Back In The Writing Swing

I am begging to find my writing groove again. I am writing every day trying to focus mainly on fiction, creative works but also blogging meaningful posts on my other blogs that are more aligned with my career works.

I am using Wattpad as my posting place and where I write the most. Here's my profile.

All the little ideas I have I am putting into collections or writing them as stand along short stories. My goal this year, like last, is to ramp up and participate in the NaNoWriMo this year. Either complete my Emerald Event novel or start a new one. I may trash and re-write The Emerald Event but between now and then I may get motiviated on something else in my journals of ideas.

Either way I am getting my routine and loving it again. I have finally figured out how to let go and stop over analyzing my works to an impossible goal of 'perfection'. Create, mold, then let it go.

WOOT!

Time to turn the page.

Hello 2015, Not starting New But Readjusting Focus

Happy New Year! Are you pumped? Are you ready to tackle your resolutions for the new year and feel regret around Feb. that you failed them the 2nd week of Jan? Resolutions like goals are worthless unless you have a plan to get to them. Just saying I am going to write more, drink less, make more friends are valueless without an idea on how you are going to do it.

I didn't make resolutions I made plans.

Plans to write 500 words a day. Instead of locking myself into 500 words of fiction or 500 words of my projects, open it up to 500 words in general. Everything I write can be counted except for emails, texts or other communications. Journals, blogs, stories, brain dumps, or just free writing with absolutely no purpose all count. The only sub-rule is that my writing style or approach is slightly new each time. Whether I use alternative language, rely on a thesaurus for new ways to say the same thing or change the tone. That's the only way you can grow, stick to the same and you will remain the same. How do you know if another way is better for you unless you try it?

That's my year. Rebuilding my routine but opening my walls to a less restrictive approach and that may sharpen my other focuses on the things I do want to get really good at. Fiction writing.

You don't know unless you experiment. You really don't know unless you actually do it.

Time to turn the page.

NaNoWriMo Is Almost Over And I Failed

EPIC FAIL. That's me. Terrible, awful, no excuses although I did my best to make them up. Last year I completed the NaNoWriMo with my project Perspectives. Almost 60,000 words and looking back on it the draft is crap, but it has a shell of a story. Long and drawn out but a story nonetheless.

This year I have nothing to show for it. Nothing structured anyway and no where near 50,000 words. Only myself to blame, words ain't going to write themselves.

However there is a bright, white light. I had an epiphany that may be my gateway to getting something solid and perfected and I owe it to my 6 year old son. He has taken to reading like a duck out of water. He's reading at a 3rd and 4th grade level with near photographic memory comprehension... he's in 1st grade. He is bored with the books his age, refuses to read 'picture' books and only chapter books yet we haven't found a series he likes yet. He has read two American Chillers books which are not really horror genre because the 'horror' is a setup joke to take away the real horror. They are about 150-180 pages and he'll read them about 5 chapters at a setting. He' reading who cares, right?

Anyway out of the blue he asked me to write him a book and he will read that. What a great idea! His 6 year old mind of absolute insane imagination and processing would be a great source of material and flow for a story. Tell me what you want to read about and I will fill in the blanks. I have even began to record him in the morning to describe his dreams from the night before, sometime they are the scariest things I have heard. To him it's as real as life but to me it's a starting point to wrap a world around and aim it to a sub-10 year old mind.

Yes! Exciting.

I don't need NaNoWriMo, I just needed my purpose. I think I found it.

Time to turn the page.

Writing About Writing

NaNoWriMo 2014 is approaching and I have no idea what novel idea I am going to tackle. Last year I wrote, or began to, write my Perspectives book idea. I was successful and completed the NaNoWriMo goal but after that I looked at it and realized what a pile of disorganized crap it was and left it. I haven't touched it since.

What to do now? Do I go back and re-write Perspectives with a straight storyline approach or continue with it on the compilation of novellas? Episodic or novel. Even though I did produce 50,000 words toward the project am I better off abandoning it altogether and starting with a new idea. Learning from the lessons of the past and pressing forward with something new to maybe someday coming back to finish the first real work I have created. The more I think about it it is becoming more and more clear that I start anew. Fresh and clean.

