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 are eight tips to inspire and motivate writers:
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 recent release, Consider This: Reflections for Finding Peace, bestselling author Nedra Glover Tawwab shares inspiring advice for setting boundaries, rising above drama, and expressing ourselves with clarity and integrity. Here’s a thought-provoking reflection:
Time can’t be rushed.
Patience is the only choice, even when you don’t like it. People lament, “I need to be patient.” But you actually have no choice. You will either wait calmly, or you will wait in a mood. Either way, you will wait. Perhaps, what you need is to feel calmer or less moody.
Sometimes, this means allowing for extra time when you plan.
Traffic will take time.
Waiting on others will take time.
Progress on a goal will take time.
Who you become while waiting matters. Do you complain? Do you pace? Do you check the time repeatedly? Do you try to speed things up secretly, knowing you can’t? How do you handle something you can’t control?
You will have to wait on some things. Your job is determining who you will be while practicing patience.
Source: Consider This, p. 171.
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.
If you’re stuck and need a few writing rules…
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, The Art of Doing, Jesse Lipscombe shares simple and straight-forward tools that can help transform our lives. Here’s an inspiring excerpt:
Which lion in your life do you need to slay? So often our hesitation to say yes to a new challenge or opportunity is rooted in fear. We attach so much fear to the unknown and worry about the potential negative outcomes of trying something new. We give so much weight to events in our past, but we don’t give the same amount of weight of those possibilities in the future. We all have lions standing in our way. Now, if those lions were real, then our fear would serve a purpose, but in most cases they are imaginary. They are feelings that we didn’t like and we don’t want to feel again. We are so scared of our lion that we let it steal the joy from everything that comes after it.
Find your lion. Take the time to ask yourself what really frightens you. Locate it and slay it. Find the courage to roar in its face, “Not this time, big kitty. Not this time.” If not only for yourself, slay it for those who are watching you. Show them it’s possible to be brave in the face of fear. Let them know that even though the fearful feelings are very real, they do not have permission to rob you of the future you know you deserve.
Source: The Art of Doing, pp. 53-54
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 a recent post on the Writer Unboxed blog, author Rachel Toalson shared the personal benefits of finishing what we start. Here’s an excerpt from that post:
Confidence is a huge benefit, isn’t it? Writers regularly struggle with self-doubt. Am I good enough? Can I do this? Do I have what it takes to be successful in this industry?
Seeing a project through to the end helps us overcome our persistent self-doubt. We prove that we are good enough (though that never changes; even if we don’t finish our projects, we are always good enough). We can do this. We have what it takes.
Sure, the finished project may not look quite like what we wanted and envisioned, but we persevered, and that’s what really matters—because revision is where the magic happens anyway (so be sure to start and finish that piece of the project, too). We can be proud of our efforts at whatever stage we start and finish.
Finishing our projects consistently also develops our creative discipline, which helps us overcome writing resistance. Remember the dopamine? We want to do the things that give us pleasure.
Writing is a discipline. Just like I train my body and endurance as a runner and I get out there and slog through even my unenjoyable runs, we train our minds and creativity and sharpen our writing skills by writing consistently—and seeing a project through to the end.
And lastly, finishing our projects underlines our own credibility. We can have faith in ourselves that not only can we do it, but also we will do it.
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 recent release, Consider This: Reflections for Finding Peace, bestselling author Nedra Glover Tawwab shares inspiring advice for setting boundaries, rising above drama, and expressing ourselves with clarity and integrity. Here’s a thought-provoking reflection:
If I always do everything my way, it leaves little space for me to learn how to do things in a new way.
If everyone around me thinks like me, I only see one viewpoint.
Thinking like me is just one way, not the only way.
Of course, in practice, it can be hard to accept our differences with others.
But expecting people to be just like us is a recipe for disappointment. Assuming people have the same abilities, desires, or preferences leaves little room for individuality.
“If it were me, I would…” is a phrase often used to imply that others should do as you do.
A “my way is best” or “my way is the only way” type of thinking does not build connection with others. It breeds conflict and resentment.
We are similar and not the same.
Different paths can lead to good outcomes.
