Tag: Courage

Purpose over Perfection

jcladyluv

I have this need for things to be perfected. Logically, I know that I am not perfect, that I don’t always behave in a perfect manner, therefore, nothing that I do will ever be completely perfect. When you’re a creative and you are creating any kind of art, or a product to promote your art and/or company you want every finite detail to be just right. If it’s not just right then you tend to not want to put it out there for fear that someone else will point out those very imperfections. 

Now I know this doesn’t apply to all artists because I have read many books with quite a few errors in the books (mostly typos but some grammatical) and these are books by best selling authors, authors whom I love and am always excited to read their next books. Now these imperfections never stop me from picking up their next book because I know that human error comes in to play that’s okay. The problem comes when I’m putting together something and then I start to get inside my own head and pick apart every detail and it is what hinders me the most.

As I am about to launch my products for my Write 2 Be brand and Re-publish my first book along with three poetry books I am hesitant because I know that I can’t possibly catch every single error. As many times as I can go over something I know that I will inevitably miss something because I’m human and there’s no way that I can catch all of it (try as I might lol). I think if we could all have everything we do, everything that we put out there into the world with our names on it, be perfect we would. While imperfect people are uniquely wonderful in their own right, we want the products we buy to be as close to perfect as possible. No one wants a shirt where the wording is spelled wrong. 

So I’m nervous and I’m being extremely tedious and analyzing everything excessively (over analyzing is kind of my thing) to the point where I end up putting out nothing. I don’t want to analyze myself right out of the opportunities that are waiting for me and I don’t want you fellow over analyzers to do that either. We have to get out of our own heads, get out of our own way, and get our stuff out there. One thing is for sure, no one can buy a product that hasn’t been put out there to buy. 

So if you’re holding back on putting that book out there or whatever art you produce because you are waiting for every detail to be perfect. Stop. It won’t be perfect. You will always find something wrong because you are expecting to. Get your product out there to the best of your ability. I’m not saying don’t give it the proper analysis that it is due, I’m just saying when you are reasonably certain that everything is good to go, don’t go looking for a reason that it’s not.  Put yourself and your products out there! The world is waiting!

Until next time… #BeBold #BeAuthentic #BeMotivated

 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

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

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

Advertisement

Having Courage Is Never Easy

jcladyluv

So I know this blog is not necessarily a political type of blog but I have been known to occasionally voice my feelings on something political that has happened. By now everyone who isn’t living under a rock knows that a certain former President was, once again, not held accountable for his criminal behavior while representing this country. In large part, this is due to a the vast majority of the party formerly known as the Republican party who refused to put their country first along with the people they represent over one person who desired to become a dictator.  They lacked the courage that they needed to actually do the right thing and to think of other people besides themselves and their grab for power.

Now I’m not going to waste time in this post today talking about people who clearly don’t exhibit any bravery and this is not a condemnation on the REAL Republicans who still exist and are not beholden to one man but rather to their conservative principles. My point in today’s post is about when people show and exemplify courage to do the right thing even in the midst of pressure to do the wrong things. Those people who persevere in spite of the push back and the struggle will be greatly rewarded in the end with the knowledge that they reached their destination in life, not by taking the easy way out, but by fighting for what’s right.

Life is like that when you are also walking a path towards your dreams. It is so very easy to do things that feel good at the time and that are short cuts to your end goal but easy doesn’t always mean it is right. I’ve often wondered how much further I could be in my career and in the positive change that I want to have on this country, on this world, if I hadn’t always been looking for so many short cuts and easy roads to getting what I wanted. Nothing bad every really happened as a result of those short cuts per say but it ended up taking longer to get to the destination that I was really trying to get to. I had so many things to untangle from doing the wrong things, what looked like the easy thing, in order to get to the point where I was supposed to be. The short cut or easy way turned out to not be so easy after all.

All of those Republicans who think they’re going to keep their seat, hold onto their power, by doing the wrong thing, I believe are reading the room very wrong. I think that they forgot that there were real people who they are supposed to be representing and they’re taking short cuts to hold on to power supposedly in the name of the constituents that they seemed to not even be really listening to.  It seems easy to take short cut after short cut or to try to find any path without a challenge in it, one that doesn’t require any fight or any bravery. But doing the right thing, the challenging thing, the courageous thing, will never be easy. If it were easy then everyone would do it.

Until the next time… #BeFearless #BeCourageous #BeDetermined

 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

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

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

What Is Left to Be Discovered?

jcladyluv

I love that even at the age of forty I am still discovering things about myself and my creative abilities that I had not realized before. For instance, I have been doing my YouTube channel for almost a year now (May 9th will be a year) and I was so hesitant to dive into that realm of the creative world. I don’t know if you know this about me, but I am an extreme introvert and being on camera terrifies me. Nevertheless I took the risk and dove into the world of becoming a YouTuber and while it is a bit of a slow crawl to get a good sized audience I have discovered that I like doing it more than I thought I would.

