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:

Living life on purpose rather than merely drifting aimlessly through one day after another is very important. We only get one life, and we should make it count. I encourage you to do something each day that adds value to someone else, and your day will be well spent.

We cannot live according to our feelings and behave wisely at the same time. Good choices often have nothing to do with emotions, so we need to learn to live beyond them. Enjoy the good feelings when they are present, but don’t let not having them control you. Live life on purpose.

Begin each day thinking about what you believe would be good choices to make, and don’t let yourself be distracted by useless things that steal your time and produce no good fruit.

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.

Whenever I’m pressed for time and face a daunting task, I pull up the following image on my screen:

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 email:

1. Do not let what is out of your control interfere with what you can control. Use your frustrations today to motivate you rather than annoy you. You are in control of the way you look at things. Truth be told, there is an opportunity in almost every difficult situation to understand yourself more deeply, and also to improve your life.

2. When life’s struggles knock you into a pit so deep you can’t see anything but darkness, don’t waste valuable energy trying to dig your way out. Because if you hastily dig in the dark, you’re likely to head in the wrong direction and only dig the pit deeper. Instead, use what energy you have to reach out and pull something good in with you. For goodness is bright; its radiance will show you which way is up, and illuminate the correct path that will take you there.

3. When you can no longer think of a reason to continue, you must think of a reason to start over. There’s a big difference between giving up and starting over in the right direction. And there are three little words that can release you from your past regrets and guide you forward to a positive new beginning.

These words are: From now on…

Again, you are NOT in control of everything, but you ARE in control of the way you respond to life. And in your present response is your power.

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.

Award-winning author Terri Trespicio shares this inspiring and entertaining story in her recent release, Unfollow Your Passion:

There’s a scene in Irving Stone’s The Agony and the Ecstasy, the famous historical novel about Michelangelo’s life, that I love.

The great sculptor is fourteen years old. He has been released from his painting apprenticeship and admitted to work in Lorenzo the Magnificent’s sculpture garden, which is where he’s been dying to be.

One of Michelangelo’s peers, a kid named Soggi, suggests they ditch this gig.

“Michelangelo, let’s you and I get out of here,” he says. “All this stuff is so…so impractical. Let’s save ourselves while there is still time…They’re never going to give us any commissions or money. Who really needs sculpture in order to live?”

“I do,” Michelangelo responds.

Soggi then lays out an argument that is as real today as it was in the 1400s. He says (I’m paraphrasing), Oh yeah? Where will we find work? What if Lorenzo dies? What if the garden closes? Who the heck needs a marble cutter? We can’t feed ourselves with that! It’d be much better to trade in pork or wine or pasta, things people need.

Michelangelo declines, of course. He says sculpture is not only at the top of his list; there is no list. That’s it.

Soggi quits. Their teacher, Bertoldo, says he knows people like Soggi, people who aren’t driven by love or affinity for the work, but by “the exuberance of youth,” he says. “As soon as this first flush begins to fade, they say to themselves, ‘Stop dreaming. Look for a reliable way of life.’”

Those people should leave—because the very fact that they see the work as optional means they’re not really there to do it.

“One should not become an artist because he can,” says Bertoldo, “but because he must.”

Source: Unfollow Your Passion, pp. 136-137

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 inspiring story from a recent email:

Once upon a time, a father guided his daughter into their home’s garage and said, “You just graduated and I want to give you something special. This is a car I bought a long time ago, and it’s very special to me. But before I give it to you, I want you to take it to a car dealer in the city and see how much money they’d offer you for it as a trade-in.”

The daughter came back to her father a few hours later and said, “They offered $1,000 because the car looks really old and can’t easily be sold in their showroom.”

The father replied, “Hold on to it until tomorrow and take it to the used car dealer near your apartment when you get a chance.”

The daughter returned to her father the next afternoon and said: “They only offered $500 because it’s a really old car, and it needs a new paint job and some other mechanical work the sales guy said.”

The father smiled and then asked his daughter to take a short drive with him in the car, to show the car to a passionate automobile club he used to belong to when he was younger.

When they arrived at the automobile club’s weekly meet-up, two people in the club immediately offered the daughter competing bids of $75,000 and then $80,000 in cash. Because, as one of the club members told her, “It’s an extremely rare car that is in good condition for it’s age, and super difficult to find in working order.”

Then the father turned to his daughter and said, “I just wanted to let you know that you are not worth anything if you do not know your own worth, and if you are not in the right place. So, whenever you are feeling unappreciated for a prolonged time, do not be angry; that simply means you are in the wrong place. Don’t stay in a place or situation where no one sees your value. And most importantly, don’t stay in a place or situation that prevents you from seeing your own value.”

Let this story sink in, and keep reminding yourself…

1. Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak, sometimes it means you are strong enough and smart enough to let go and move on to a better place.

2. Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.

3. When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.

4. Crying doesn’t indicate that you’re weak. Since birth, it has always been a sign that you are alive and full of present potential.

5. No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.

6. When other people treat you poorly, keep being you. Don’t ever let someone else’s bitterness or ignorance change the person you are.

7. Spend more time with those who see your worth, and less time with those who you feel pressured to impress…

And whatever you do, don’t wait around too long for things to change. New paths are made by walking, not waiting. And no, you shouldn’t feel any more confident before you take the next step. Taking the next step is what gradually builds your confidence.

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.

I highly recommend reading When You’re Ready, This is How You Feel by Brianna Wiest. Here’s an inspiring and thought-provoking excerpt:

If fortune favors the brave, then it also prefers the bold.

Not only do you need to have a strong vision about what you want to create next in your life, you also need to be ambitious. You need to think beyond the limits of your current perspective. You need to be daring.

This isn’t just because aiming higher inevitably raises your expectations overall, but also because boldness often tells you what you’re actually capable of, though you might not yet believe it.

If you’re willing to believe that something might be possible for you—it already is.

The virtue of you even being willing to consider it means that it’s somewhere within your realm of possibility already. It’s just a matter of first realizing it, and then acting on it.

Source:When You’re Ready, This is How You Feel, p. 114.

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:

Have you fallen into a rut of negativity lately? Perhaps you are tired or dealing with a situation that causes prolonged stress, and you feel your joy is at an all-time low. I want to encourage you to take life one day at a time, so just for today, determine to get your joy back by thinking positively about every circumstance in your life.

You can begin to stir up your joy by realizing that any situation could be worse than it is and knowing that you are not alone in your struggle. People everywhere face challenges, and some are dealing with circumstances far worse than anything you or I could even think of.

Next, in everything you face today, ask yourself, “What is one good thing about what I am going through right now?” Or, “Where can I find just a little bit of joy in this situation, just for this day?”

I do understand that some situations are intensely difficult, sad, or emotionally draining. In those cases, simply whispering “God will never leave me or forsake me. He is with me” will help turn negative thoughts to positive ones. Whatever your circumstances are today, decide to think positively about them—and watch your joy increase. Tomorrow is another day, and you can do the same thing all over again.

Source: Strength for Each Day by Joyce Meyer