Category Archives: G.O.T.H. Series

Remember Your First Love

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Whenever I need a boost, I reread Write Smart, Write Happy by award-winning author Cheryl St. John. Here’s an uplifting excerpt:

Sometimes a book is merely a job. Sometimes a book is not enjoyable to write. But we love being writers, or we wouldn’t do this. We love having written something that will touch and inspire others. We love the magic of stories and creating worlds and people we can manipulate to draw emotions from our audience. We love being writers.

Sometimes it’s an effort, but we must remember our first love; we must transport ourselves back to those days when we first knew we had to put those people in our heads on paper and create stories for them. Whenever I’ve been discouraged or questioned my choices, I’ve always asked myself the same question: What would I rather be doing?

Even before I was published, I was frustrated and wondered if I should keep pursuing this dream of being a writer. I sometimes wished I could be content to do something else, something with a quicker payoff and a visible reward for the effort. But in my heart of hearts, I knew I would not be satisfied until I’d given writing my very best and written stories that touched readers the way so many books have touched me.

So, if you believe you’ve lost your love of writing or have become discouraged, ask yourself, What would I rather be doing? If there’s something else that fills that place in you, by all means do that thing. If not, remember your first love. Find the joy, the awe, and the inspiration and discipline to move forward.

Source: Write Smart, Write Happy by Cheryl St. John, p. 78

On Staying Present and Positive

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

A long-time fan of bestselling authors and coaches Marc and Angel Chernoff, I look forward to reading their emails and blog posts. Here’s an excerpt from a recent post:

Growth can be painful, change can be painful, but in the end nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong. So be selective with your energy today. If you can fix a problem, fix it. If you can’t, accept it and change your thoughts about it. And whatever you do, don’t attempt to invest more energy than you have tripping over something behind you or something that only exists inside your head.

Of course, there will be times when it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong. You might feel like you will be stuck in this rut forever, but you won’t. Sure the sun stops shining sometimes, and you may get a huge thunderstorm or two, but eventually the sun will come out to shine. Sometimes it’s just a matter of us staying as present and positive as possible in order to make it to see the sun break through the clouds again.

And remind yourself that the trick on the average day is to enjoy the little things. Don’t wish away all your days waiting for better ones ahead. Just do your best to appreciate where you are. You’ve come a long way, and you’re still learning and growing. Be thankful for the progress and lessons. Take them and make the best of things right now.

Note: I highly recommend subscribing to Marc & Angel’s website.

Listen and Course-Correct

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In her empowering guide, Be Mighty, Jill Stoddard offers practical advice and support to women who struggle with stress and anxiety. Here’s a thought-provoking excerpt:

As you pilot your plane through life, despite a carefully crafted flight plan, the sky will get dark, the weather will get stormy, and a bird may even fly into your engine. Hijackers will show up, further attempting to steer you off course with their taunts: “Stop navigating toward health, self-care, and authenticity—you don’t deserve it, and who are you kidding, you can’t bear cravings or stress, you have no idea how to handle real problems.”

The hijackers have pushed your detonator, so now what! You could grab your pinot and pizza parachute, abandon your aircraft, and allow it to blow to smithereens. Or you could send a Mayday signal to air traffic control, turn up the volume on your headset, and listen for some wise guidance: “Remember the flyer you admire. Now hold the yoke steady and persevere through the turbulence; pull back with your determination and courage to climb above the storm. Your integrity is illuminating the runway.” Air traffic control—your values—will always be there, 24/7/365, to guide you and keep you on course through the roughest of conditions. All you have to do is listen and course correct.

Source: Be Mighty, p. 86

Joy in the Midst of Sorrow

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Here’s a thought-provoking reflection from international speaker and bestselling author Joyce Meyer:

If you are experiencing emotional or physical pain—no matter how big or how small—it can seem overwhelming. But here is something to hold on to: a struggle or personal loss doesn’t have to overshadow every part of your life. You can still have joy even in the midst of sorrow.

Joy isn’t always extreme hilarity; sometimes joy is simply a calm delight. And you can delight yourself in God and in his promise to always be with you even when times are difficult—especially when times are difficult.

The key is to trust God. He knows what you’re going through, and if you trust Him, He will restore your joy. You may not see how it’s gong to work out or how you’re going to get over it, but know that God is in control, and He can do the impossible.