Nov. 1 is right around the corner and in my writing thought journal I have lots of good ideas for stories that could be built to novel length most require significant research to get the details right. This then pulls me back into the struggle I have been wrestling with for years. An over analytical mind trying to be creative. I have a passion for writing, I hate doing it but I absolutely love it and I don't do enough it of it. There's a fire inside of me to do this and I don't know where it's coming from, all I know is I have to quench it.

Geek to Author was supposed to have a published book by now. Something. Instead I have short stories I am not happy with, continue to re-write and nit-pick, I am afraid to show them to anyone or post them to any site for critique even though I am members to the major ones. Struggle after struggle and it all resides in my own mind.

Time to get public, get the support, find the others who are in my position and work together to get our work out there. I write for myself but if one person come back and says that my story was good then it all was worth it.

Write to write. Write everyday. Write without borders or obstacles and no matter what anyone says about your efforts, like all arts, opinions are subjective and matter very little.

Time to turn the page.

Writing Is Fun Even Though It Isn't

Writing is fun. It is, believe me. Sitting down and painting your thoughts with words is a liberating experience. Once you let go and allow your mind to go where it wants the results can be amazing. Shocking perhaps.

I used to write thousands of lines of code, computer programming, hours and hours of pumping out creativity using computer logic. There are many times when I go back and see what I built and I am amazed that I came up with that a built it. Writing is no different.

You can plot, plan, sketch, flow, chart, diagram all you want around a story or idea but until you put words on paper it will never be realized. That's the fun part.

Writing is also one of the the most frustrating, complicated and confusing abilities humans can do. One moment you can be on a roll then your creative processing center shuts off. Disappears. This could happen for any number of reasons, emotions, overthinking, it's raining outside or it's too sunny out, the baby's crying or you're hungry. Mind over body, creativity over analysis, free-flowing or planned. Writing is a battle.

That's why every book, author, blog, speech, class everywhere tells you to write everyday. A writer writes, always. Write daily. Don't stop writing. Keep the mind going, leave it free, create with your words, paint that picture, introduce new worlds and people, express yourself. If you don't write, you can't do anything.

Accept frustration, anger, obstacles. Accept success, creation and accomplishment. Regardless on how 'good' your stories are, at least you wrote a story. Then next one will be a little better and the one after than better than the first. That's the enjoyment and also the hatred of the process. If you are like me nothing will ever be good enough, you just need to learn to love creating and let it go when you are done.

Time to turn the page.

Writing Everyday Exercise - Headline

WRITING EXERCISE - Daily Headlines. Read the first word of the first story headline in today’s newspaper/website. Write that word at the top and go for 10 minutes from there.

===============
The first story I saw on the Star Tribune website was Caught In A Dark Cult's Embrace. The story was about a nationwide manhunt of a Minnesota native who was a leader of a religious cult. Messed up. For the exercise I used the word caught.

Thinking of the word caught the only logical connection was to catch something that target must be moving, running or doing something to avoid capture. I wrote about a woman on the run. What she was running from or why I didn't get into the details. I eluded to her overall purpose of running, to free someone she knew that was captured by the same group years ago, but never said why.

In 10 minutes you can get the cloudy form of what you were going for but not the details. As I do these exercises I find myself writing about common themes, political thriller, escape, action, which is all fine and good but as you do these exercises I think you also need to change your topics and genres as well. Do these in styles and forms you don't normally write about, truly exercise yourself, go outside whatever box you have built for yourself and you will find more value in doing things like this.

My two cents on the matter, it's working for me, it may not for you but unless you try you will never know.

Time to turn the page.

Everyday Writing Exercises

Writers write always. Whether it's a blog post, journal entry, a letter to mom. As long as words are being put on paper it's writing. Now, I say that if you are trying to be a fiction writer then you need to be writing fiction everyday on top of the other compositions you may do but that's me.

Geek to Author is a slow go. Finding time to write is very difficult, especially with a full career, wife and 2 kids, coaching baseball, etc... but I see people do it all the time and they are writing books! Why can't I? Why can't you? I know the answer, commitment. Dedication. Failure to build a structured routine.

I came across a resources, several actually, that is specifically targeted for writing with a career. The common thread is ease into the routine but build into your day that you sit down and write. Period. I am going to share these writing exercises for everyone else as well as give an insight to my methods.

