Tag: goals

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

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

From the Outside Looking In

January 13, 2012 jcladyluv

It is funny how the people closest to you can see things in you and possibilities for you that you never even had in mind for yourself. We plan things for our life and never count on the unexpected opportunities that pop up along the way. You know those things that you never thought you would be good at but that somehow fit right into you niche that you are carving out for yourself.

Ms. L has foreseen something for me that somehow fits right into my other plans for my Media Company and that might actually help elevate things to the next level but it is something that I never even thought about doing before. I must admit (she’s going to say I told you so later) that her foresight could be quite lucrative if it is as successful as she thinks it could be. But I am just afraid that because it’s something I could never see myself doing, that other people will look at me with that judgmental look and the lingering questions in their mind of ‘how can she possibly be successful at this’. Why not, it’s the same question I have for myself.

But I promised her that I would give it some thought (and I don’t want to say what it is until I’m sure that I would actually do it) and that I would stop putting that wall up for myself and telling myself that I can’t do something before I even try. Sometimes Ms. L sees things in the bigger picture that I never even saw and it’s amazing what the opinion from someone on the outside looking in can mean to your projected future. I think I like Ms. L’s view of my projected future. Until tomorrow…What do you project for your future?

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 Support Around You

January 11, 2012 jcladyluv

Ms. L wrote a blog post the other night about hustling hard for what you want out of life. I will say that she has got to be the best hustler I know. When she sets her mind to something and decides that it’s going to happen, she makes it happen, one way or another. She is a perfect example of the type of friend and person in general that you want surrounding you when you are on a mission to greatness. They say that birds of a feather flock together and when I was in high school I never understood what that really meant, nor how true that statement was.

My mother used to hear about certain people that I associated with in high school doing something they didn’t have any business doing, and she would just automatically assume that I was doing the same things (which I wasn’t). She said that if you surround yourself with certain types of people then that’s the type of person people will think you are. At the time I thought that it was her being highly judgmental and unfair. I felt that if you liked someone or at least a lot of their attributes then there shouldn’t be a problem being their friend even if the two of you were total opposites on everything. I learned as I grew into an adult that my mother (I cringe as I say this) was right.

You don’t want the people in your circle to be exactly like you (that would just be boring) but you do want them to be people who understand you and your goals and ambitions and who are as ambitious about whatever they want as you are. You want people surrounding you that are like-minded and that are going to push you when you need a push. You need people who have their own sense of direction and motivate you to find and follow yours.

A writer in particular needs a good source of support and motivation in the people that they associate with. While I have other good supportive people in my circle that motivate me in various ways (as I hopefully motivate them), none of them I admire quite as much as Ms. L. Her post the other night about hustling harder (and our conversation that came afterwards) gave me great encouragement and motivation.

I am probably not the best hustler in terms of going after everything I want with extreme vigor but because I am not, it is good to have someone in my corner, in my circle, who is. Someone who can be a model example of the kind of hustling I should be doing. Surrounding yourself with the right people, as a writer, is vitally important and should be something that you should definitely reevaluate if you haven’t before. I thank Ms. L for being the kind of friend and fellow writer that I can take a multitude of notes from and for not being stingy with your secrets along your pathway to success. I hope all of you out there have someone in your circle that pushes you to be your very best. Until tomorrow…If you haven’t already, make sure you have your support team in place!

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

What is There to Wait For?

January 10, 2012January 10, 2012 jcladyluv

“Waiting is a trap. There will always be reasons to wait. The truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons and results, and reasons simply don’t count.”

~Dr. Robert Anthony

When someone in the gym this morning asked why I didn’t wait for them to go start my running I simply said I’m not waiting for anyone this year. It got me to thinking about just how much time I have spent (or rather wasted) waiting around for something or someone. It seems like I was always the one that would wait for people to come along, or come around and who in turn wanted people to wait around for me.

I guess I must have had some sort of revelation when this year kicked into gear because my attitude became one of not wanting to wait around for anyone anymore, or for anything to just happen. Not even waiting around for the other shoe to drop as I typically do as well. How many minutes or hours do people spend just waiting? I am tired of waiting for other people, or even having people waiting for me to do something that they already know they need to do.

Now I am not speaking of every single aspect of your life but when it comes to doing something that you know has to get done, don’t sit around waiting, not even for that person that said they were going to be right there alongside you. I wish I could get back all of the time that I’ve wasted waiting around for something to happen, waiting for someone to get their act together, waiting for someone to give me great opportunities to exercise the talent that I possess, even waiting for inspiration to just strike (as I posted about yesterday).

The fact of the matter is that I can’t just sit and wait because there isn’t anymore time for that. Too much time has already gone by. Now it’s time to get my butt into high gear and get busy making what I want happen and not waiting around letting opportunities just fall through the cracks. Until tomorrow…Can you count how much time you’ve wasted just waiting around?