Source: Quiet Times with God by Joyce Meyer

The Fourth Quarter

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In 2006, Burlington author and retired school principal Lewis Raymond Long released a book of rhymes and reminiscences entitled The Fourth Quarter. A keen follower of the Hamilton Tiger Cats, Ray felt the title related to the fourth quarter of his life.

Here’s the introductory poem to the book:

A Minor Bird

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

April is National Poetry Month, a month set aside to celebrate poetry and its vital place in our society. Today, and for the next Wednesday, I will be sharing thought-provoking poems I have discovered this past year.

The following poem was written by Robert Frost.

A Minor Bird

I have wished a bird would fly away,
And not sing by my house all day;

Have clapped my hands at him from the door
When it seemed as if I could bear no more.

The fault must partly have been in me.
The bird was not to blame for his key.

And of course there must be something wrong
In wanting to silence any song.

Inspiration from P. Bodi

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

April is National Poetry Month, a month set aside to celebrate poetry and its vital place in our society. Today, and for the next two Wednesdays, I will be sharing thought-provoking poems I have discovered this past year.

The following untitled poem was written by P. Bodi and can be found in her inspirational collection, Inherit the Dawn.

Celebrating National Poetry Month

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

April is National Poetry Month, a month set aside to celebrate poetry and its vital place in our society. Today, and for the next three Wednesdays, I will be sharing four thought-provoking poems I have discovered this past year.

The following poem was written by Ada Limón, the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States.

How to Triumph Like a Girl

I like the lady horses best,
how they make it all look easy,
like running 40 miles per hour
is as fun as taking a nap, or grass.
I like their lady horse swagger,
after winning. Ears up, girls, ears up!
But mainly, let’s be honest, I like
that they’re ladies. As if this big
dangerous animal is also a part of me,
that somewhere inside the delicate
skin of my body, there pumps
an 8-pound female horse heart,
giant with power, heavy with blood.
Don’t you want to believe it?
Don’t you want to lift my shirt and see
the huge beating genius machine
that thinks, no, it knows,
it’s going to come in first.

On Being Aware

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Author Liz Michalski shared the following thought-provoking advice in a recent post on the Writer Unboxed blog:

As writers, we spend so much time in our heads, creating imaginary worlds and populating them with imaginary people, that sometimes we can miss the world we are a part of. Walking, we can be so immersed in telling ourselves the story we’re trying to write that we miss what the clouds are writing in the sky over our head. Driving, we hammer out plot holes and fail to see the scenery arcing past our windows. And it’s not just writing that carries us away. Worry and impatience for things to ‘begin’ (or for tea to boil) keep us from living – and noticing – what is happening now. The world becomes background noise to what is in our head.

But I’d argue that being aware of the details of life as we live them is important for us both as people, which of course is what matters the most, but also as writers. It’s these details, captured, that help us immerse readers in our stories, that bind them to us with that best magic – truth in our fiction. To capture the whispering sound of snow on the wind, the sharp green scent of pine needles crushed underfoot, the heavy, warm weight of a sleeping toddler in our arms, to trap them on the page and make them come alive, it helps if we have captured them in our memories first. And that can only happen if we allow ourselves to be aware of them as they happen.

So my challenge today to you, my dear friends, is to take a moment to settle into this complex world we live in, to slow down and look at it with open eyes, as if for the first time. What are you seeing or hearing or tasting or touching that on another day you might not have noticed?

Read the rest of the post here.

Character vs Personality

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In his recent release, Hidden Potential, organizational psychologist and best-selling author Adam Grant shares the character skills and motivational structures that can help people realize their potential. Here’s a thought-provoking excerpt:

Character is often confused with personality, but they’re not the same. Personality is your predisposition—your basic instincts for how to think, feel, and act. Character is your capacity to prioritize your values over your instincts.

Knowing your principles doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to practice them, particularly under stress or pressure. It’s easy to be proactive and determined when things are going well. The true test of character is whether you manage to stand by those values when the deck is stacked against you. If personality is how your respond on a typical day, character is how you show up on a hard day.

Personality is not your destiny—it’s your tendency. Character skills enable you to transcend that tendency to be true to your principles. It’s not about the traits you have—it’s what you decide to do with them. Wherever you are today, there’s no reason why you can’t grow your character skills starting now.

Source: Hidden Potential by Adam Grant, pp. 20-21