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 longtime fan of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, I picked up Warrior of the Light, an inspirational companion to the fable. The following passage is my favorite:

The Warrior hears someone say: “I need to understand everything before I can make a decision. I want to have the freedom to change my mind.”

The Warrior regards these words suspiciously. He too enjoys that freedom, but this does not prevent him from taking on a commitment, even if he does not know quite why he does so.

A Warrior of the Light makes decisions. His soul is as free as the clouds in the sky, but he is committed to his dream. On his freely chosen path, he often has to get up earlier than he would like, speak to people from whom he learns nothing, make certain sacrifices.

His friends say: “You’re not free.”

The Warrior is free. But he knows that an open oven bakes no bread.

Source: Warrior of the Light, p. 47

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.

I find these four-word quotes inspiring:

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 excerpt from Mary Morrissey’s recent release, Brave Thinking:

One of my favorite stories that demonstrates the power of paradigm is about an old man who was fishing off a dock, reeling in one fish after another. Next to him stood a bucket and a ruler that was snapped off at the ten-inch mark. The fisherman would throw out his line and every so often, he’d reel in a little fish. Then, he would carefully unhook his catch and lay it down alongside his ruler. He would toss any fish measuring eight or nine inches into his bucket. Pretty soon, there was a big tug on the line. The old guy fought hard with the fish and finally reeled in a beauty. It must have been over a foot long. He placed it alongside his ten-inch ruler, then promptly threw his fish back into the water.

A young man who was new to fishing had been watching the other fellow for hours. Did the older fellow know something he didn’t? Maybe there was an ordinance against catching bigger fish? Overcome with curiosity, he broke the silence. “Gosh, I’ve been watching you all afternoon, and that was the biggest fish you caught so far. It was a beauty. I don’t get it. Why did you throw it back?”

The old man looked up at him and shrugged. “I’ve only got a ten-inch frying pan.”

Our frying pan is the size of the life we know. The Infinite sends us fish, ideas, to nourish us, to build our dreams. When it sends an idea that is bigger than the frying pan, we discard it. We throw it back into the sea of ideas, saying, “No, that won’t fit.” Our paradigms tell us we don’t have the time, the money, or the wherewithal. You can allow an idea into your life, even if you do not know how to achieve it. The Infinite’s currency is ideas. The people who realize their dreams are the ones who are careful not to discard the ideas that can nourish them and lead them to a more abundant life. They realize their frying pan does not span a mere ten inches; rather, its breadth is infinite. When an inspired idea comes your way, let it nourish you.

Source: Brave Thinking, pp. 218-219

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 blog post:

Have patience with everything that remains imperfect or unfinished in your head and heart. And realize that patience is not about waiting, but the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard to stay true to your intuition and values. This is your life, and it is governed by your choices. May your actions speak louder than your words. May your daily choices preach louder than your lips. May your inner sense of satisfaction be your noise in the end.

And if your present life only teaches you one thing, let it be that taking a passionate leap is always worth it. Even if you have no idea where you’re going to land — even when there are so many unknowns — be brave enough to stand up and listen to your heart.

Remember that the most powerful moments in life happen when you find the courage to let go of what can’t be changed. Because as Viktor Frankl said, when you are no longer able to change a situation, you are challenged to change yourself — to grow beyond the unchangeable. And that changes everything!

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

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 book, Let It Be Easy: Simple Ways to Stop Stressing & Start Living, life coach Susie Moore shares insightful gems. Here’s one of my favorites:

Have you ever noticed the overuse of the word sorry, especially by women? We overapologize like crazy! Here are some easy replacements:

Instead of saying, “So sorry I’m a couple of minutes late,” you can say, “Thank you for waiting.”

Instead of saying, “Sorry I messed up,” you can say, “I’ll fix that right now, thanks for pointing it out.”

Instead of saying, “Sorry to bother you,” you can say, “Hey, do you have a moment?”

Saying “sorry” is often a reflex, but it doesn’t have to be. You’re meant to take up space in this world! There’s no prize for being small or unbothersome. Words have power. And so do you.

Source: Let It Be Easy, p. 268

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:

Do you put off doing things you do not enjoy? Perhaps it’s a maintenance appointment for the car, an unpleasant conversation, a mound of paperwork, paying bills, or a housekeeping chore you find especially laborious. When these things must be done, I encourage you to go ahead and do them. Get them over with. Do them early in the day when your energy level is highest, so you can focus on them and finish them.

Life comes with certain responsibilities. I think the best approach to life is to endeavor to enjoy absolutely everything we do, but when we need to do something we don’t enjoy, procrastinating accomplishes nothing. The longer you put off doing what needs to be done, the longer you will be tempted to dread doing it, and dread will drain your strength and your enjoyment of the present moment.

