Month: January 2012

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What I Learned From Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of Eat, Pray, Love

January 30, 2012 jcladyluv

I was watching Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday yesterday morning and she had Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, on for a portion of the show. I got a lot of things from listening to her story or self-discovery. She talked about moments of stillness and being able to listen to that voice inside ourselves that we tend to keep ignoring. But one of the things that I was not expecting to hear was her discussing the power of saying no.

So many times you hear people advise others that we say no too often and we end up shutting ourselves off to many opportunities that we weren’t receptive too. But on the flip side, there are those of us who spend so much time taking care of everyone else, and being there for everyone else, that we end up taking ourselves for granted. Elizabeth Gilbert spoke about having to learn how to say No to people and learning how to not feel guilty about it.

We all have experienced having those around us that just literally suck the life out of us. They probably don’t do it intentionally (although some do) but their constant need to lean on you and their constant expectation that you will always be there no matter what can drain you emotionally and eventually physically. Sometimes we really do need to just stand up for our own emotional health and say no when we need to. That’s not saying that we can’t ever be there for the people who need us again. That’s saying that you have to be there for you first. Until tomorrow…Take some time out for you and don’t feel guilty about the no’s you will have to say in order to do it.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

10 Commandments of a Successful Writer

January 28, 2012 jcladyluv

Today I started thinking of things that I could do to be a better, more successful writer. Things that I am not already doing or that I am not doing enough of. I began thinking if there were Ten Commandments for a writer what would they be. So I compiled a list of some things that I think should be a commandment for a writer to follow, at least one that wants to be successful at it.

Write Every Day (No Matter What!)
Start a blog and blog frequently, if not everyday
Make your presence known on the internet. If you don’t have one already, get a Facebook page, a Twiiter account, and a LinkedIn account.
Maintain your presence on the internet by committing yourself to social networking daily
Read about the Business of writing and your craft. You can never know too much about what it is you love to do
Trust your talent and your skill. If you don’t believe in your talent, who else will
Get a thick skin because there will be rejection letters, probably more than you would ever like to see, but you have to keep believing in your talent.
Read consistently. You have to be a great reader to be an even better writer.
Network with other artists, not just writers
Start calling yourself a writer to the rest of the world because you are one.

Well the list probably isn’t perfect but those are definitely some things that I know that I need to work on to become a better and more successful writer. What would you guys add to this list or better yet, what would your list read? Until tomorrow…Always strive to be a better writer than you were yesterday!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

The Power of Believing

January 27, 2012 jcladyluv

“The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.”

~Frank Lloyd Wright

I was watching The Talk earlier today and they were going around their table asking if anyone believed in psychics. There was one woman that said she didn’t, two women who were proud to say that they do, and the other two women who said that they believed in psychics but that they would never give into that belief by actually going to see one. I sat there watching as a person who does believe in them. I will even admit that I actually got a reading from one a long time ago and it was pretty accurate (for the most part). I got to thinking why it is that some people don’t believe, some people believe whole heartedly, and some believe but don’t want to give into their belief.

The power of what you believe in can carry you through many things in life. Just as well, the power of you not believing can carry a lot of weight too. When it comes to your life, your goals, and your dreams, you have to believe. No one else can believe in your dreams for you. The question is how strong is your belief in you? I think that people (like me) who believe in psychics, believe because they want to have a road map of how things are going to turn out. They want to know if what they want out of life is going to become a reality. They want someone, in this case a psychic, to give them something to believe in, some kind of assurance. They want that psychic to give them a reason to believe. But a psychic can’t really do the believing for you. That’s all up to you.

You know they say that all you need to do to make your dreams come true is to believe that they can. No one has a magic crystal ball where they can look and tell you whether or not what you believe in will come to fruition. There’s no way of knowing whether or not all of your hard work will pay off. But there is power in believing. We have to remember that no matter how hard the obstacles may seem to get or how impossible they might seem to overcome, nothing is more powerful then the belief that we have in ourselves and in our dreams. Until tomorrow…How powerful is your belief in your dreams?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Make a Pledge To Yourself Today

January 26, 2012 jcladyluv

Okay so I wasn’t really sure what I was going to post about tonight but then as luck would have it I came across something that someone had given me a long time ago. It was a pledge that they had made up for themselves to remind themselves of the goals they have and that they should never give up on them and to strive to better the next day and the day after that. I believe I was having one of those days where I was doubting everything about me and my dreams and my capability of making them happen. So they passed this on to me to lift my spirits and so that I can be reminded by looking at these words every time that I needed to be reminded. So I decided that I would pass these same words along to you. I hope that you get at much out of these words as I have gotten.

A Pledge To Myself

Today I pledge

To be the best possible me

No matter how good I am

I know that I can become better

Today I pledge

To build up the work of yesterday

Which will lead me into

The rewards of tomorrow

Today I pledge

To feed my mind knowledge

My body strength,

And my spirit faith

Today I pledge

To reach new goals,

New challenges

And new horizons

Today I pledge

To listen to the beat of my drummer

Who leads me onward in search of my dreams

Today I pledge to believe in ME

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Planting One Seed At a Time

January 25, 2012 jcladyluv

“Most of the time multitasking is an illusion. You think you are multitasking, but in reality you’re actually wasting time switching from one task to another.”