Not the being on camera part mind you, but knowing that something I said or some advice that I have given has somehow inspired some other writer or given them courage to start their own YouTube channel. I always want to make a difference, in whatever I do, so getting comments on my videos telling me how much they enjoyed the video and how much they got out of it really makes me feel like I’m leaving my mark, however small of a mark it might be. We all leave our marks in this world, admittedly some leave bigger marks than others, but it all adds to the betterment of this world and the people in it.

I also happened to discover that I like editing videos and I’m not too bad at it either (imagine how good I can be at it if I can learn some more about the proper techniques) but I would have never discovered this hidden capability had I not attempted something that I was fearful of doing. Now I’m not saying we should dive into every single whim that we have.  However, taking a few risks every now and then can help us really learn things about ourselves that were just waiting to be discovered. Have you ever wondered what talents you might unearth if you just took a leap into that endeavor you’ve been holding back on? You should take the risk and see just what you discover about yourself.

Until next time… #BeFearless #BeBold #BeCourageous

 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

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

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

The Warrior Within

jcladyluv

The Warrior Within

Lets talk American Ninja Warrior! I know, what does the show American Ninja Warrior have to do with writing and taking care of yourself creatively and spiritually. Well that’s the thing about inspiration, it literally can come from anywhere and anyplace and at any time. I am just as surprised as you might be because if you know anything about me, aside from finally implementing a gym workout into my lifestyle, I am not a very athletic person. Other than football, and perhaps the basketball championships, I don’t particularly watch that much in the way of sports.

So when I turned on a rerun episode of American Ninja Warrior one day, it was kind of just on and I wasn’t paying that much attention until this young woAmerican Ninja Warrior 1man came on the screen named Kacy Catanzaro (pictured to the left), and it was the episode where she became, at five foot two (possibly shorter), the first woman to ever make it up the warped wall and from that moment on I was hooked. Now I’m late to the Ninja Warrior game so I’ve been watching the reruns every week of older seasons but they’re all new to me so I am just gaining such a huge appreciation for this show, these athletes, and their stories.

It’s the stories behind these athletes that fearlessly run a course of seemingly impossible obstacles that I think are the most motivating for me. Most of these athletes are coming back from injuries, from others sports careers that were prematurely cut short, and from life altering struggles that would make the average person curl up in a ball and just give up, but not these athletes. They show their grit, and their tenacity, and their strength and it’s just amazing to watch it and I’m usually left in awe of these players.

The struggles that they’ve overcome and the things that they are able to accomplish is just remarkable. They are able to put all of their focus and energy into tackling the task immediately in front of them, being the obstacle course, and finish it, and in some cases not finish it and have to get back up again and prepare for the following year to do it all over again. It takes a hell of an individual to do that and in many cases to fail in completing the course and have to come back the following year to do it all over again, not knowing if they’ll end up failing the course again or if they will finally complete it. Some of these athletes took several years before even being able to complete the course one time and they kept returning with such enthusiasm and vigor. It’s a level of courage that I wished I had and makes me question ‘who am I to be afraid to go after my dreams despite the many stumbles and falls? It just inspires me to be better, and to do better.   What inspires you to do better and gives you courage?

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

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

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/confessionsoftheunpleasantlyplump

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

 

Let’s Talk About Courage (Pt. 2)

jcladyluv

“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential.  Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.  We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”

~Maya Angelou 

I think that creative people are very special.  I say this not just because I am a creative person and that I surround myself with nothing but people who are also immersed in their own creativity.  I say this because being someone who’s life’s purpose centers around the creative arts is not really something that one can learn or that can even be taught if it is not ingrained somewhere deep inside of them.  Take a singer for instance.  You can give someone vocal lessons and the techniques and coaching that they may need to make their voice better and stronger, but if that natural talent and ability was never there in the first place, if it did not live deep inside of them, then it would never be able to be taught. 

There’s something else that lives inside of a person who is creative at heart, courage.  I think that being a creative person takes massive amounts of courage; the courage to withstand rejection, the courage to be patient and never give up while waiting for your turn, the courage to step out there and take the risk of being rejected to begin with, the courage to sacrifice comfort ability to serve your purpose no matter how crazy your loved ones may think you are.  

It takes courage to be your true self even if it is not what is expected of you or what is perceived as something that will be a more immediate success.  So today’s message is for all of you out there who are fulfilling your creative aspirations and enduring people looking at you or questioning your choices as if you’ve lost all of your senses.  Keep wearing that badge of courage because in the end it will pay off and you will be glad that you remained true to yourself.  Until tomorrow…“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the resistance to give in to that fear.” (Mark Twain)  

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

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

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

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress