Month: April 2013

Let me let you in on a Secret…

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Are great writers made or born? I think it’s a combination of both. We’re all born with a gift. Whether it’s singing or dancing it’s in us from birth. What we do do nurture and grow those gifts is totally up to us. I think writing is the same way.  It took me some time to come out and call myself a writer. Don’t ask me why. It occurred to me that I had been writing for a living for over a decade, so why was I afraid to say it out loud? Well, I finally did. It felt good to own it. I think for a while I just thought that being a writer needed to be more glamorous. Silly me. I write for television. That’s pretty glam.

Writing for me has always been my outlet. I remember as a little girl, I would write songs. Those songs later turned into poems. I wrote books. I wrote just for the sake of writing. It was as if I had so much to say and the only way to get it out was to put pen to paper. I did that over and over again. I still do it. I’m a self proclaimed word nerd.

Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret. – Matthew Arnold

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My love of writing has taken me back to school post college more than a few times. I clearly have a crush on the written word. It’s been going on for decades. I think it’s getting serious. I think I’m one of the lucky ones because I found my passion early on. Even though it took me some time to acknowledge it. My other passion is helping people follow theirs. I have this strong desire to see people do what it is they want to do. I want so badly to see other people live the life of their dreams. Am I crazy? Maybe.

So tell me, what’s your crazy passion?

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If EVERY Dream Came True…

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Not too long ago, I was watching Behind the Music on VH1 and the artist featured was Ne-yo.

He had a pretty cool story about his struggle to get into the music business and life struggles overall. It’s always inspiring to see people come from less than ideal circumstances and make it. Whatever that “it” is. He was also promoting his latest album at the time. It’s called R.E.D. I hadn’t given the title much thought before. All the promotion for it seemed to be centered around the color red.

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During his Behind the Music episode he revealed that the name of his album is actually an acronym. R.E.D. stands for realizing every dream. He went on to explain that every dream he’d had for himself when he dreamed of being in the music business had actually come true. Then there were things in addition that he’d never even dreamed of. I thought that was pretty inspiring.

The fact that every dream he’d had has come true means that any good thing to happen in his career on top of what’s already happened is just more icing on a pretty fantastically iced up cake. It got me to thinking about my own dreams. Some of my dreams have definitely come true but not ALL of them. I couldn’t help but wonder what it must feel like to realize every last one of my dreams.

My guess is you then I’d be forced to dream even greater things for myself. Sounds like a hard knock life, huh? Not even!

Tell me, what are you doing to realize your dreams? Can you imagine if they ALL came true?

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Five Ways to Get Your Life

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“Storms make oaks take root.” – Proverb

There’s no doubt that no two people are the same. There is also no doubt that we all experience some of the same things. It’s been said that into every life some rain must fall. Well, there have been times where I felt like there was a storm cloud hovering over me with torrential downpours. It gets rough. I think we’ve all been there. How do we deal with it though? How do we move forward when it feels like everything in life has conspired to hold us back and keep us drenched?

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It can be hard to stay motivated and positive when all you see is anything but. Think about it this way, when it rains outside we tend to stay inside and rest, get things done, and do some thinking. The same things can apply to life’s storms. I think it’s fair to first have the “why me?”, “are you serious right now?” responses. After we’re done kicking rocks, let’s change it up.

Here are a few ways to make sure you come through the storm ready for what’s next:

  • Rest – literally just take some time to chill out. Drop whatever stress you can and regroup. Stressing doesn’t help us change a thing and it certainly doesn’t get us closer to our goals.
  • Help someone – this may be the best way to take your focus off of your own issues. Find somebody who is going through something and offer to help. Sometimes, it takes seeing somebody else’s stuff to realize you need to stop tripping!
  • Check your circle – make sure you’re hanging out with people that inspire and motivate you. If everyone around you is a Debbie Downer, they’ll take you down with them.
  • Believe in the bright side – know that things can’t be a mess forever. Believe that there is a silver lining and that you’ll see it. Every storm ends eventually.
  • Note it – what did you learn while in the storm? Use the lessons you learned to make you stronger! Cue Kanye… 

    What’s your tried and true way for dealing with a hard time? Anything to add to this list?

     

     

     

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Lesson Learned…Finally

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*This was originally published by me on Studio 30 Plus*

What makes a writer? I have seen this question asked in some form or another a lot lately. I’ve even asked the question of myself. It wasn’t until recently that I began to see myself as a writer. I’m not sure why it took me so long to come to this conclusion. I have been writing for my paycheck for years. I think I started writing for a living back in ’99. Why then did it take 2012 for me to just say it?

I don’t know if I thought that I hadn’t done enough to justify the title or if I thought people would have a negative reaction. I’m really not sure what it was that made me uncomfortable with calling a spade, a spade – a writer, a writer. I think I always saw myself in the same shoes as the singer who waits tables. She’s singing at weddings and other events but she doesn’t have a deal yet. That doesn’t make her any less a singer, right?

For me, I’ve always been a writer plus something else. My titles have always been writer/editorial asst or writer/producer, etc. I’d just go with the latter and ignore the writer portion. It’s so odd because the writing part is the part I love. It’s the writing that I’ve wanted to do as long as I can remember. I should have always been more than happy to share it.

Well it doesn’t matter how long it took me to get here, I’m here. I’m proudly sharing my title, my passion, my love – I’m a writer and it’s awesome! It’s lessons like this that I’m glad I’m learning so that my kids don’t have to. No need to make yourself less than what you are for the acceptance of others. It took me too long to figure that out.

Am I the only one who’s ever felt like this? Have you ever been in denial about your talents/gifts? Share in the comments.