I haven't been blogging here much, but that's because I have been writing. Not putting anything out there for consumption yet, but I am writing. Short stories mostly but I have a very rough draft of 50,000 words toward a book. So I am doing it. The second part, editing my work, is where my analytical OCD is battling me. Tweaking the stories, expanding them, changing the dialogue instead of fixing the grammar and flows.

Each exercise I do I will start to publish them here. They are not ground breaking and most of them I tweak around to make them more creative and challenging for me. You don't have to follow them verbatim but use them in your own way for your daily writing. I have found it's very liberating and frees the mind to break away from your stories and structures and freestyle write about nonsensical topics as creative and in styles you may never use again. Experiment.

We only learn from failures.

Time to turn the page.

Geek To Author - Wattpad

New Year Bring New Writing Focus

So I completed the NaNoWriMo challenge and I have 50,000 words toward a novel completed and sitting in draft mode. My intention was to pick it up but life stepped in once again. My second child arrived in Mid-December and that put everything on the back burner.

The routines are settling in, the holidays are over, the New Year has arrived and in 2014 I am moving forward with my writing. I am going to be integrating my writing during the day, I have to. With a 5 year old and 3 week old in the house, wanted to sleep at some point, writing when I used to later at night isn't a good option. Instead I will write over my lunch hour at work. I'll find a dark conference room and tuck myself away and write in silence.

Using the gift cards I received as gifts I picked up a pretty good book, so far, called Writer with a Day Job. It is more about creating a writing schedule and routine around other busy aspects of ones life whether it's a job, family or other responsibilities. Consistency, consistency, and writing always.

The NaNoWriMo showed me that I can do and I love it. Like everyone else I need to find time to do it because writing isn't going to replace my day job any time soon. Odds are it never will, but that's an assumption I hope I get wrong. But I will never get close to that until I write more often than I do now.

Time to turn the page.

Re-Editing Already "Published" Stories

I have written several short stories, some that I have put out to the public on various sites. In the complete redesign of my approach to writing I am pulling these back out and re-looking at them. As I re-read them and from what I have learned and how I have 'grown' over the last year of writing I am see that those stories really need some work. I am a fiddler by nature, always tweaking, improving, adjusting. With writing you need to get to a point and let it go and move on, but not when the stories are fundamentally flawed in the English language. I am not adjusting the story itself but working on improving sentence structure, expanding details, clarifying explanations, improving dialogue flows.

The two stories I am putting my effort into are Temporal Enforcers and The Devil's Nest. The two stories thus far I am most proud of. Even thought they are my first true short stories of any length. There are two problems I have with both, the first was that they were written for a site with a hard word limit and I cut corners to get the word count down. The second is that I never had anyone else look at them with an editing mindset. The feedback I have received from them is more about the story structure and plot points than how it's written. I am going to go back and fix them.

With Temporal Enforcers this may grow into a nice novella project. The main feedback I received on this one was to get more background with the old man and younger apprentice. How did they get to where they are? I touched on it, but there is more to it in my mind but cut it out for length. No rules but my own, right?

In The Devil's Nest I lied earlier. I will be changing the plot a tad bit. It needs to be expanded and I need to go through an exercise of setting description of painting the Nest more vividly. Secondly, I need to alter the fight scene in the prison. I foreshadowed too much to not have the ending twist be as strong as I intended. I will be doing that as well.

Then I will be done and let those children go. I want to get back working on my Perspectives project, I have another short I have planned up called The Murder Of Mr. Tipton, and continue planning a novel length story.

Plan, plan, plan, write, write, write.

Time to turn the page.

You Can't Be An Author If Your Don't Write

See the title.

Nuff' said.

Your Thoughts Must Become Actions To Work

Everything starts with an idea, a thought, and those are carried out as actions to produce. Or are they? Do you find yourself, whether its in the office or at home, doing lots of talking and thinking but never acting on them? How long has that dripping sink been dripping? How long has that work project been dragged along without moving it forward? You can think and come up with ideas all day long but until those are turned into actions they are worthless.

If you have something to do, don't let indecision plague you or your work. Do it the best way you know how at the moment. Don't worry about making a mistake, you may or may not. Remember, you learn from success and failures. You will feel better when the action is completed. Keep this in mind - The only person that makes no mistakes is the person who does nothing - and that's the greatest mistake of them all.