What have you delayed doing recently? Do your best to accomplish it today so that next time you think about it, you will not have to say, “I dread that.” Instead, you can say, “I did that!”

Source: Strength for Each Day by Joyce Meyer

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 an inspiring excerpt from Mary Morrissey’s recent release, Brave Thinking:

William H. Murray was a highly respected Scottish mountain climber who knew something about commitment—and courage. As a young man, he climbed some of the world’s tallest mountains.

As a soldier in World War II, he was captured and spent three years in prisoner of war camps. While in a German prison camp, using the only things he could find—rough toilet paper—he wrote a philosophical book about mountain climbing. The Gestapo discovered his manuscript and promptly destroyed it. When Murray began to write the book a second time, again on toilet paper, his fellow prisoners were amazed. The odds of his succeeding were almost nil. Murray’s health had deteriorated because of near starvation. He didn’t know if he would ever be strong enough to climb again. And should the Nazis find his second manuscript, he knew they would destroy it in an instant. And yet, both Murray and his book survived.

Emaciated after the war, Murray spent two years rebuilding his strength. Mountaineering in Scotland was published in 1947, rekindling national interest in mountain climbing. Murray himself went on to complete three landmark Himalayan expeditions, including the one that paved the way for Sir Edmund Hillary’s milestone ascent of Mount Everest in 1954.

Murray spent his later years as an environmentalist, determined to protect the Scottish Highlands that so inspired him.

Source: Brave Thinking, p. 153

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 blog post:

Embrace change and realize that, although messy, in many ways it’s necessary. It won’t always be obvious at first, but in the end most forms of change are worthwhile because they force us to grow. So keep yourself in check right now…

What you have today may become what you had by tomorrow. You never know. Things change, often spontaneously. People and circumstances come and go. Life doesn’t stop for anybody. It moves rapidly and rushes from calm to chaos in a matter of seconds, and happens like this to people every day. It’s likely happening to someone nearby right now.

Sometimes the shortest split second in time changes the direction of our lives. A seemingly innocuous decision rattles our whole world like a meteorite striking Earth. Entire lives have been swiveled and flipped upside down, for better or worse, on the strength of an unpredictable event.

And these events are always happening — like all the senseless violence and drama we see in our world today.

So just remember, however good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. Accept it. Breathe. Be where you are. You’re where you need to be right now. There’s a time and place for everything, and every hard step is necessary. Just keep doing your best, and don’t force what’s not yet supposed to fit into your life. When it’s meant to be, it will be.

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

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 an inspiring excerpt from Mary Morrissey’s recent release, Brave Thinking:

We live in a spiral galaxy that is governed by immutable laws. Our very DNA is a spiral. Like gravity, there is an unrelenting pull of being. We all have the capacity to grow into what we could be. This is life in action. It is the blade of grass pushing through that crack in the sidewalk, stretching into the next version of itself. That bit of green breaks through the cement seeking the light that causes it to grow. This is true for all of us because that same source of life—what I call the Infinite—lives inside us too.

You feel the pull when you notice and pay attention to it. Notice what you are noticing; tune your awareness to your emotions, thoughts, and bodily sensations. And in that place of awareness, you will be free to imagine a life you would love.

Source: Brave Thinking, p. 47

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.

Bestselling author Barbara O’Neal shared the following excellent advice in recent post on the Writer Unboxed blog:

A short time ago, a minister I knew passed away. We had not been in contact for quite a long time, but it was still piercing. He went too young, and it was a surprise, and as we all know, those are the deaths that catch us off guard, and I found myself thinking about him, about legacies, and what I learned from him. His most compelling physical trait was a twinkle in his eye, like he knew something magical he was about to impart.

And he did know magical things. The best thing I learned from him was something that keeps me company all the time:

What is mine to do?

What is MINE to do?

It’s a great phrase to keep in your back pocket. It can help sort out big and small questions alike: a busy holiday meal with too many people: what is mine to do here? Everything to make it the most perfect holiday of all time? Probably not. It’s probably more like feed everyone and make sure they all have a place to sit.

And a big question like, in writing, what is yours to do?

This is a pretty magical longing, this desire to write. Writing is healing, not just for you, but for the people who need your work, and I don’t mean in a self-help, elevated, or even literary way. Books don’t have to be mighty, big things to be powerful. Who among us has not been saved by a book, maybe many times?

I sure have been. So many times.

What is yours to do?

Who do you want to communicate with? Think about that. Maybe it’s your depressed, despairing 15- year-old self. Maybe it’s your professor from junior year in college, or your mom, or your future self, or the woman who is going through a divorce and doesn’t know how to get through it.

Elizabeth Gilbert wrote that book, Eat Pray Love, and the women who responded in such enormous numbers knew exactly what she was saying to them. She was saying, it’s going to be okay. You can do this. You will find magic if you are true to yourself.

Source: Writer Unboxed