Tag: Success

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Springing Into Overdrive

April 10, 2014April 9, 2014 jcladyluv

While Spring is the time of year where everyone seems to have that sudden bursts of creative energy it seems to be that time of year when I start to reflect on what I haven’t gotten done yet. I know, it seems like a negative thing, it really does. However, if you think about it, it could be the swift kick in the pants that some of us procrastinators (at least me anyway) need to get into higher gear.

I have a lot of things to carry out this year and because I set unbelievably high goals for myself on a yearly basis that even the most brilliant and best-selling novelists might not be able to get achieved in one year, I am realistic enough to know that every single item on that list will most likely not be carried out. However, I do know that over half of the things are able to be completed if I just stop my procrastinating ways and do what I know needs to be done.

What needs to be done is a lot less sleep and a lot of early rising mornings. This is hard for me to fathom because I barely sleep as it is but I remember the days when I used to pull all-nighters and slept even less than I do now and stuff got done then. But I have come to the realization, as May approaches and almost half the year has flown by, that if I don’t start sleeping a lot less in order to work a lot more than I might not even get half the things on my list accomplished. I can’t accept that.

So springing into action is what I will be focusing on and getting into overdrive. Just hope I don’t burn myself out in the process. But all sacrifices will be worth it in the end, right? Well I hope that your creativity has sprung into high gear and that you are getting all that you need to get done. If not, then let’s get moving, the year is only going to move faster from here on out. So stay driven and keep that butt in the chair, writing!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

To the Beat of My Own Drum

March 27, 2014 jcladyluv

Back in High School I had so many things going on at home outside of school that made me feel unworthy that I really didn’t need the extra negativity at school. I was never the most popular person in school. For some reason or another I was always disliked by those who others would consider the ones to follow. You know those in crowd clicks, if they didn’t like you then pretty much no one else did. But I was fine with my small circle of friends because they were there when everything at home was crazy. To be honest I cared far too much what others thought of me back then.

I can’t say that I don’t still, to some small (and I mean very small) degree care what certain people think of me but for the most part, now I just don’t give a damn. I have learned in trying to please everyone at the same time that you just can’t and you end up being displeased with yourself. If people are going to choose not to like you then they will find ANY reason not to. In thinking about where I am trying to get to in life, the most successful people are not necessarily the most liked people. They typically stand for something that others may or may not understand.

I feel sometimes like I can’t really win because if I don’t state where I stand on something then I am being anti-social and not giving enough input but when I give input and it’s not going along with what is being said across the board or just not what others want to hear then I am being difficult and bringing negativity. It can never just be that I have a voice of my own that just doesn’t agree with yours. It can never just be that my opinion is respected and left at that. But if I stopped to care, or broke down over, every single person that found fault in me for one reason or another, then I would never make it down this path towards my goals that I am on.

Everyone is not going to agree with you, like you, love you, or even respect you. But what matters is how you feel about yourself and how you represent yourself to others. I’m a person that’s not going to cave just because you want me to. If I feel a certain way then that’s just how I feel and if that in someone else’s eyes makes me problematic or negative then I can’t change the opinion that they may have. I for one think that it means that I don’t waver on what I stand for, I don’t bend to everyone’s will, and I most certainly don’t follow with the rest of the crowd.

I am my own person, I have my own voice, and because of that I will get to my destination because I won’t be caught up with trying to please the general public. You just can’t please everyone. But it’s a good thing that the only thing that I am here for is to serve the purpose that God has for me and to reach the destination that he has already pre-destined for me. I’m going to get to where I am going and those who are my true supporters, who truly are for me and not against me, will still be there while everyone else falls by the waste-side. So today I hope you are not neglecting you own voice to satisfy others and I hope that you don’t forget just how important your voice is, even if it does stand out from everyone else’s. Stay blessed and stay true to what you have to say!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

If Only I Could Have All the Answers

March 11, 2014 jcladyluv

If you are not someone like J.K. Rowling, Terry McMillan, Steven King, or James Patterson, then making a substantial living as a writer can be a somewhat daunting task. Admittedly there are some writers who are just starting out at trying to make a living as a writer and have it a bit easier than others. Quite frankly there are some writers whose talent and execution of their words are not nearly good enough (not saying there is no potential for it to be) to have the success that they are having right out the gate, and yet their luck seems to be iron hot.

