Tag: Jimmetta Carpenter

Seeing Yourself Through Someone Else’s Eyes

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“Sometimes you can’t see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others.”

~Ellen DeGeneres 

It is really nice when you have someone that believes in you enough for the both of you.  I discovered that I had someone else in my corner today, someone that’s always been in my corner but I guess I just didn’t really see it.  My friend (we’ll just call him Mr. C.) was very motivating for me today.  He spoke about me and my dreams the way that I had expressed them to him and made me reenergized about them again.  I was starting to believe that it was just too late for me to take my brand and my name and become the success that I had always dreamed of being.  Today when I saw myself through his eyes, the way he said he saw things, I felt like I had already accomplished so much.  

He reminded me of all of the plans that I had laid out to him around the time that we first met and pinpointed all of the goals that I had actually managed to accomplish thus far.  I don’t really know why I hadn’t realized that I am not exactly at the starting point, but rather somewhere ahead of the halfway point.  I know that Ms. L. is going to read this and say ‘I told you all of that stuff already’ and it’s not that I didn’t hear her but hearing it from someone who I didn’t realize was paying attention somehow has a different affect.  I knew that Mr. C. had confidence in me and that he thought I was capable of many things, but I never saw just how fiercely he believed in me.  

It’s always interesting to see yourself through someone else’s eyes because a lot of the times you find that you are only seeing what hasn’t been done when they are looking at the bigger picture.  They are looking at what your goals were to begin with, and what strides you have already made towards those goals, and they see the potential of you finishing those goals.  I don’t know why it sometimes seems so hard for me to look at myself and my life the way that others seem to see it but I am starting to get the message now. 

If I keep stopping at every bench mark on my roadmap of success and picking apart everything that I had already done and diminishing it into being nothing then that’s what it will amount to, nothing.  Holding up someone else’s mirror to your life is very revealing and meaningful because you can’t always see what someone else sees.  Sometimes it takes the vision of someone else to make clear to you that you are on the right path.

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

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

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

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

A Moment to Pray

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I am still not feeling much like writing (or doing much of anything else) lately.  I thought that I might be coming out of my funk this morning when I woke up but somewhere throughout the course of the day that same mood crept back in.  I’m not going to lie, I gave into it today.  But I really am trying here to pull myself out of whatever this feeling is that suddenly came over me.  So in an effort to try and re-motivate myself I have been trying to read uplifting and motivating things and I came upon a book that I was given a few years ago called ‘Dear God, It’s Me and It’s Urgent: Prayers for every season of a woman’s life’ by Marion Stroud.  I look through it from time to time and some days it helps.  Tonight I was looking through it and came across this one prayer that I just wanted to share a part of.  

Thank you, Lord, that you provide this belt of truth.

Please help me to discern the half truths and the lies hurled at me by the enemy.

And when they scream for entry at the doorway of my mind,

Help me to refuse, both to receive them or believe them.

Thank you for the breastplate that protects my heart and my emotions.

Keeping me from being wounded by the jibes of others,

Or being bound by the fear of the reactions of those

Whose good opinion is so important to me.

Banish compromise please Lord,

Enabling me to do what’s right-consistently.

And as I wear these running shoes of the readiness to share your love,

Keep me from being sidetracked, Lord,

or from avoiding the stony paths.

Help me to be ready to go wherever you may send me,

and prepared to set out at a moment’s notice.     

The prayer goes on for another page or so but I just wanted to share the part that struck me the most.  There was also a scripture in the book that accompanied the prayer. 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

– Ephesians 6:10-11, NIV 

I just wanted to share this with all of you and I hope that these words help someone else beside me today.

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

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

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

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

Control Issues

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I haven’t really been feeling myself lately and it’s started to affect my writing but I suppose the truth is that it’s only been able to affect my writing because I have subconsciously allowed it too.  I got a good lecture from Ms. L. today about how I can not allow myself to get so depressed over the things that I can’t control that it takes away my power to do what it is I can control.  So I have to somehow drag myself out of this funk that I seem to be in and pour my energy into doing what I know I’m supposed to be doing right now.  I can’t control the things that are continuing to go wrong in my life but my writing career is something that I can control (at least the aspects of it that don’t involve investing money right now) so I have to direct my focus on that.  I know what I need to do now I just have to buckle down and do it.  

 

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

Revisiting an Old Love

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When I was younger and started writing all I wrote was poetry.  I fell in love with what poetry did for me.  It allowed me to say everything that I needed to say and express all of the pain that I felt without having to say anything to anyone in particular.  I filled up reams and reams of paper with my thoughts and my feelings that I either felt could not be shared with anyone else, or no one cared enough to listen.  For years, I suppose until I left a sufficient amount of emotions on the pages that I filled up, that was all that I wrote.  Then I found and fell in love with telling a story in novel form and I set out to be a novelist.  