Diversity is about being open to differences even when they are not familiar to you.
Source: Consider This, p. 73.
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, When Your Past is Hurting Your Present, author Sue Augustine encourages her readers to view failure as a teacher. Here’s an inspiring excerpt:
It might surprise you to know how many people fail before they reach their goals or experience success. Here is a list of people who were considered failures at some point in their lives:
Fred Astaire was described at an early screen test with the words, “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Balding. Can dance a little.”
Elvis Presley was fired after just one show at the Grand Ole Opry and told, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, son!”
Albert Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read. He performed badly in almost all of his high-school courses. He flunked his college exams and was advised by a teacher to drop out of school. She said, “You’ll never amount to anything, Einstein.”
Louisa May Alcott, who authored Little Women and numerous other novels, was told by an editor she’d never write anything that had popular appeal.
The legendary tenor Enrico Caruso was told by a voice teacher that he couldn’t sing at all.
Leo Tolstoy (author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, among others) flunked out of college.
At age ten, famous artist Pablo Picasso stopped going to school because he was barely able to read or write. His father yanked him out of school and hired a tutor, but the tutor soon gave up and quit in disgust.
A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney, saying he lacked creativity and good ideas.
Admiral Richard E. Byrd had been retired from the navy as “unfit for service” until he flew over the North and South Poles.
What does all this mean to us? It means we are in good company when we have a flop or produce a dud now and then. It also means that mistakes, failure, and setbacks are not the end of the world. They certainly don’t signify that we aren’t capable of going on to accomplish great things.
Source: When Your Past is Hurting Your Present, pp. 170-171.
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:
When we’re losing our motivation and feeling down and unsure of everything — we need to wake ourselves up and remember…
1. To trust the journey, even when we do not understand it.
2. To accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in the road ahead.
3. To start exactly where we are, use what we have, and do what we can, one step at a time.
4. To look for the blessings hidden in every struggle we face, and be willing to open our hearts and minds to them.
5. To recognize our backpack of support — our external sources of hope and motivation — before a random guru (or someone with far more crooked intentions) has to steal it from us so that we can finally see what we have always taken for granted.
6. To be present and tap into our own hearts and minds — our internal sources of hope and motivation — which have the power to push us back up on our feet and guide us down the road to our backpack of support, even when it appears to be lost forever.
7. To laugh at the confusion, live consciously in the moment, and appreciate the lessons found at each twist and turn.
8. To not compare our progress with that of others, and accept that we all need our own time to travel our own distance.
9. To see how many of the things we never wanted or expected ultimately turn out to be what we need.
10. To be OK with not ending up exactly where we intended to go, while opening ourselves up to the possibility of eventually arriving precisely in the right place at the right time.
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.
Sometimes, the hardest part of writing is simply getting started. Here are ten quotations to help you get over that motivational hump:
“If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” ~Margaret Atwood
“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.” ~William Faulkner
“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” ~Anne Frank
“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” ~Barbara Kingsolver
“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” ~Louis L’Amour
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” ~Jack London
“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” ~Toni Morrison
“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.” ~Norman Vincent Peale
“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” ~Jodi Picoult
“Start before you’re ready.” ~Steven Pressfield
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 recent release, Consider This: Reflections for Finding Peace, bestselling author Nedra Glover Tawwab shares inspiring advice for setting boundaries, rising above drama, and expressing ourselves with clarity and integrity. Here’s a thought-provoking reflection:
Stay on your side of the street.
Visiting botanical gardens is one of my favorite pastimes. Large gardens require lots of care and attention. Instead of trying to increase the size of my own garden, I’m satisfied with admiring the lush escapes of the beautiful gardens across the nation.
Sometimes, the lives of others can seem so attractive that you’ll start to believe you are supposed to do the same thing. You will know it’s wrong for you, however, when you do it and immediately find yourself feeling dissatisfied.
Find where you have talents, and go after what you enjoy. Don’t buy into the idea that to be satisfied, you must do or have what others do or have. Rather than mimic others, find what is unique to you.
Source: Consider This, p. 63.
Joanne Guidoccio 