it—regardless of what it is—then fine-tunes her own project one last time. This time when she finished arranging flowers and cleaning up other gravesites, she came back to the white cross, hit it with the hammer and broke it.

“You just had to hit it one more time, didn’t you?” said my dad.

All of us broke into uncontrollable laughter because he’d nailed it with his comment. She was and always had been the hit it one more time mama. She used to go over my homework papers—crossing my Ts and closing the circles of my Os, Bs, Ps and making my periods a little darker. Hitting my paper one more time.

Yes, it drove me crazy.

The quote, “Just had to hit it one more time,” is a favorite and we use it often when one of us tries to over-do.

Of course, my mom has several quotes she uses consistently: She’s fond of saying, Ignorance gone to seed, Nuts gone to seed, There’s nothing crazier than people, and Can’t get away from those genes.

She loved telling everyone that if my brother said, “Let’s hang Mama,” my dad would go get a rope.

My young nephews were always fun to listen to. Once, a young Russell (the one in the red cap)climbed into the car after a grocery shopping trip. He was so glad to be going home after spending an hour in the food store that he was jumping up and down, and running across the back seat while the young sacker helped my mother with groceries. The sacker asked Russell, “Do you need to go to the bathroom?” to which my nephew responded, “No, why, do you smell something?”

A hilarious exchange and I think of it often, especially when someone asks if we need a bathroom. I suspect the young sacker called himself reprimanding Russell, but I love Russell’s quick, naïve reply.

One summer day, while the cable TV man was adjusting my dad’s television, my nephew Kyle (white cap) charged through the front door yelling, “We found a dead skunk back in the woods. You want to go smell him?” Needless to say, the cable guy declined.

My daughter (purple sweatshirt) was sitting in the back seat while I drove one day. Daughter was always a chatty little girl—asking questions and often supplying her own answers. On this day, I was telling her how her dad and I had prayed for a healthy little girl and that God had blessed us with her.

She replied, “Good. I always wondered who my family would be.” Yikes!

 

I’m sure you have favorite quotes and quirky sayings and stories from your family too. Want to share some of them?

N is for Negative

Note: The A to Z Challenge is really a challenge for me this year and I'm behind reading your posts and leaving comments. I have a lot on my plate but that's no excuse. I'm sure you all do too. I hope to catch up in the next day or two. For readers not participating in the A to Z Challenge and don't understand it, you can learn more here and explore everything from A to Z. There are 1,758 bloggers participating in the A to Z Challenge. You may want to try it next year.

Today, I'm taking a look at being negative.

My dad was a quiet, shy, pessimistic/negative person. Look at his picture at the right--you can tell by the way he's sitting that he's shy and uncomfortable being the center of attention.

I’ve been accused of being more negative than positive. I used to be more shy than I am now, and of course, since I love blogging, I must thrive on attention. Right?

As for the negative trait? I’m not sure I totally agree but we often see ourselves the way we want to be—not the way we really are.

I admit I’m guilty of looking at what could happen if I did such ‘n such. I not only look at today but I look at tomorrow, the next day and a week from now. Unfortunately that affects my actions when I want to send my work to publishers or agents. I over-analyze and try to visualize the outcome: If I submit ABC story to 123 Magazine, I might be making a mistake. Would 456 Magazine be better? We’re supposed to choose the best publisher, but I usually stall and send to no one. Is second-guessing akin to being negative? Yeah, somewhat.  Especially when we let imagined consequences keep us from doing anything.

Negative means: bad: unhappy, discouraging, angry, or otherwise detracting from a happy situation; pessimistic: or tending to have a pessimistic outlook.

 Mmmm, is that really me? I've been told I'm a great encourager to others. I sure hope I'm not a drain on anyone's goals and dreams.

Honestly, I don’t think I’m negative, but if I am ... I got it from my dad. And he inherited from his mom who ... well, that's as far as my personal experience goes when it comes to pinpointing.

I’m posting a few quotes from Brainy Quote about negativity. They really speak to me. I'm terrible about letting others influence me. If you read my work or hear my pitch and raise an eyebrow in my direction, you're watering my doubt and insecurity. It grows. Are you the same? I hope not. It's a miserable way to be.