When you are in those discussions don't let people around you, or yourself, just nod in agreement then go back to do what they have been doing. Then you won't get anywhere.

I am a big believer of "learning by doing". Imagining what things will look like, how things will flow, drawing pretty pictures is a pleasant process. Unless you act on those pictures then you have just wasted all your time. Thinking and doing need to be co-existent, intertwined like a braid of hair, as you spin around you alternate from thinking and doing.

Look around your lists, tasks, emails, phone messages what are you sitting on and why are you not acting? Fear? Uncertainty? What other excuses are out there to justify lack of action?

Draw a picture to help you realize it if need be...

Time to turn the page.

Good Bye Vince Flynn

RIP Vince

Vince Flynn died last week from cancer. Sad day when that came across the wire. America lost a true, country loving man who's concerns for this country came through in his work. That work not following the 'political correctness' and detailing out how things truly are or how the should be to get results against those that want nothing more than to kill all of us. His books were special and stood out in a sea of political thrillers.

Vince was a Minnesotan and never forgot that. He didn't get wrapped up in the Hollywood celebrity style and move away, he kept his family here. I admire him for that. But to be perfectly honest, I created Geek to Author and began creative writing because of Vince Flynn. Not for his stories per se, but his journey of overcoming dyslexia and never accepting no for an answer. He took it to the extreme and self-published his first book Term Limits himself after getting told No countless times.

Struggling with that learning and productivity disorder to produce what he did is amazing. Sadly he was taken too early from us. Vince and his universe went with him. We may not have another author that will create the stories like he did, many will now try to take that spot, but few will have the character outside of the book that matched Vince's.

Through most of his career I would goto the HarMar Mall Barnes and Noble for each book release. Of all his books I think I missed 2 releases both because I was out of town on business. Vince started his tours in Minnesota and recently as his health deteriorated he stopped doing the public appearances. I will miss him.

So sad. So inspiring. So sad.

He is being laid to rest today in St. Paul, MN and will be surrounded by so many that were touched by his charity, generosity and caring for this country.

Time to turn the page.

Want A Calmer Mind? Stop Worrying

Stress, strain, technology, information at our fingerstips. At some point you will begin to harbor doubts, fears and worries about your life and aspects within. Worry, so much wasted energy about improbables.

Worry has been described as the mental capacity for inaction. A fear reaction over a future event which may, and usually never does, materialize. But you can't be told to not worry just as you can't be told not to breathe. Although most of the time we worry about things that will never happen andthat takes mental power away from productivity and clarity.

When you are spending so much time worrying about something you are not spending time on being imaginative, creative, productive, or improvements instead it's wasted on nothing. You are paying interest with worry on something that has yet to occur. Stop it.

Here's a good exercise to prove the point. Get a piece of paper and write down all your worries from this time one year ago. Do you even remember what you were worrying about? Do you now look bath and laugh on something you were worrying about and chuckle at the silliness?

It's impossible to not worry and somethings are worth worrying over, like health (to a point), but the more things you worry about the more trivial they can be. Instead of having those worries and concerns dragf you down, eliminate the improbable and take the others as a strength of improvement. Some annoyances in life are inevitable so what have you got to lose?... other than the worry?

Stop worry about things that must be. If it's raining there's nothing you can do about it other than grab an umbrella. I have personally learned to stop worrying, overanalyzing situations is another post. I have no time to worry about the trivial or improbable. People's opinions included. I don't worry about it until I can't bear the annoyance and pain any longer then do something about it.

The best attitude to take toward a percieved problem is ask yourself, "So what?". Imagine the worst case scenario and look at it with so what if it happens. Then you will either realize you can do something about it or not and forget about it. If you are wrong then you made a mistake, like the others you have made in your life, and learn from it for next time.

At the end of the day there are things worth worrying about and there are things that are not that in turn have a begative impact on your life, work, and happiness. It's not cold hearted to not worry about something, concern and worry are different things, but focus on things that are in your own sphere of influcence and go with it.

Life is short. There are 6 billion people walking around, you are just one doing what's best for you.

Time to turn the page.

Your Problems, Do You Own Them Or Do They Own You?