In the last couple of days, as I’ve been sorting through some feelings that I don’t even really understand right now, I have somehow found poetry again.  Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that poetry has found me again.  Now I haven’t actually formulated a whole entire poem yet but I can hear it in my head.  The different lines from several different soon to be written poems continue to repeat themselves in my head over and over again but they haven’t decided to come together just yet.  But I haven’t felt the vibe to write poetry in a very long time and it feels like it might be coming back to me.  What’s funny is that I didn’t even realize that I had missed it. 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

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

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

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

Good Deeds Make For Even Greater Rewards

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“Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out.” 

~Frank A. Clark 

So I finally got around to going to the movies to see Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds today (okay I wanted to see it when it opened but it was not financially possible).  It was hands down the BEST Tyler Perry movie he has made thus far, and that is coming from someone who is a die hard fan of any and all things Tyler Perry.  I’m not going to go into detail about the movie because I don’t want to give anything away to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet but I really took a lot away from this movie and I believe that everyone who sees it will be moved by it as well.  

Tyler Perry’s character did some really good things for the single mother in the movie (played by Thandie Newton) and you really just don’t see that kind of generosity and pure goodness in the world these days.  But there are people out there like that; people who just give from their heart and don’t expect anything in return.  Tyler Perry is one of those people along with many other celebrities and even those who are not wealthy that give their own money to things like the Haiti Relief efforts, or for the rebuilding of Hurricane Katrina, and for many other social issues that you never even hear about because they’re not doing it for notoriety and for accolades, simply for the love of giving to others in need because they have it to give.  

I didn’t really realize until Tyler Perry came along and shared his story of his humble beginnings that his success got bigger and bigger as he continued to do his many good deeds without even telling anyone he was doing them.  In the movieTyler’s character gave the gift of stability and security to this single mother, not just for her child but for her as well.  However, the reward that he got was in a sense freedom from all of the things people expected of him and the feeling of what happiness is.  

There is a saying that I hear often when someone does something good for someone and somehow gets screwed over in the process.  It’s ‘No good deed goes unpunished’ and for a long time I really believed that to be true.  In watching this movie I realized that those good deeds were not true and done from a place of pure kindness.  They were done in order for something to be received.  True good deeds come with the greatest rewards because they are something that you get more out of then what you put in.  They are something in which you don’t expect to get anything in return.  I wish there were more people in the world like Tyler Perry’s character, Wesley Deeds.  It’s nice to think that there are people who still do good things for people just for the sake of doing a good deed.        

 

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

With an Unfocused Mind I Still Showed Up

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“Eighty percent of success is showing up.”

~Woody Allen 

Today I woke up with a lot of things on my mind (more than normal) so I’ve been a little stuck today and I just couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything.  But even though I my mind was too jumbled up to think straight today I knew that I wouldn’t be satisfied with going to bed without writing something.  So here I am, unfocused thoughts and all, showing up to the page (or computer if you will) to essentially check in with the world and say that I will have something more meaningful (hopefully) to share tomorrow.        

 

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

If You Want it Bad Enough, You Have to Work Hard to Get It

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“The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.” 

~Emile Zola 

When I was at the gym this morning I overheard a basketball coach giving two of the young boys that he coaches a lecture on practicing their skills.  He was telling them that they can’t just expect to become pro-basketball players without actually putting in the work to get there.  He was saying to his assistant coach that children just expect to wake up and automatically become what they want to be without putting in the time, the effort and the hard work it takes to get there.  I listened on as he spoke to them and I saw the young boys in there beginning to practice as he was lecturing them so clearly some of what he was saying was starting to sink in.  

As I continued to listen on I thought about the fact that it isn’t always just children who forget that things that are worth having, you have to work hard for.  Sometimes we adults forget that too.  We sometimes rely so heavily on the natural talent that we have to do whatever gifts we were blessed with that we forget that even with natural talent, there is skill involved and those skills have to be continuously exercised.  If we don’t practice our skill set, that talent can eventually fade away.  

We can’t continue to take our skills for granted and believe that no matter what they will always be there for us to use when we get around to putting in the hard work that it takes to make them work for us.  Basketball players don’t just wake up able to play basketball.  Sure they may have had the natural talent to shoot a ball in a hoop when they were younger but there would have been no chance of them making it to the NBA without continuously practicing that skill.  Had they not put in the hard work those skills would have just faded away. 

I’ve heard it said so many times by writers or singers or actors or athletes that it comes natural to them, and yet they still profess how much hard work their natural talent takes.  They take workshops to keep their words fresh, they have vocal coaches to keep their voice in tact, or they take ongoing acting classes to keep their acting skills on point, or they practice on a regular basis to keep their reflexes sharp.  Yes they may have this natural ability but they work hard at maintaining those abilities so that they don’t lose them.  

The same goes for anyone else out there trying to become successful at whatever it is that comes natural to them.  We all have something that we were born to do.  Now we just have to put in the hard work at practicing those skills to develop the success that we know we want.  So take some time to think whether or not you are really putting in the practice at making your skills work for you.  If you know you could be doing more then start now.  Practice equals progression! 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

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

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

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

What to Do When the Investment Wasn’t Made

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“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.”

~Henry Ford 

Yesterday I talked about parents needing to make investments in their children’s future and I spoke about the investment that wasn’t made in me by my own mother.  Well today I wanted to speak to those out there who were not supported by the people around them.  I wanted to make clear that just because you were not given the encouragement that you should’ve been when you were starting to realize your gift’s does not mean that your gift should be lost and never developed. 

This is where we now have to remind ourselves not to dwell on what was not given to us and focus on what we have to give of ourselves.  When we are not lifted up by the ones who are supposed to be there for us then it is up to us to be driven enough to enhance our own abilities.  It is up to us to believe in ourselves enough to make our dreams come true anyway, in spite of those who told you that you couldn’t.  

Now that you are at whatever point you are in within your career and your life, you can no longer play the blame game (yes that goes for me too).  Sure there will be days when you will naturally think about what could’ve been and that’s okay for about five seconds.  But then you have to (and this is going to be the hard part to do) get over it and move on.  

If you don’t make the choice now, to do whatever it takes to sustain yourself in your career, the blame falls solely on you.  Once you reach a certain age and point in life, it is no one else’s responsibility to lift you up and help you rise to the level of success that you want but you.  There will still be people along the way that can help you but you have to put yourself in the position to be in contact with those people.  You have to make all of the tough decisions.  You have to stop procrastinating and get moving.  You have to stop complaining about what never was and create what could still be.  Make your dreams count and know that you are worth the investment.  

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

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

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

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

Making Investments in Our Future

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“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.”

~Graham Greene 

I watched the Oscars last night and I thought about all of the awards shows that we as writers and artists’ watch throughout the years and all of the acceptance speeches that we hear.  It is extremely rare not to hear an actress, actor, writer, director, singer, songwriter, or visual artists’ (graphic or otherwise) thank their parents for allowing them to be who they are and for not only encouraging their gifts but for also enhancing it by being supportive of that talent.  

I started thinking about the children whose gifts and talents are not acknowledged, let alone encouraged by their parents.  All of the gifts and blessings for the world that are not being realized because there is no one there to tell them that it’s okay to dream and dream big.  I was one of those children.  

When I watch those awards shows I can’t help but to think of whether I could’ve been one of those artists accepting an award for their brilliant talents if only I had a mother that encouraged or enhanced my gifts, or at the very least, acknowledged that I had any.  I know that I’ve mentioned here before that my mother was (to put it in nice terms) not very nurturing.  She never really believed in me and to this day it still hurts.  

I do feel that when she heard me singing around the house and heard other people who didn’t have to placate me tell her that I was actually good at it, that she perhaps could have invested in some voice lessons, or piano lessons for me.  Maybe when I wrote the class poem for my eighth grade graduation and my teachers all told my her that she had a very gifted writer on her hands, she could have put me in writing workshops that they had for children (and they had them, I checked).  Or maybe when I sent a poem to a songwriting contest and received a letter saying that they wanted to turn my poem into a song, however, they needed to deal with my mother contractually (because I was still a minor), she could’ve done what she needed to do as my mother to make it into a reality.  She could have actually invested in my gifts when I was younger but she didn’t.  

While I know that I can not jet off back into time and change what never was, I am left to constantly wonder what could have been.  Most days I don’t dwell on it.  But on nights like last night when I see people accepting their awards and whose parents clearly believed in them enough for them to get where they are now, I get a little resentful (as much as I hate to admit that) towards my mother.  

But that is when I just turn that resentfulness into a persistent desire to make sure that I am different with my daughter.  I want to make sure that I encourage her creative talents, enhance her gifts by supporting and investing in them, and empower her to believe that she can do and be whatever it is that she dreams she can be.  I want her to know that I believe in her and that I know her future is worth the investment.    

If we as parents do not invest in our children’s future where are they supposed to get the idea that their future is worth investing in to begin with.  It starts with us and if we see brilliance in our children it is our job and our duty to help them develop and cultivate their gifts.  They are our future and we have to make investments, not just in the stock markets and the next big business venture (not that our own careers are not important as well), but we have to invest in them too because their future is worth it.  They are our future Grammy, Golden Globe, or even Oscar winners and we have to help them get there.  Don’t wait until tomorrow to make an investment in your child’s future, do it today!       

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

Just Something I Wanted To Share With You

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I don’t really have much to say today but I saw this somewhere and it was really helpful for me and I hope that it will help someone else out there as well.  

In Happy Moments….Praise God 

In Difficult Moments….Seek God 

In Quiet Moments….Worship God 

In Painful Moments….Trust God 

Every Moment…..Thank God 

–Author Unknown

 

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