~ Bosco Tjan

There always seems to be a message of inspiration for me in some part of every day. Whether it’s in the conversations that I have with Ms. L. (which frankly always hold some source of inspiration), or something that is being said by someone in the gym I go to or on TV, or even if it’s sent in an email. Yesterday there so happened to be an email that I felt spoke directly to me. It was one of Tyler Perry’s Inspirational Corner Messages that he sends out to everyone who is on his email listing. It was a message on how to become successful. It was right on the money and exactly what I needed to hear.

He spoke about his success being due to the grace of God. He spoke about narrowing your focus and planting your seeds. He essentially said that when it comes to the success that we want out of life for ourselves, all we can do is plant the seed in the ground, water it, and believe. He advised that to be successful one must narrow their focus and concentrate on one thing at a time, one idea. That one idea, once made a success, will give birth to all of your other ideas. If you spend time spreading water over too many seeds you don’t have as much water for one seed, that one seed that you feel is most important to bloom.

I realized then the reason why I have been feeling so lost lately within my writing. Ever since this year has started, I have felt so much pressure (that I placed on myself) to tackle everything on my goal list. Trying to figure out how I am going to work on all of these different projects that I want to get done over the course of this year all essentially at one time. The rational response is that of course I can’t work on all of my projects at once but the overachiever that lives inside of me wants so badly for it to be possible. I’ve been wasting so much time trying to work out a plan in my head to make it happen which has resulted in me getting nothing done at all.

I must narrow my focus. I must take what is the most important thing to me and concentrate on how I can make that work and make that successful. Once I thought about concentrating on that one thing, I didn’t feel so lost anymore. My direction became a little clearer. If I focus on becoming the well known author that I was meant to be and acquire the agent that I am seeking to find for my next novel, then all of my other ideas will come to fruition.

I always thought that if I could be really good at multitasking than I could get everything accomplished relatively at once. However, it hasn’t been working that way so I must shift my efforts to something different, something that is going to work. Multitasking, I think works for those who have already reached that level of success that they strived to get to. When you are just trying to get to that level of success you must narrow your focus. I must narrow my focus and plant one seed at a time and give each individual seed a chance to bloom in their own time. Until tomorrow…Focus on that one seed and the rest will eventually bloom!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

With Age Comes Wisdom

January 24, 2012 jcladyluv

I am not sure whether or not I have gotten smarter over the years but I do believe that as each year has passed by I have gotten wiser. At the gym that I have been a member of for almost three years now there are mostly older women and men that attend, mostly in the age range of about fifty and sixty. I listen to the stories they tell about the places they’ve been in life and the things they’ve seen. I hear them recount the trials and tribulations that they have endured and I take in the stories and experiences that they share. I listen and I would like to think that I am wiser for the information that I have taken in.

I have heard many quotes and sayings about wisdom but the one that I gravitate to the most is that wisdom comes from a willingness to be a student of life. It comes from a willingness to be a life long learner. Wise people learn that success does not come from a certain set of circumstances, but rather, from a certain set of attitudes. Listening to the older people I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by has allowed me to change certain things about myself. I’ve learned a lot from them but mostly I learned that success does stem from your attitude and not necessarily your circumstances.

The older people I talk to daily have had some terrible circumstances and many tragic things that they have endured but they didn’t let their circumstances dictate how they journeyed on. Their attitudes were that of survival and moving past those circumstances and learning from them. So many times people (myself included) let their circumstances control the outcome of their lives instead of having the attitude of resilience. I think that I have made progress on adjusting my attitude and my reaction to certain circumstances and it is because I have gained more wisdom in the last few years from the older generation of people that I have come into contact with than I could ever possibly get only going to an institution for learning.

I think that I have become that student of life and have grown more than a willingness to be a life long learner. I learn, not just from school and the books that I read or the information I research, but I learn from living and from those who have lived life a long time before me. It is good to be intelligent but being wise is something totally different. If you just keep repeating the same mistakes and behaviors then you aren’t very wise because you haven’t learned from what you have already lived through. It is my hope that we all not only strive to become smarter but also wiser because with time being so precious, we have to be wise enough to not make the same mistake twice. Until tomorrow…Remember that fools learn nothing from wise men but wise men learn much from fools!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Let Providence Be Your Guide

January 23, 2012 jcladyluv

I was watching Oprah’s Master Class last night and this particular episode was about Morgan Freeman and his long journey to success. He spoke a lot of letting Providence be your guide. I know that this is going to sound funny but I had never really heard of that saying and I didn’t quite understand what it meant. I mean I realized what meaning it had by the context he was using it in throughout the telling of his life lessons but I still (being the constant researcher that I am) had to go to Google and read more about this Providence. In short, it refers to God’s extraordinary intervention in the life of people.

When Morgan Freeman continually mentioned Providence intervening at the right moments in his life he spoke of the countless times that he might have been leaning towards making wrong, or worse, desperate decisions to maintain a somewhat decent living while in search for his dream that frankly took way longer to come to fruition than he would’ve liked. He spoke about his attempt in joining the Air Force in which case he quickly realized he wasn’t cut out for that. Providence had intervened.