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 Other Version of Me

January 3, 2012 jcladyluv

There is another side of me. I would refer to her as my other personality but then people would get the wrong idea and suddenly think that I am crazy and need to be committed (some days they might be right). Now while I do find myself communicating with my characters from one novel or another on a regular basis, I do not hear voices and speak to them and I don’t think that I have a twin version of myself that I talk to at night. But there is another version of myself that I am referring to when I speak about my other self. I am talking about the version of me that I feel that I should be by now, the version of me that I see myself becoming in the not so distant future.

That version of me is already living inManhattan,New Yorkand is on the New York Times Bestseller’s list for three out of her four published novels. She goes on at least eight book signing tours a year (and that would be a slow year). She speaks to elementary, middle, and high schools on the importance of not bullying their peers and emphasizing the impact that the bullying has on the victims. She also speaks at multiple writing seminars and networking events about nurturing the craft of writing. She has two thriving online magazines, one of which comes out in print on a quarterly basis; both of which are produced and published through her publishing company.

Her media empire would be continuously producing movies, television shows, and stage plays that promote self-confidence and self-esteem, empower women of all races, and emphasize the message of people being at peace with themselves and believing that they have the right to be (Write 2 Be) who they are; a Media empire that will eventually give Tyler Perry a run for his money. She will finally get out of her own way and start singing back up for her best friend Ms. L as she goes on her many tours and perhaps will even sing solo in small venues around town. She will be in the process of accumulating funding for her non-profit creativity camp for kids (Write 2 Be Creativity Camp) that will help promote and encourage the importance and development of the arts in children. Last but certainly not least, she will be making moves to begin opening up her local bookstore that will be like no other bookstore. Whew! This woman is busy!

It sounds like a lot, I know, but this is the version of me that I am striving to be and who I believe that I was meant to be. I know that it will take more than one year to get to that version of myself but 2012 is definitely going to be the year in which I begin to clear the path of all of the self-made obstacles that I have created over the years. It is going to be the year in which I am going to take clear and calculated steps that will further me in my efforts to becoming that person. The other version of myself (the one I want to be) is standing on the other side of a very long bridge and this year I am making my way over to her. What a journey I am sure it will be. I guess when I reach her I will let you know. What does your “other self” look like to you? Until tomorrow…Are you who you always thought you would be? If not, what’s stopping you?

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

Back to Business

January 2, 2012 jcladyluv

So now that it is the second day of the New Year everyone should already have their Christmas Tree taken down (or put out in case of those who actually like real trees), the decorations back in their storage space (only to be taken out next year), and the new calendar up with important dates already marked. Hopefully another thing that everyone also has is their game plan in place for the 2012. The holidays are over and now it is time to get back to the business of accomplishing the goals that you set for this year. Whatever your goals are today is the time to begin working on them. Take those plans that you began making in December of 2011 and begin acting on them as if your life depended on it, because it does. I know that I’ve got a novel to finish up and a magazine that needs to be finished and put together by the end of January (preferably before the end) so I’ve got to get moving myself. Until tomorrow…Get moving on those dreams, there’s no more time to waste!

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

Who Says Writing is Not a Job?

December 29, 2011 jcladyluv

“Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.”
~Gloria Steinem

After finishing up my walk/run on the treadmill in the gym this morning I began talking to two fellow gym members and we were watching The Wendy Williams Show (no one bothers to turn the T.V. channel after the news goes off) and this morning the Braxton family were the guests today. Now despite saying that I would never watch that mess during the first season (because I hate most reality TV shows), I accidentally ended up watching it one night and I was immediately hooked and have been watching ever since. There’s so much about the Braxton family that I learned in watching their show and it is extremely entertaining to say the least.

Needless to say, one of the sisters, Towanda, is separated from her husband and she talked about that today on The Wendy Williams Show and that one of the main reasons that they are separated is because he doesn’t have a job. Now because I watch the show I know that her husband is a writer, albeit a struggling writer, but a writer nonetheless. He just self-published his first book and already has himself lined up for several media and book events so he is soon about to take off. However, because the fruits of his labor have not been seen yet, he is still seen as the man with no job.

I take great issue with this because that implies that writing is not a job. This sparked some mild debate with my two gym buddies because initially they felt as if I was attacking them. After making it clear that I was not directly referring to them, I expressed how I am constantly hearing that about writers. It’s as if you say you’re a writer and people then say oh, but what is your job. That is my job. I AM A WRITER! It takes time, discipline, determination, persistence, and sheer willpower to put in the work to write a book and then do everything else that it takes to get that book published and then make it successful. Writing is no small feat and I am getting really tired of people who dismiss it as simply a hobby or something that someone with an actual job does on the side.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are people with skilled jobs or even other major career paths who do in fact write on the side and I am not trying to take anything away from them. But you do have those people who are not better suited for a regular, skilled, 9 to 5, type of job because it would simply just take away from doing what it is that they were truly meant to do. I am one of those people. I have had regular jobs and I have once thought about taking up a particular skilled job that I could make a career out of but I just simply am not built that way. I was born to be a writer and while I do not currently have what other people would consider a job, I feel that everyday that I sit down to my computer and write on my blog, or write an article for some online publication, or send out my queries to national magazines for my articles, or send out queries to agents for representation, or work on my novels, or edit someone else’s novel, that I am doing my JOB.

I don’t make as much (right now) that I would like to be making and I do struggle at times without having that steady stream of bi-weekly income to come into my household but I don’t regret not going out there and seeking typical employment. I do what I love and I am home for my daughter when she gets home from school to help her with homework and for whatever else her needs are. I feel like people who just choose to write for a living with no additional methods of income get a really bad wrap. Out of work Actors don’t get told that they are no longer considered Actors because they are not currently making a steady stream of income, no they are still Actors, so what is so different about being a writer? I don’t knock anyone that does go to work in the morning and comes home and parents their children and then if they want to write, sit and write at night. I think that it is admirable and very tough to do, but everyone is not built that way. I know that I was never good at it and frankly it made me quite miserable and at times unbearable to deal with.

I suppose that I am writing to all of those writers out there who might at times be feeling guilty about making the choice to either quit their regular jobs or just not seek another one altogether to focus on their writing. If you feel that writing is your purpose and what you were meant to do, if you feel that you are truly doing God’s work, then go for it. You will struggle, you will get frustrated, you will be looked at funny, you will get rejected, but in the end, when your goal is accomplished and you get to where you always envisioned yourself being, then it will all be worth it. Until tomorrow…Be brave enough to do what’s in your heart and commit yourself to following through.

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

Looking for a Writing Course

December 28, 2011 jcladyluv

One of the goals on my list for the 2012 year is to take a couple of writing courses. Even the greatest of writers (which I am working on becoming) need to enhance their already impeccable writing skills. There might be techniques that they have forgotten or desire to learn and a course every now and then can be just the thing to help. I specifically would like to take a course in writing short stories because I have the hardest time writing them (possibly because I am so incredibly long-winded) and I just need some instruction in that particular area. Now I don’t know when I will be taking this course because I haven’t even found one yet, nor have I saved up the money to do it, but I am looking so if any of you out there know of any short story writing courses that they would like to recommend please leave a comment. Okay now I’ve shared one of my goals on my list for the New Year, why don’t you share one with 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

Where Credit Is Due

December 20, 2011 jcladyluv

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”

~Mahatma Gandhi

I am reminded every morning when I go to the gym to workout that I am a lot stronger than I think I am. Each day when I do something else that I never thought that I could do or that I said that I would never even try, it reminds me that I sometimes don’t give myself enough credit. A lot of us tend to do that in general during the course of our everyday lives. We get it in our heads that we are only as good as the limits that we set for ourselves, not realizing that we often set the bar too low and don’t give ourselves nearly as much credit as we deserve.

If we think about it, each time we reach an obstacle and find ourselves saying that we can’t handle anything else, not only do we surpass that obstacle but it builds us up stronger for the one that is sure to come after that. They say that which doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger, and while sometimes I find myself wanting to throw a certain finger up at whoever started that phrase, I find it to be very true. My struggles have not only made me stronger but made me more ambitious and determined. I feel that with each road block I face during the course of my journey I am made to be hungrier and more driven to reach my destination.

Someone at the gym told me that I have been coming to the gym lately with a new drive and as if I was on a mission for the year 2012. I am on a mission. I plan on setting that bar increasingly higher for myself and raising my own expectations right along with it. I am strong enough to achieve anything I desire despite the struggles I have to face along the way. I am going to stop counting myself out before I even make it to the starting line and start giving myself the credit that I deserve. Until tomorrow…Ask yourself if you are giving yourself enough credit?

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

Don’t Throw in the Towel Too Soon

December 19, 2011 jcladyluv

“Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.”

~Richard L. Evans

Did you ever wonder if you gave up on something that you wanted too soon? Sometimes we hang in there so long that we start to get the feeling that maybe we just weren’t meant to achieve that goal or dream we long for. We start to become doubtful and discouraged, and to put it bluntly, we get impatient. We forget (at least I know I do) that there is not a specific time table on when your dreams can come true. More importantly we forget that sometimes we have to put in our dues and struggle to get to the point of our destination. We have to exhibit perseverance and not be too quick to throw in the towel. Remember that if it is in your heart to accomplish your goals and you were given a purpose then it will all be worth the wait in the end. Nothing that is worth having has ever come easy and with great struggles there are also even greater rewards. Don’t give up on your dreams. They are more than likely right around the corner and well within your grasp. Until tomorrow…Don’t throw in the towel just yet!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”