I don’t think of myself as the best writer out there, and I consider myself to always be working on my craft trying to make my writing better. However, I do feel like this rise to the middle ground (which for now would suffice for me) is taking quite longer than even I had expected. I know the sayings and the pep talks that people give, that I myself have given. That it takes time, you have to be patient, your time will come, you just have to keep putting in the work and everything will work itself out, etc. I know all of that but I feel like I’ve been putting in the work (I only sleep 4 hours a night), I feel like I have been patient, and I feel like my time should have already been here.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not jealous of anyone else’s success level. They give me someone to study. It’s more like I’m curious to know or be shown what I’m doing wrong and what I could be doing differently, or more efficiently. I study and research methods of others who seem to be having the success that I am trying to achieve (not moderate but rather steady stream) and I implement some of their methods (tailor made of course to my style) and still nothing. I know that no one can have all the answers but right now I sure wish that it was possible. I just want to know what I am doing wrong.

I’m trying to reach certain goals and achievements in my writing career and I am way off course in terms of the time that it’s going to take me to get there. Now of course, even with all of this frustration that you are probably gauging from this post, I am never going to give up on my dream and never going to stop working hard at attaining it. I just wish that I could see some of the fruits of my hard labor thus far. True I guess things could be worse and I could not be having any level of success at all but is it really wrong to want more. Is it wrong to want to have met my own expectations of myself by now if not exceeding them? Well I know that I can’t be the only one feeling this way so hopefully my venting has somehow helped someone else out there to realize that they are not alone in their struggles. Keep working at it, WE will get there!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

It’s All In the Promotion of Your Brand

February 28, 2014February 28, 2014 jcladyluv

So I decided that today is promotion day. I have quite a few projects I’m working on and I want to share the details about them with you.

Ebook Series

This ebook series (tentatively called “For the Crazy Makers) will be focusing on motivating and inspiring writers and artists who are struggling with their own fears and their insecurities when it comes to following through with your creative endeavors. Sometimes we need an outside voice to quiet all of those inside voices that keep telling you the wrong things. I have been working on this ebook series for quite some time now and I am excited to finally be releasing it in the next few months. If you are interested in information on how you will be able to receive this ebook or other details in relation to the ebook simply leave a comment below with your email information or you can email me at jcladyluv@yahoo.com.

Novel Releases

I am going to be re-releasing my debut novel, The Diary: Succession of Lies, later this year along with my second novel When Love Calls. I will keep you posted on the progress of those works periodically but for now, below I have shared with you what each book is about. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

The Diary: Succession of Lies

What if you discovered that the sins of your mother’s past will forever haunt your future? That finding out the secrets she took to her grave would turn your life upside down?

To the rest of the world Corynn Hayes was a brilliant writer and entrepreneur. To Karlee Jones, she was not only a mother but a best friend. Until Corynn’s unexpected death, Karlee thought that she knew everything there was to know about her mother. Then, Karlee receives her mother’s diary as a farewell gift. The depth of the secrets within those pages end up devastating Karlee, forever changing the memory of her mother.

The Diary: Succession of Lies is a novel that exposes the secret life of a mistress. It is a tale of love, lust, loss, and redemption as well as the trials of two generations of women. The Diary takes a new spin on the mistress image, a woman often vilified throughout literature as a harlot and a home wrecker. It tackles several questions. Why does a mistress stay? Is love possible in such a taboo relationship? Is love enough to endure the consequences that come later.

When Love Calls

Autumn Jennings had thought that she had finally put all of the mistakes that she had made in her past behind her. Her heart had finally mended from heartbreak and she was able to let go and let someone else love her again with nothing hanging over head. She never thought she would have to deal with the lies she had told so many years ago but when an old flame that she had never truly gotten over comes back into the picture she is reminded of all of the secrets she has been trying to keep buried. Those same secrets could not only disrupt the lives of everyone around her but the new life that she is trying to create for herself and her son. As her secrets begin to unravel so do the lives of the people she loves. When Love Calls is a novel about a love lost, a love that heals, and a love that was meant to be and the circumstances that can either bring two people together or tear them apart.

Write 2 Be Media Services

Just finished slaving over a novel and you’re ready to begin promoting it?

Is your blog not getting the attention you feel it deserves?

Just launched your business and need to create a social media marketing platform to make everyone take notice?

Write 2 Be Media now offers Social Media Marketing services to help your project get the attention that it deserves in addition to our creative writing resources. To read more about our services just click the “Hire Me” tab to your right.