Problems, everyone has them. Whether they are personal, business, social, financial or whatever you call a problems they are what challenges us in our lives.

You have 99 problems, you need to finish each one of them.

One important question you need to ask yourself right away and for each problem is this: Are you contributing toward the solution to that problem or are you becoming a part or cause of that problem?

If you realize you are part of the problem then do something about it!
I think the experts call this acceptance.

The first thing you need to do is stop procrastinating! Those that procrastinate will gain more weight, increase their credit card debts, fall behind in work and tasks. If you feel the need to go on a diet, do it, don't talk about starting it next week. If you need to do work around the house don't wait until next weekend, start it now. If you don't you probably never will.

Keep in mind that most of the time, in almost every type of problem, it's not what you do that tires or hurts you in any way; it's what you don't do that causes the trouble.

Every problem of frustration which is faced and dealt with in an organized way add to the strength of the personality. All the failures that a lesson has been learned provides both experience that increases the ability to deal with new problems. In simpler terms - What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Some problems are out of your control others you are the direct cause of. But the more you deal with the problems and take ownership of them in the future you will become more focused to see a problem before it happens and can react and change beforehand.

Time to turn the page.

Creative Thinking Is Not Reserved For Artists

"The sorcery and charm of imagination, and the power it gives to the individual to transform his world into a new worold of order and delight, makes it one of the most treasured of all human capacities."
- Frank X. Barron

I have written posts recently about thinking and getting organized. The structure of thinking more effectively is important but thinking creatively is the core of coming up with those solutions in the first place. Imagination or creative thinking is one ingredient success cannot do without. Imagination is what creates better filing systems, better bookkeeping, better websites, better games, more unique applications and easier working conditions. There is room for imagination in ANY business and walk of life.

As a manager or employee don't be afraid to use or accept imaginative thinking. Some lines of business' depend on it. The more you see it, the more you use it the better it will become. No one becomes proficient in any endeavor until they have been 'in the trenches' a little while.

Like anything else that you want to be good at you must practice creative thinking and using your imagination. If you practice kindness, you become a kinder person. If you practice JAVA, you become a better JAVA programmer. If you practice creative thinking, you use your imagination more.

Sadly nowadays most of us have fallen into a mental rut that's difficult to climb out of. In time past people HAD to practice creativity to live and in some cases survive. In today's way of life with the technological conveniences all around imaginative exercise is not as necessary for the masses. The gadgets provide enough filler for all of us.

The other aspect of today's way of life ties into the business environments we have created. In my previous post about Functional Stupidity I talk about how the business world, not all, aren't open for imaginative thoughts. Aside from that self-inflicted restriction, most people are afraid or embarrassed to try to create new ideas. Fear of rejection, what people will say, humiliation concerns...all rubbish. If they do come up with new creative ideas they don't have enough confidence or corporate support to deliver them.

Don't worry about what others think, only go by what you think. If it gets rejected, then it gets rejected. At least you are being creative and assertive. All it takes is one of you creative ideas to be accepted to get you success.

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success before they gave up." - Thomas Edison

You are only limited by your own imagination.

The other excuse people will give in their busy lives is that they have no time...
You can find time for EVERYTHING if it's important to you.

"Does thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of"
- Benjamin Franklin

Time To Turn The Page

33 Ways To Stay Creative

All this talk about thinking, organization, creativity can be overwhelming. When you look at it from a higher level it's really quite simple. As I read I use Evernote to save anything and everything motivating and inspiring. From time to time they actually come in quite handy like this list below. 33 Ways To Stay Creative. Why 33? Why not? It's different.

1. Make Lists
2. Carry A Notebook EVERYWHERE (digital notebooks work too)
3. Free Write
4. Get Away From The Computer
5. Be Otherworldly
6. Quit Beating Yourself Up
7. Take Breaks
8. Sing In The Shower
9. Drink Coffee/Tea
10. Know Your Roots
11. Listen To New Music
12. Be Open
13. Surround Yourself With Creative People
14. Get Feedback
15. Collaborate
16. Don't Give Up
17. Practice, Practice, Practice
18. Allow Yourself To Make Mistakes
19. Go Somewhere New
20. Watch Foreign Films
21. Count Your Blessings
22. Gets Lots Of Rest
23. Take Risks
24. BREAK THE RULEs
25. Do More Of What Makes You Happy
26. Don't Force It
27. Read A Page From The Dictionary
28. Create A Framework
29. Stop Trying To Be Someone Else's Perfect
30. Got An Idea? WRITE IT DOWN!
31. Clean Your Workspace
32. Have Fun
33. Finish Something

Time To Turn The Page

Think Different, Get Results

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it."
- Henry Ford

I was going to start this post with a definition of the word think but it's far too large you can go read it on your own. Instead I will break it down to a more functional and simplistic view.

