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

Step Forward to Whatever Is Calling You

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 strong doses of inspiration and motivation, I reread the following excerpt from You’ve Got This! by Margie Warrell:

Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh once wrote that it is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they’re not. So, if you are struggling with the fact that something in your world has shifted in a direction you don’t much like, consider what it is about your life right now, today, that you are not savoring fully given that it too, one day, will be gone.

To experience the richness of life, to dive deep into its waters and to avoid the perils of living only in its shallows, we must embrace its inherent impermanence, and open our hearts wide to whatever each moment holds—for all that it is and, every bit as importantly, for all that it isn’t. No thing is permanent. Every thing eventually falls away. Our children will grow up and leave home. Our parents die. Our firm bodies soften. Our vision dims.

Because life is the way that it is, it cannot stay the way it is.

Anything we cannot control is teaching us to let go. So don’t wait until the ground feels fully solid beneath you. Rather, feel grounded in yourself and step forward to whatever is calling you. Because those windows of opportunity that you see right now, they too shall one day close. And that surge of life energy beating within you, that too shall one day end. As Elisabeth Kubler-Ross wrote, “it is the denial of death that is partially responsible for people living empty, purposeless lives; for when you live as if you’ll live forever, it becomes too easy to postpone the things you know that you must do.”

Source: You’ve Got This! pp. 177-179

Maintaining Perspective

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 blog post, “How to Safely Enjoy the Pandemic Holidays,” Lori Deschene shares several suggestions. Here’s her take on the importance of maintaining perspective:

As with everything in life, this is all temporary. Things won’t always be this way. These challenges, these feelings, they won’t last forever. We will eventually get through this and will be able to live more freely. Though life won’t be exactly the same for many, we will find a new normal and new reasons to smile as we adapt to life as it evolves.

It may be hard to see that now. It may seem like this earthquake of an experience will send shockwaves for years, and we’ll never find our footing again. But we are amazingly resilient as people. Odds are you’ve been through some deeply trying experiences in your life, and you’ve come out stronger, wiser, and maybe even enriched for having gone through what you’ve been through.

Trust that, you will not only get through this, you will have many more reasons to smile, and many more holidays to celebrate with the people you love. This year will one day be a crazy story in all of our rear-view mirrors, so long as we keep driving, cautiously, on this somewhat treacherous road before us.

Read the rest of her post here.

Stop Hovering Ten Feet Above Your Dream

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 jolt of inspiration from bestselling author Bob Goff:

Next time you’re in an airplane, take notice of what happens right before you touch down. The pilot decelerates the plane—sometimes they even cut the engines after they get over the numbers at the end of the runway. When they do this, the plane is still hovering around ten or fifteen feet above the ground.

Have you ever wondered why the plane seems to float there over the runway for a while before touching down? It’s a phenomenon called “ground effect.” The wind traveling past the underside of the wing pushes against the ground and then pushes up against the wing from below. When you’re pursuing your ambitions, you can experience some ground effect too. It can keep you ten feet over your ambitions.

There’s something safe and comforting about the planning process, isn’t there? This happens to our ambitions all the time. The last step in this process is to stop all the planning already. Book the flight. Buy the ring. Host the first meeting in your living room. Whatever it is, stop hovering ten feet above your dream. You’re going to need to pitch forward a little more and get your wheels on the ground.

As you do this, don’t aim for perfection; look for proof that your ambition is taking shape in the world. Don’t think it will all go smoothly. Be ready for the jolt when you touch down. Block out all the reasons this could go wrong or why you shouldn’t try. Your ambition is worth it. All of it. It’s worth every sacrifice you’ll make to turn your idea to reality.

Source: Dream Big, pp. 200-201

There is Potential for Greatness in You

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 excerpt from today’s devotional in Trusting God Day by Day (Joyce Meyer):

Having potential doesn’t necessarily mean that it is absolutely going to happen. It just means that it can happen if we add the other right “ingredients” along with it. For instance, if I have a cake mix on the shelf in my kitchen, then I have the potential of having a cake. But just because that cake mix is on my shelf doesn’t guarantee that I am going to have cake. There are some things I must do to get it from a mix on the shelf to a cake on the table.