GREAT QUOTES:

If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.~Michael Jordan

Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. ~Zig Ziglar

A lot of times people look at the negative side of what they feel they can't do. I always look on the positive side of what I can do. ~Chuck Norris

If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought. ~Peace Pilgrim

A complainer is like a Death Eater because there's a suction of negative energy. You can catch a great attitude from great people. ~Barbara Corcoran 

Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power. ~Shirley MacLaine

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results. ~Willie Nelson

 Which one speaks to you? Do you battle negativity? How? Looking back at family members, do you think your negativity was inherited or something you learned from a parent? Talk to me... and don't be negative!

F is for Family

F is for Family, of course.

I thought I’d leave you with some quotes that have to do with family.  They were taken from the Brainy Quote site. If you aren’t familiar with Brainy Quote, check it out here.  

Family is not an important thing. It's everything. ~Michael J. Fox

Family is the most important thing in the world.  ~Princess Diana

Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops.  ~Cary Grant

The family you come from isn't as important as the family you're going to have. ~Ring Lardner

I don't think anyone has a normal family. ~Edward Furlong

People are pretty forgiving when it comes to other people's families. The only family that ever horrifies you is your own. ~Doug Coupland

I've always put my family first and that's just the way it is. ~Jamie Lee Curtis

Pray in your family daily, that yours may be in the number of the families who call upon God. ~Christopher Love

 Share something about your family. And have a great weekend!

The Writer's Devotional by Amy Peters

I like devotional books --any kind--and I have quite a few. I especially like devotional books that pertain to writing.  

A few days ago, I came across such a book in Barnes & Noble called The Writer’s Devotional, 365 inspirational exercises, ideas, tips, & motivations on writing by Amy Peters.

Each day of the week highlights an aspect of the writer’s life:

Monday - Writers on Writing.

Tuesday - Motivation

Wednesday - Writing Class

Thursday - Editing

Friday - Biography

Saturday - Books Writers Should Read

Sunday - Writing Prompts

This book is phenomenal. One could teach a class--each page is a lesson plan--using the tips, prompts and motivations.  If you’re looking for a gift for a writer friend, this is the perfect gift, but you’d better purchase two copies because once you get home and browse through A Writer’s Devotional, you won’t be able to wrap it up and give it away.

Set up in the traditional devotional book format, it’s impossible to read one devo per day. I’ve gobbled page after page after page each time I sit down with it. The great thing is that this book can be read over and over again. Hats off to Amy Peters for a beautiful, useful writing tool that inspires, instructs and motivates. This book is a writer's treasure.

Let's Dance!

Let's take a look at our dreams and goals and act on them, tweak them, do what's necessary to get us to the next level... or at least, closer to where we'd like to be. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine." Isn't that true? Open the blinds in your office and get out of your own way. Use those dust particles that we only see in the sunlight for inspiration.

Ray Bradbury said, "You can't try to do things; you simply must do them."

Must. Do. Them.

Open that desk drawer, pull out your list of goals. Choose one. Do whatever it takes to get started.  Shove that ball downhill and watch it roll. My own way of saying, get that first word, sentence, paragraph on paper then allow your characters to take you places. 

I love the quote by H. Jackson Brown Jr. "Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor." You don't need a partner. Get out on that dance floor. Every day is a new beginning. Every morning is a new opportunity. Let's dance.

Q is for Quotes

I love quotes and like many writers, collect those that speak to me. I even collect some that are so silly I'll never forget them. Like this one by American Idol judge, Stephen Tyler. He told one contestant, “Crows crow and hens deliver the goods.”  Yeah, ‘nuf said.

Last night Jennifer Lopez said, “Part of being an artist is bearing your soul.”  I went to the library in Yukon yesterday, picked up a book by Stephen James (I’ve never read him) and as I read several pages, I thought: this author really cares; I can feel it. I guess he was bearing his soul.

Other quotes I like:

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”  ~Kahlil Gibran

I’m trying to keep this in mind since the wind is constantly blowing in Oklahoma.

Don't let a single day go by without writing. Even if it's garbage, if garbage is all you can write, write it. Garbage eventually becomes compost with a little treatment. ~Anonymous

“[The writer] knows he has a short span of life, that the day will come when he must pass through the wall of oblivion, and he wants to leave a scratch on that wall – Kilroy was here – that somebody a hundred, or a thousand years later will see.” ~William Faulkner (1897-1962)

Everyone is gifted - but some people never open their package. ~unknown

 The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true. ~John Steinbeck

Put weather in.  ~Joseph Hansen

Do you have a favorite quote that stays in the forefront of your mind as you write or live your life?

Something To Think About

I love quotes. Here are a few I found today that made me think, wonder, shake my head.

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

I remind myself often that I have exactly the same amount of time as Stephen King. I'm always a little shocked by the thought. 

Talk uses up ideas ... Once I have spoken them aloud, they are lost to me, dissipated into the noisy air like smoke. Only if I bury them, like bulbs, in the rich soil of silence do they grow. ~Doris Grumbach

I have a friend who used to share with me every detail of the novel she planned to write. Color of the heroine's hair. Dimple in the hero's cheek. Plot points, conflict, black moment. Minute details. And then she'd sit down and write the book. She sold about eight or nine Silhouette Romances before she quit writing. I wonder if she was 'verifying' her story before she committed it to publication.

Just get it down on paper, and then we'll see what to do about it.  ~Maxwell Perkins

And when I do this, I have the biggest mess. Revision has turned into a real challenge for me--at least with the book I'm working on now. I think it's because I've taken a Christian romance and tried to change my characters for a secular audience. I've quietened their prayers and they aren't too happy about it. Then again, maybe I'm not skilled at revising. I'm doing more than revising. I'm adding scenes, twisting, turning, manipulating. And I'm not accomplishing anything.

Why shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.  ~Mark Twain

This quote actually makes me angry. I hate that fiction really does have to make sense.

Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.  ~ Cicero [106 B.C. to 43 B.C.]

This is hilarious.

 What's your favorite quote and how does it speak to you? Share.

Fun Quotes

You know how I love quotes. Here are a few that make me think so I thought I'd share. These authors are alive and well, and selling books!

For me, television can be a big distraction, so I get out of the house to write. There's no tv at the coffee shop and I feel like, if I'm going to spend the $$ on something as frivolous as a Black Thai Latte Fusion, then I'd better have something productive to show for it. ~Erica Vetsch

Real voice should be like a road with some curves and potholes. ~Charles Gramlich

Never, ever, let someone outside of your world derail your dreams. ~J.T. Ellison

I advise all new authors to listen to their gut, and focus on their dreams. ~J.T. Ellison


I've been to college. I've worked in the cutthroat corporate world. I've been in a war. Nothing could have prepared me for the publishing business. ~D.B. Grady

Aspiring writers have got to go out there and meet people, because the personal connection trumps the cold query every single time. ~D.B. Grady

But if you notice something unusual that brings comfort or meaning to your life, why question it? ~Amy Yelin

And from my daughter who is faithfully doing the Insanity workout:

I exercise until I drip with sweat. That better be pounds I smell! ~Chaney Ferguson

A New Leaf

A quick post today:

I'm always a day late and a dollar short, so I imagine most of you have read the book I'm reading now--No Plot? No Problem by Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWrMo. You know how I like motivational books and talks so this one really speaks to me. Why did I wait so long to read it? Baty says so much I can identify with:

Example: A rough draft is best written in the steam-cooker of an already busy life.

I know this from experience. I wrote and sold my novel when my daughter was little and I was shuffling her from school to soccer to Sylvan, plus getting up at 5 a.m. to pack hubby's lunch for work, not to mention moving every year. You might remember me saying I wrote my book in Luling, LA, sold it in Port Neches, TX and did rewrites in Sugar Land, TX. Busy is a good thing because we recognize time is precious. We seem to make better use of our time when we have less of it.

Example: The key to writing a novel is to realize that you are in the greatest hands possible: your own.

I love this. I'm going to try harder to tune out all those voices that beat me down. My hands are very capable. When did I forget that?

Example: No matter what your talent level, novel writing is a low-stress, high-rewards hobby.

Really, there's nothing more enjoyable than creating fiction or writing poetry. I've forgotten just how much fun writing is for me. That sense of accomplishment/enjoyment/satisfaction is coming back.

Example: The single best thing you can do to improve your writing is to write. Copiously.

How many times have I told my daughter that 'you learn by doing' and not to worry about the experience she doesn't have? We can learn anything, can't we? And the best way to learn something is to just do it...again and again and again.

Example: What you need to write a novel, of course, is a deadline.

We all know deadlines rule. I'm used to writing with a deadline and during the past year--ever since the magazine folded--I've been whining for a deadline. I wonder why I think my own self-imposed deadline isn't as good as an editor's deadline?

I'm devouring No Plot? No Problem and will probably have more quotes from Chris Baty. Needless to say, a new leaf for me?