Thinking consists of three things

• Problem Solving (Present)
• Remembering (Past)
• Anticipating (Future)

Everyone at some point gets stuck into a rut whether it's a personal rut, social rut, or business rut. Something gets to a point then stalls and dwindles. How do you bust out of that and move forward? Think differently because how you think now isn't working anymore. Effective thinking, about everything, is an art and you need to keep it sharp with practice and use.

In the expansive technological age people are thinking less and less. Less creative thinking, less critical thinking, less constructive thinking not because we can't it's because we don't have to as much anymore. Technology provides and we are beginning to find out, it's damaging our ability to be productive from household projects to business applications.

Some say we are getting lazier and lazier. I would tend to agree with that observation.

No more energy is use in using your brain than used to just keep it alive, so don't be afraid to use it. Life is a battle of wits so why are you fighting unarmed?

Two things are needed to think different, effective and to be more productive. You need knowledge and you need organization. The reason you can't think effectively about certain problems, topics, or situations is that you don't have enough knowledge or experience. Without knowledge you have no reference or starting point for constructive thoughts. So what happens, especially to those who are fakers, is that you attempt to contribute but do it from the wrong premise and therefore think incorrectly.

Don't fake it you will end up looking more like a fool than stepping back and observing, experiencing or even asking for help. It's OK to say 'I don't know'. You'd be surprised that people will actually stop and help you if you are willing to learn. I touched on this concept in my last post - Selfishness Is OK As Long As You Consider Others.

In order to gain knowledge you must take time and go out and get it. Aside from a definite and particular problem, relevant knowledge can only be gained through experience. That can be through social interactions, listening to others, from reading about that topic or from society in general. However, just doing those things doesn't mean you will gain all the knowledge. You must have a genuine interest and/or curiosity about a subject to gain much knowledge about it.

For example, if you want to write a novel reading a book on how to write a novel isn't enough. You have to want learn how to write, understand language, structure, story building and enjoy it. If not you will only be reading for the sake of reading and not turning it into knowledge.

Read with your mind, not with your eyes and never stop learning.

Now that you have all this knowledge gathering happening it's not very useful is you don't organize it. It would be like forcing to straighten a knotted garden hose without stopping and finding where the ends looped through. Thoughts are not organized unless they are directed toward some goal. Daydreaming is not thinking.

Get a notebook and keep it handy, use task lists, print off article and file them, and go back and re-read your notes. Next time you are working on a problem, any problem, get organized and write down your thoughts. Once the thought has been created and your mind processes it they are lost just as quickly. The human mind is a fantastic creation center but not such a great file cabinet.

Over time as your knowledge gathering and organization skills are practiced they will get better and better. As that matures so will the way you think effectively and you will find yourself in less ruts, less often.

Time to turn the page.

Selfishness Is OK As Long As You Consider Others

You are a singular entity. Everything you do comes down to you. Whether you are a husband, father, employee, boss, owner, buyer or whatever eventually you are doing things for your own interest. It's OK to be selfish. Without selfishness there would be no incentive.

We are trying to sell ourselves, our ideas, our thoughts, our personalities to others everyday. It makes no difference what you do for a living, we are all salesmen. People maintain relationships with you because of you, not because of what you can provide. If your personality is toxic it won't matter if you can cure diseases people won't 'buy' you. People buy the person first, then the rest will follow.

However there is a limit to your selfishness, you can go overboard and turn selfishness into being selfcentered and therefore come off as unsympathetic to others. Thinking of others will pull the energy and thoughts away from yourself. Then you will operate with yourself in mind but not at the expense of others. This is the key to being successful in relationships, both business and personal.