It’s the same with us. Many people today are wasting their potential because they are not developing what God has placed in them. Instead of developing what they have, they worry about what they don’t have, and their potential is wasted. They could have done something great, but they let the opportunity pass them by. You can make a difference in the world if you will develop what you have. But it takes time, determination, and hard work to develop potential into action or a result.

We are never fulfilled until we become all we can be. Each of us has a destiny, and unless we are pressing toward fulfilling it, we will be frustrated in life. Moving up to the next level requires a decision to press on, to let go of what lies behind, and refuse to be mediocre. I believe God wants to do more with your life than you ever imagined. I also believe God is looking for people to promote. You can be one of them. There is potential for greatness in you!

Source: Trusting God Day by Day, pp. 409-410

All the Little Things Make a Big Difference

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

Life isn’t about a single moment of great triumph and attainment. It’s about the trials and errors that get you there—the blood, sweat, and tears—the small, inconsequential things you do every day. It all matters in the end—every step, every regret, every decision, and every affliction.

The seemingly useless happenings add up to something. The minimum wage job you had in high school. The evenings you spent socializing with coworkers you never see anymore. The hours you spent writing thoughts on a personal blog that no one reads. Contemplations about elaborate future plans that never came to be. All those lonely nights spent reading novels and news columns and comics strips and fashion magazines and questioning your own principles on life and sex and religion and whether or not you’re good enough just the way you are.

All of this has strengthened you. All of this has led you to every success you’ve ever had. All of this has made you who you are today.

Truth be told, you’ve been broken down 1,000 times and put yourself back together again. Think about how remarkable that is, and how far you’ve come. You’re not the same person you were a year ago, a month ago, or even yesterday.

You’re always growing…stronger!

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

Burn On, Not Out

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 one of my Go-To excerpts from today’s devotional in Trusting God Day by Day (Joyce Meyer):

Are you saying “yes” with your mouth while your heart is screaming “no”? If so, you will eventually be stressed-out, burned-out, and possibly sick. We just cannot go on like that forever without ultimately breaking down under the strain.

No matter how many people you please, there will always be someone who will not be pleased. Learn that you can enjoy your life even if everyone does not think you are wonderful. Don’t be addicted to approval from people; if God approves, that is all that really matters.

Being committed is very good, but being overcommitted is very dangerous. Know your limits and don’t hesitate to say “no” if you know that you need to. God has assigned a life span to each of us, and although we don’t know exactly how long we have on earth, we should certainly desire to live out the fullness of our years. We want to burn on, not burn out. We should live with passion and zeal, not with exhaustion; we should be good examples to others.

Source: Trusting God Day By Day, pp. 392-393

Edit with Murder on Your Mind

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.

I highly recommend reading The Memoir Project by Marion Roach Smith. In this insightful guidebook, Marion urges us to write with intent. Here’s her take on editing:

The goal of a good edit is for the piece to read like a sleigh ride: smooth and fast. It can, if not a word is extra, not a phrase is flabby. Here’s the razor-sharp rule: If you find yourself skimming a sentence or paragraph, thinking the reader will enjoy herself later, forget it. That’s not how readers work, and never how editors read. They don’t say, “I bet this will get good soon, so I’ll keep plowing.” If editors and readers have one thing in common, it’s that they bail out at the first sign of trouble, when the writing appears to be out of control.

And who can blame them? There is always something else to read.

The most basic rule of editing is that if you can’t bear to read it, no one else can either. So, when you find yourself skimming, commit murder.

Source: The Memoir Project by Marion Roach Smith, p. 109

Only a Minute Away

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.