I would also like to promote the work of a great photographer. If you are looking for a photographer for your project then please go check out Rashaad Amed McNeil’s page, R&M Photography. He does absolutely amazing work for all of his clients, one of which happens to be LaMonique Hamilton, the CEO and Editor-in-Chief at PIEhole Magazine, a new magazine on the rise. So if you are in need of a photographer and want outstanding results then head on over to his page, R&M Photography, and hit the like button and find out how you can get the best photographer for your next project!

I would also like to extend the offer for anyone who has a book coming out or already published, if you go over to the Write 2 Be Magazine fan page and hit the like button you will be allowed to promote your work on the page.

Have a blessed weekend and hustle hard!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

You’ve Already Created Who You Are In This Moment

February 26, 2014 jcladyluv

How many times have you heard someone say that they have to go and find themselves? That they have to search for that knowledge of self, for that sense of purpose? I have heard that saying a lot used by people, some who were truly lost and others who just truly needed an excuse for why they weren’t doing anything. I actually hear that phrase from writers a lot because they are always so caught up in making up a life for their characters that they sometimes forget to live the life that they already have.

I heard this quote the other day “The self is not something one finds, it is something one creates”, and it just stuck with me. People who are always trying to find themselves, trying to figure out what it is they want in life, they don’t realize that in their journey to find themselves, all of the decisions they are making, the mistakes that they are enduring, is already creating who they are meant to be. Some decisions made for us, when we are too young to know any better, they are in a sense out of our hands, but how we deal with the fallout, the end result, that is in ours.

When we choose something, be it right or wrong, little by little it shapes who we are, and eventually who we become. None of us start off knowing what kind of person we are going to be at the end of our journey. Growing up I had to learn and teach myself how to love me. I guess you could say that who I am now, I created that person and had I made a choice to continue not loving myself and to continue to think that because my mother didn’t love me, or at least didn’t express that love to me, that I was somehow unworthy of that love from others, especially from myself, had I continued down that path I suppose I would have created a whole other type of person than I am now.

So before any of you get it in your head that they need to find themselves and discover who they really are, keep in mind that the decisions you have already been making are already creating the person you were meant to be. Stop searching for who it is that you think you should be, or should have been and embrace the person that you have already created thus far. Our journey is not done yet but who we are meant to be is already inside of us, we don’t have to find it, we just have to create it. Stop waiting for some moment of revelation to come, some big moment where suddenly everything you are is so clear to you. Create the life you want, don’t sit and wait for it to be created for you to find.

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

Friday Motivation- When You Die, Die on “E” and Leave No Dream Behind!

February 21, 2014February 21, 2014 jcladyluv

I had no intention of actually posting today because I was supposed to be working on some things for my ebook (release date coming soon). But when I saw this video on Facebook this morning (I know, that’s not work, so sue me) I was so blown away by the powerful message and it was one that I definitely needed to hear (so much so that I’ve watched the video 3 times already) and I feel like some of my fellow writers, those struggling with their craft and even those who are not, could use it as motivation as well. I hope that you get as much out of watching it as I did and that you carry the message into your weekend with you and even further, all through your journey. Stay blessed and have a wonderful weekend!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

When the Focus Has Been Found

February 4, 2014 jcladyluv

I have in mind the plans for this year and what I wanted to get accomplished but my plans were somewhat generalized. I hadn’t been able to be more detailed in my plans and my goals and the focus was a bit off. Then I talked to Ms. L last night and we talked about things that had nothing to do with writing or our separate businesses, things that were personal. Eventually we did get to the topic of our business endeavors and I expressed my frustration to her because I knew the things I wanted to do and get done but I just didn’t have a concrete plan (or even a vague one) of how to go about accomplishing them.

Within a manner of thirty minutes (probably less) Ms. L helped me to develop a comprehensive plan of action to get the things I need done, more specific details on how to get the most out of those things, and a plan to promote those projects that I have to get accomplished. She even helped me to add some projects to the list which tie in really well with the other ideas and can do more for my business as a whole. She helped to focus my ideas and goals so that they weren’t so all over the place in my mind.

Ms. L is a godsend and I am so thankful that God sent me a friend like her, whose mind works similar to mine, whose bones in her body also are filled with creativity. I wrote a post about when you don’t have the right people around you it could essentially hinder your progress. However, having the right person or people around you, who have the same ideals and whose goals are not necessarily the same, but inadvertently linked with one another.