No person is an island. If you have no interest whatsoever in the problems of others then in turn they will have no interest in you. In this age of social media the world people are becomming less and less considerate of other people's siutations or needs and instead just pushing selfish messages over and over again. We can cover millions but reach none of them where focusing on smaller, targeted groups and come out ahead in whatever you need.

Remember this - The feet you step on today may be connected to the butt you have to kiss tomorrow.

It's not all about you, if you walk around thinking it is... it will be.

Time to turn the page.

Fire Up Your Enthusiasm And Achieve Results

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

How true that quote is. We all have things we need to do in our lives and some are more exciting than others. As you go through your day you can work under a 'checkbox' mentality where you do the task and check the box, doing nothing more, nothing less and doing it exactly as it's stated or you can accel beyond the task and create.

To acquire and skill at all, to become proficient at any art, to do anything worth while one must be enthusiastic about it. May you are not excited about the individual task at hand but look beyond your nose and see the wider impact you are making from completing that one task. Painting thousands of lines for grass is daunting, but when you are painting a meadow, each line is just as important as the next. When you are writing thousands of lines of code that check, re-check, and double check data flowing through a web transaction it ensures the company continues to make money and beat their competition. Being at your fullest potential cannot happen unless your level of enthusiasm is maxed out. A lethargic interest is no interest at all.

Mind over matter. Don't think of your writing, blogging, reporting, meetings, programming, sales calls as work. If you do then in your mind those tasks are no different than scrubbing your toilets at home, which is work. Your hate doing it but it needs to be done.

How do you get fired up? How do you re-spark your interests and love for your job, hobby, or art? You need to stay out of the rut of complacency and status quo. Don't allow yourself to do just enough to feel productive. Beleiving you are doing the very best you can is not enough. You need to break through these mental barriers and set your goals beyond what you consider your best. Better yet, have someone else push you and set your goals for you. Subconciously you will set your goals to be in your reach.

Hitting those out of reach targets that you think you couldn't is how you stay engaged. It's how you get fired up to keep moving, to keep writing, to keep painting, to keep shooting photography, to keep striving for bigger work projects. Your own achievements will in turn feed your enthusiasm for more.
When you are training for a 5k and you have never ran one before your goal is to finish it without stopping. Your next goal maybe will be get a better time. AS you do more races your inner goals will become easier and easier. A few minutes off here and there? Why are not working to win the race? Set the goal beyond your self-inflicted barriers what are within reach but not far enough out to push yourself to greatness?

It's OK to set personal goals you don't meet. Goals are targets, in life you don't hit all the targets you shoot for and that's just fine as long as you know you pushed yourself beyond where you know you can achieve. When you put it just out of reach you will turn inward and find you are far more capable than you know.

That's how you can look back and not just say that you hit that goal but say Wow, I did that!

Time to turn the page
@GeekToAuthor

Organize Your Mind And You Will Organize Your Life

"Mind is the great level of all things; human thought is the process by which human ends are ultimately answered. "  Daniel Webster

The mind. The primary source of creativity, logic, process and emotion. It is the core to your advances and the core to your failures. Learning how to organize your mind will help you organize your life. If one is in disarray the other won't be too far behind.

Life is all about organziation. Routine. Process. You wake up and do a process, get dressed, clean yourself, eat breakfast, go to work a certain way. Organization, at many subtle levels, is around you all day everyday. Getting through the day is all about organziation.

Our lives are busy and seemingly getting busier. All the more reason to get and stay organized. With everything that is piled onto you, it doesn't make much for things to fall apart and collapse much like a Jenga tower. To organize is to control because in the you live the thinnk.

When it comes to your artful craft you can have the world's greatest file cabinet of organization but unless you act it's worthless. Don't be a wisher or a talker, be a doer. Take those items and deliver. You owe it to yourself and to those that count on you to produce. You can't do that unless you know what to produce and the better organized you are will make the production process that much easier.

It's up to you. If you are in an environment whether that is an artistic environment or corporate environment you can be surrounded and leaded by people that do not have your best interests in mind. Misdirection is the greatest professional weapon because they make you think along the wrong lines. They keep your mind occupied on red herrings and therefore not producing. Only your organized mind can change this.

Hard work applied properly and intelligently while thinking in an organized leads to true success.

Live for today and tomorrow only.

Time to turn the page.