Bestselling author Bob Goff shares a unique perspective on a historical event in his recent release, Dream Big:

On December 17, 1903, after years of tinkering and experimenting, two brothers named Wilbur and Orville Wright changed history by making a successful powered flight over the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The precise moment in time when Orville and Wilbur pulled away from the earth was 10:35 in the morning. It was the moment we knew sustained flight was possible. Before that minute, no one knew what would happen. Nearly everyone doubted that it could be done. I’ve always wondered to myself what Orville and Wilbur were thinking a minute before they launched at 10:34. We all wonder the same thing about our ambitions at some point. Will our ambitions fly, or will they crash and burn?

Nobody lives at 10:35. You don’t, and I don’t. We all live our lives and execute our ambitions at 10:34. We don’t know how our lives will turn out, much less whether our ideas are going to work out or not. I meet so many people in my travels, good people with great ideas, but many of them never take their ideas out of the hangar. The reason is simple. They’re afraid of what they’ll do if it works or afraid they’ll look bad if it doesn’t.

Perhaps it’s validation that has you stopped a minute early. Maybe you’re concerned about a big public failure, or maybe the thought of an even bigger private failure is keeping you from trying. Somehow the clock became frozen at 10:34 in your life. The good news is this; 10:35 is only a minute away from happening for each of us. That one minute is a small amount of time, but it can represent a huge shift in your life. It just requires a willingness to fail.

Source: Dream Big, pp. 162-163

Blooming Has No Deadline

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 is an inspirational excerpt from You’ve Got This! by best-selling author Margie Warrell:

If you’re in your forties or fifties or sixties or far beyond, refuse to let the number of years you’ve been alive be your excuse for not taking the actions you might wish you’d taken years ago; the actions that would add a whole new dimension to your life today. As Rich Kaarlgard wrote in Late Bloomers, “Blooming has no deadline. Our future story is written in pencil, not carved in stone. It can be changed. There is no fixed chronology to self-determination, no age limit for breakthroughs.”

Julia Child was 49 when she wrote her first cookbook.

Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t start writing until her forties, and didn’t pen Little House on the Prairie until she was in her sixties.

Vera Wang was 39 before she started designing clothes.

Colonel Harland Sanders was in his sixties when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Diana Nyad was 64 when, after four failed attempts spanning 36 years, she finally achieved her long-held ambition of swimming the infamous channel of shark-ridden waters from Cuba to Florida (without a shark cage).

So whatever your age, whatever your situation, whatever the setbacks you’ve faced or the heartaches you’ve nursed or the stories you’ve told yourself about who you are and what you can do (or what you cannot do), decide right now that you will not settle for a life (career, relationships, etc.) that doesn’t light you up. More so, that you will set your sights on whatever vision—however humble or scarily huge—that does light you up. Research shows that while we lose some abilities as we grow older, the benefits of those we gain far exceed any that are lost. So rather than ask, “What can I accomplish despite my struggles?” ask yourself, “What can I accomplish because of them?”

Source: You’ve Got This! pp. 50-51

Why the Small Story Matters

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.

Chuck Wendig’s informative guide, Damn Fine Story, contains a mix of personal stories, pop fiction examples, and excellent advice about storytelling. Here’s one of my favorite excerpts:

We don’t really care about the big story. We think we do. We think we care about the Empire versus the Rebel Alliance, we think we care about Spider-Man versus the Vulture, we think we care about Buffy versus the Vampires.

But we don’t. Not really. Not deeply.

What we care about is the small story embedded in there, the small story that’s the beating heart of the larger one. We care about the characters and their personal drama. We care about their families, their loved ones, their struggles to feel normal, their attempts to do right in the face of wrong. We care about Buffy wanting to fall in love and hang out with her friends and not fail out of school. We care that the villains fighting Spider-Man are often connected to him personally, and that they reflect some aspect of his troubled journey from a geeky high school student to a city-saving mutant. We care about the friendships that form between Luke, Leia, and Han.

We care because they care.

We care because their story is our story. Our story is one of friendships and family, of love lost and jealousy made, of birth and death and everything in-between.

A big story without a small story has all the substance of a laser light show. It’s pretty. It’s dazzling. And it’s very, very empty.

Look for the little story.

Look for the story about people.

Source: Damn Fine Story, pp. 79-80.