He talked about his attempts at being a ‘clerk typists’ and working for this company as a temp. When he tried to get the job full time the hiring manager told him that that was not what he was supposed to be doing, and that he was supposed to be an Actor. Providence had intervened again. He spoke of his collecting unemployment and having to search for a typical, clerk typist job which kept him from looking for acting jobs. He said that he had gotten frustrated enough to go to the supervisor of the employment agency and told her that by them making him look for typical work that he just wasn’t meant for, they were keeping him from being who he truly was, an actor. She approved his benefits anyway and gave him six months to get an acting job. Providence intervened again. There were countless other people in his life that ‘intervened’ with him trying to lead a mediocre existence and steered him even further towards what he was born to do.

In the beginning of the program he made a statement about things happening as they should and that you are going to have those certain times in your life where you think that you should have been doing something else, something more, but that’s not necessarily so. He said that you probably should be doing whatever it is you’re doing, just to do your best at it. I thought about that, and the fact that I always feel like I should be in a much different place, a much better place. But in listening to the life lessons of Morgan Freeman, a man who didn’t really come into his career until he was around the age of fifty (although I really hope it doesn’t take me that long), I realized that he’s right.

I mean I would like to not have gone through a lot of the things I’ve gone through in life. I’ve had opportunities pass by me that just seemed like they should have been mine but somehow didn’t pan out. Perhaps that was Providence also intervening in my life. Without all of the things that I have gone through, those things I sit and wonder ‘why me’ about, would I be the person I am right now. Would I be as strong, as determined, as persistent? Would I be this much of a fighter? I don’t know that I would be if I hadn’t had all of these tests and obstacles along my journey.

Perhaps Providence has protected me from something I might not have been ready for. Maybe the opportunities that passed me by weren’t really mine to begin with. Maybe I should just do the best at what I’m doing now and be the best writer that I can be right now, in this moment, and let Providence guide me. Maybe we all should let that spiritual force be the guide that steers us in the direction that we should be going, not necessarily in the direction we think we should be going. Until tomorrow…Take stock in what you are doing now, it most likely is right where you should be.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Knowing is Half the Battle

January 21, 2012January 21, 2012 jcladyluv

One of the things I struggle most with when it comes to writing is my consistence in the art of procrastination. As much as I want other writers out there to buckle down and plant their butts in a chair and as much as I tell myself the same thing, lately it seems like any minor distraction can deter me from writing, mostly the TV.

I think I might be addicted to television. I mean even if I turn the sound down on the TV it doesn’t help but if I turn the TV off then it’s too quiet and I can’t focus when it is too quiet, I need some modicum of sound. And it’s not as if I watch TV for the sheer enjoyment of watching it (at least not most of the shows I watch) but rather I watch it from the standpoint of a writer. I watch the storylines and pay close attention to the dialogue and analyze it in my head as to what I, as a writer, could bring to that TV show or movie.

I am going into detail about the distraction of TV because although I have many other distractions that just come with everyday life and being a mom, the TV is basically my kryptonite and sometimes (not all the time) it weakens my desire to write. Well now that I’ve been honest with myself and you, hopefully I can take the proper steps to resolve the issue of that distraction.

I think when I used to go to Borders to do my writing it got me away from the TV and I felt inspired sitting in the bookstore surrounded by all of these great writers (I mean of the books on the shelves) and it just made me want to work harder. Ever since they closed down Borders I haven’t had anywhere to retreat to get away from the distractions of being home with the TV. I guess I have to find another place now where I can get away and still feel inspired.

I suppose this means I’m not one of those writers who can do my work 100% from the comfort of my home. I guess getting out of my home office will also help me to network with other writers as well. Now that I figured out why I haven’t been writing much lately I know exactly what I need to do to fix it. Well knowing is half of the battle isn’t it? Until tomorrow…It’s good to know your flaws and your weaknesses, because if you don’t know what they are you can’t fix them.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

So Close and Yet Still So Far

January 20, 2012January 20, 2012 jcladyluv

Have you ever felt like you are so close to something but yet so far away? It seems like I am constantly within reach of something I want only to have it yanked away from me, sometimes slowly and sometimes quicker than I can say ‘how did that just happen’. Some days (like today) it is hard to see that it is all for some rhyme or reason, that God has my best interest at heart. But because I know and believe that to be true, on those days I just have to resign to look forward to the next day when the reason becomes vaguely clear, and then the day after that when things get even clearer.

You know how people always ask the old favorite question, ‘why do bad things happen to good people?’ I was reminded today when I was watching (don’t laugh) The Little House on the Prairie earlier today that God doesn’t always protect good people from misfortune, but what he does do is give them the strength and the willpower to come through it stronger and more determined than ever.

I just have to keep that thought with me throughout all of the road blocks that I will undoubtedly encounter this year. I may be further away from attaining what I want but I am still certainly closer to it then I was yesterday. Until tomorrow…You’re closer then you think you are, stay on the path!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”