Success for 2011

How many of you list your accomplishments every December to see how successful you were during the year? I do. Usually I'm hit slap-dab in the face with the amount of time I've wasted, but really, we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves. We're looking through our own eyes; others may see us in a different light.

You know I've been on a poetry kick lately. I came across the following poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882). Thought I'd share it with you, give you something to think about as you make your goals for 2011. Maybe you'll want to keep this poem close during the coming year.

Success

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.


Below are two great quotes by Emerson.

“No one can cheat you out of ultimate success but yourself.”

"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."

What would you like to accomplish in 2011? Want to share?

No Training Necessary

I'm sick of politics, politicians, liars, cheaters, anyone who stretches the truth and isn't a fiction writer. Thought I'd share some political quotes that tell us nothing's changed over the years. Well, that's not exactly true. I'll take that back and say. . . politicians haven't changed. Let me remind you there's a lot of truth in these quotations. Yeah, yeah... I know there are some good guys and gals out there, too, but I sure bet we can't agree on who they are. :)

Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people. ~Oscar Wilde

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies. ~Groucho Marx

Politicians are a set of men who have interests aside from the interests of the people and who, to say the most of them, are, taken as a mass, at least one long step removed from honest men. ~Abraham Lincoln

A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar. ~Henry Louis Mencken

One has to be a lowbrow, a bit of a murderer, to be a politician, ready and willing to see people sacrificed, slaughtered, for the sake of an idea, whether a good one or a bad one. ~Henry Miller

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. ~Aesop

A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country. ~Texas Guinan

If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner. ~Henry Louis Mencken

A politician will do anything to keep his job - even become a patriot. ~William Randolph

Be a politician; no training necessary. ~Will Rogers




This seems like a good time to tell you about an excellent place to eat in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Dan's BBQ Express is located at 2635 Country Club Road in South Lake Charles. They have plenty of parking and plenty of room inside. They're definitely worth your time. Being from NE Texas, there were times we felt desperate for good BBQ and would hit our home town BBQ joint every time we went home. That was before we stumbled across Dan's BBQ. Now, we get our BBQ fix before we leave town. Dan serve delicious plates (and ample portions) of chicken, pulled pork, sausage, sliced and chopped brisket, ribs... loaded baked potatoes, two kinds of potato salad. Mmmmm, my mouth is watering and I just had my weekly sliced brisket sandwich yesterday. Hey, make a note that they're closed on Mondays and are open from 11-3 on Sundays.

Also, Dan's BBQ Express was voted Best Barbecue in SW Louisiana. Yeah, this time, the voters got it right!

Something to Think About if You're Busy

I never know if I'm really busy, or if I just think I'm busy. Sometimes I shuffle a lot of paper (or dust) and think I'm accomplishing something. Thought I'd look up some quotes to see if any of them applied to me...and thought I'd share.

Let us not get so busy or live so fast that we can't listen to the music of the meadow or the symphony that glorifies the forest. Some things in the world are far more important than wealth; one of them is the ability to enjoy simple things. ~Dale Carnegie

I keep the telephone of my mind open to peace, harmony, health, love, and abundance. Then whenever doubt, anxiety, or fear try to call me, they keep getting a busy signal and soon they'll forget my number. ~Edith Armstrong

Busy people are never busybodies. ~Ethel Watts Mumford

And the following quote is my all time favorite in this batch.

I wish I could stand on a busy corner, hat in hand, and beg people to throw me all their wasted hours. ~Bernard Berenson

I hope you'll pop back in to see me on Saturday and read my Louisiana Saturday Night interview with . . . Drop in and find out!

Something to Think About

How does the writer of creative articles (or anything else) become a professional?

This question is asked so often that I feel impelled to discuss it here: It seems to me that the amateur becomes a professional when he stops thinking of himself as an amateur, and regards himself as a serious, dedicated worker in a highly competitive profession. Only in so doing can he develop the professional working habits that he must have in order to succeed.


Taken from Writing the Creative Article
by Marjorie Holmes-Inspirational writer
1910-2002

My Quote of the Month

You know how much I love quotes. They encourage me and make me think. Sometimes I read thoughts by other writers that truly speak to my soul and I don't want to lose them. I print them out to tape to my computer. The quote below is worthy of such a spot.

