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 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.

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.

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 author Claire Cook, I look forward to reading her monthly newsletter. Here are five tips she shared in the January 2025 newsletter:

Focus on the positive. Even during challenging and complicated and uncertain times, there’s so much beauty and kindness and fun out there. Don’t let the ugly stuff block your view.

Know when to let it go. Can you make a positive impact here? Can you add value? Can you change anything? If not, let it go. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Or even the big stuff. Save your energy for the places where you can make a difference.

Stop trying to fix other people. (It took me forever to learn this one!) Just let them be who they are, instead of trying to turn them into who you’d prefer them to be. It will free up a ton of time and everybody will be so much happier. It doesn’t work anyway—it really is true that you can only change yourself.

Go get it. Figure out who you really are. Focus on the life you really want and then create it. What brings you joy? What makes you feel alive? What makes you laugh? What holds your focus as the hours slip away? Quit making excuses and use that energy to make it happen instead.

Take one step. When you’re struggling and/or procrastinating, just take a single step in the direction you want to go. As the characters in The Wildwater Walking Club series know so well, even big changes happen one step at a time.

BONUS TIP: Just say no to drama. Challenging family dynamics? Toxic work situations? Fake friends who take advantage of your people-pleasing tendencies? Those of us who grew up in chaos can sometimes be attracted to drama like that proverbial moth to a flame. All that drama can feel normal to us. It takes two to tango, so don’t engage in the drama and see how much simpler and calmer your life gets.

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:

Ever feel a little overwhelmed? Or really overwhelmed?

This quick read is for YOU…

Once upon a time there was a man who had been lost in the desert for three whole days without water. Just as he was about to collapse, he saw what appeared to be a lake a few hundred yards in front of him. “Could it be? Or is it just a mirage?” he thought to himself.

With the last bit of strength he could muster, he staggered toward the lake and quickly learned that his prayers had been answered: it was no mirage — it was indeed a large spring-fed lake full of more fresh water than he could ever drink in his lifetime. Yet while he was practically dying of thirst, he couldn’t bring himself to drink the water. He simply stood by the water’s edge and stared down at it.

There was a passerby riding on a camel from a nearby desert town who was watching the man’s bizarre behavior. She got off her camel, walked up to the thirsty man and asked, “Why don’t you have a drink, sir?”

He looked up at the woman with an exhausted, distraught expression on his face and tears welling up in his eyes. “I think I’m dying of thirst,” he said, “But there is way too much water here in this lake to drink. No matter what I do, I can’t possibly finish it all.”

The passerby smiled softly, bent down, scooped some water up with her hands, lifted it to the man’s mouth and said, “Sir, your opportunity right now, and as you move forward throughout the rest of your life, is to understand that you don’t have to drink the whole lake to quench your thirst. You can simply take one sip — just one small sip… and then another if you choose. Focus only on the mouthful in front of you, and most of your anxiety, fear, and overwhelm about the rest will gradually fade.”

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