Ms. L was definitely someone sent into my life by God and she keeps me sane and she reminds me whenever I forget (and I forget a lot) that everything that I need to make my dreams a reality is already within me so long as I have the faith that it is there. Make sure that you know who is surrounding you but not only that, make sure that you don’t let their value in your life go to waste. God didn’t put them there in your life for nothing. He placed them there so they could be a vessel to use, so use them!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

You Have What You Need For the Season You Are In

January 28, 2014 jcladyluv

I have a lot of expectations for myself, a lot of big dreams that take putting in a lot of work. Unfortunately, a lot of the reason that I end up giving up on some of them is because I’m afraid that I’ll never be able to do it perfectly and of course if it’s not done right then it just shouldn’t be done at all. The problem with that logic is that nothing ends up ever getting done because perfection just doesn’t exist. Sadly, knowing something logically does not stop you from continuing the same bad habit.

Sometimes you feel like you just don’t have everything you need to accomplish what it is that you want to get accomplished, in order for it to be done just right. Truth is that God gives us everything that we need for the moment that we are in and if we don’t have it, it’s because we don’t need it yet. He would never give us the purpose that he gives us, the passion that he gives us, if he were not going to give us the proper tools and skillset to make those things a reality.

I talked with a friend yesterday and she asked me when I was going to start using the YouTube channel that I have and putting it out there that I can sing as well as write. Someone else asked me about recording my poetry and putting it on there as well. I came up with quite a few excuses, I’m scared of the camera, I’m afraid that people won’t like it, I don’t think anyone would even look at it, and so on, and so on.

The pressure to be accepted, or to even want to be accepted, is oftentimes overwhelming but then I had to look at it from the other side of things. What if someone did like it, what if people did look at it, what if me being less afraid could help someone else out there see that they don’t have to be afraid to do it and should just go for it. What if something I am not doing could help someone else with the same fears?

So this year I am going to put my YouTube channel to good use and promote my other talents, and I’m also going to publish that ebook for Writer’s who Self-Sabotage themselves (When Fear is Knocking) along with self-publishing my next Novel (When Love Calls) and finishing my next two novels (Through the Looking Glass, and The Weight of HER). I am not going to focus on what I don’t have, but rather focus on what God gave me for the season that I am in right now.

2014 is the year to stop striving for perfection and just strive for completion. So are you going to take whatever leap of faith you are afraid of taking this year and just get it done? It doesn’t have to be perfect, but no one will ever be able to see it if it is not at least complete!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

Picking the Battles That Matter

January 27, 2014 jcladyluv

Ever had that question in the back of your mind of why when all you are doing is trying to follow through with your purpose, make your dreams a reality, is that it seems every curveball you can possibly think of is thrown at you. It almost seems like right when you are about to reach the peak of your journey up the mountain that an avalanche of obstacles falls right in your path.

It’s almost enough to make you want to stop and rethink the journey and whether or not it is the one that you are truly supposed to be on. You second guess yourself a lot when the challenges seem to be so daunting and never-ending. However, when you look at some of the most successful people in life and go examine the journey that they took to get where they are, it would appear that the one’s with the most difficult challenges on the road to their destiny were the ones who achieved the biggest rewards for their efforts.

I admit that I get thrown off course a lot of the times by the enormity of my struggles and also by people that surround me that don’t always seem to be for me. Oddly enough these aren’t even people in my inner circle, they are people who just always seem to have something to say against what it is I’m trying to do and I let it get to me. Sometimes it makes the struggles feel even more insurmountable because no one seems to understand my vision or what I’m really all about.

I was watching something yesterday and it reminded me that not everyone is going to like me, not everyone is going to understand me or what it is I’m trying to do, but that is because it is not for everyone to understand. I keep getting lured off track trying to somehow prove that I am worthy, that I am important, that what I’m trying to do is important and that it matters. It is said that the enemy (those that are against you) always fights us the hardest when we are the closest to our victories.

As it pertains to my struggles, Joel Osteen once said in his messages that you cannot expect ordinary problems if you are an extraordinary person, a history maker, so to speak. I definitely know that I am not an ordinary person and that I intend to be a history maker so I suppose that means I better get ready for some even more challenging battles ahead.

In life, when you are trying to accomplish so much, there just simply isn’t any time to waste energy on things or people that just don’t matter. That’s not to say that we should be unfeeling or cold towards people in general. It’s just that when you know what you’re purpose is you have to know which battles to choose before wasting energy on the battles that don’t matter.

If the people you are surrounding yourself with aren’t for you and aren’t going to help you along your journey then that’s a battle that you need to let go of. So start letting go of unnecessary baggage today because you’re journey.

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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