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER reject yourself. That’s the job of the editor or agent. Don’t do their job for them! Your job is to write your best stuff. Your job is to present that in the most appealing way you can. Your job is to keep on keeping on until you make it. When you write something and then don’t even make an honest effort to sell it, you are rejecting yourself. Don’t do that!~Randy Ingermanson

I am so guilty of rejecting myself. Why? Is it fear of failure or fear of success? We've had this discussion before, I know, but I still ponder it. My daughter told me that her education professor discussed a particular kind of student that all teachers encounter at one time or another: the student who won't attempt anything if there's a chance of failure. Can you imagine? Since there's always a chance of failure that student--in essence--must never attempt anything new. Believe it or not, I know someone who has that trait.

Hopefully, we writers aren't that bad. Unless we've just started our writing journey, we're certainly familiar with failure. All writers are filled with a certain amount of doubt and insecurity. If s/he isn't then s/he's filled with a heck of a lot of arrogance, in my humble opinion.

Read Randy's quote again. Let it saturate your soul:

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER reject yourself. That’s the job of the editor or agent. Don’t do their job for them! Your job is to write your best stuff. Your job is to present that in the most appealing way you can. Your job is to keep on keeping on until you make it. When you write something and then don’t even make an honest effort to sell it, you are rejecting yourself. Don’t do that!~Randy Ingermanson

Now go check out his website and subscribe to his newsletter. This guy knows what he's talking about and he has a heart for encouraging writers.

Persistence: Something to Think About

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." ~Calvin Coolidge


My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging. ~Hank Aaron

Nearly every man who develops an idea works at it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then gets discouraged. That's not the place to become discouraged. ~Thomas A. Edison

Never consider the possibility of failure; as long as you persist, you will be successful. ~Brian Tracy

Never discourage anyone... who continually makes progress, no matter how slow. ~Plato

Never, never, never, never give up. ~Winston Churchill

No matter how far you walk, how hard you work, or how bad it hurts, you'll always get to where you need to be. ~Unknown

Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. ~Vincent Lombardi

One man has enthusiasm for 30 minutes, another for 30 days, but it is the man who has it for 30 years who makes a success of his life. ~Edward B. Butler

Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily. ~Johann Friedrich von Schiller

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Blogging - Something to Think About

I'm speaking to a writer's group in Texas next week. My topic? Blogging. What fun!

~ The first thing you need to decide when you build your blog is what you want to accomplish with it, and what it can do if successful. ~Ron Dawson

~Link to your enemies. Link to your competitors. Link to everyone. Instead of being sticky, be linky." ~coble, Israel, Naked Conversations

~And remember, links = love ~Miss Rogue

~ The ease and appeal of blogging is inspiring a new group of writers and creators to share their voices with the world. ~ Unknown

~ The casual conversational tone of a blog is what makes it particularly dangerous. ~Daniel B. Beaulieu

~ Blogging is not rocket science, it’s about being yourself, and putting what you have into it. ~Unknown

~ Blogging is hard because of the grind required to stay interesting and relevant. ~
Unknown

~ Your blog is what you say when there is nobody standing over your shoulder telling you what to do. ~lorelle

~ Blogging is Totally Weird ~Nat

I sincerely believe blogging can save America. ~John Jay Hooker

Something to Think About

You're on the road to success when you realize that failure is only a detour.
- Anonymous

Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure is a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.
- Jim Rohn

Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker.
- Zig Ziglar

I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.
- Thomas A. Edison

You haven't failed until you quit trying.
- Anonymous

One cannot think crooked and walk straight.
- Anonymous

Are you fit company for the person you wish to become?
- Anonymous

Never live in the past but always learn from it.
- Anonymous

A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe, from "Faust"

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

You can't expect people to look eye to eye with you if you are looking down on them.
- Anonymous

You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.
- Anonymous

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
- Winston Churchill

Congratulations, David Cook

I wasn't a David Cook fan in the beginning but he grew on me. He worked hard and it became obvious that he has what it takes to be American Idol. I can't tell you how many times I voted Tuesday night. My daughter and I grabbed our cell phones and sent 'vote' messages over and over again to 5701. Daughter eventually crashed but me...well, I stayed up until midnight. Evidently, I wasn't the only one who sat up texting votes for 'Cookie." :)

Congratulations, David Cook. I'm so thrilled for you and proud of you. Prayers going up for your family and your future.

Something to think about:

Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message. ~Malcolm Muggeridge

What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God. ~Eleanor Powell

Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. ~Leo Buscaglia