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People pleasing
“I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: Try to please everybody all the time.” ~ Herbert Bayard Swope, American journalist One of the gifts of aging is the realization that (1) you can’t please everyone and (2) you shouldn’t try to please everyone. The journalist who’s famous for today’s quote understood that achieving anything of great value often involves taking big risks and subjecting yourself to criticism. More often than not, you’re bound to upset others when you rattle the status quo or defend a point of view. Born in 1882, Herbert Bayard Swope was a famous war correspondent…
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Share your stories with me
“It has always been on the written page that the world has come into focus for me. If I can piece all these bits of memory together with the diaries and letters and the scribbled thoughts that clutter my mind and bookshelves, then maybe I can explain what happened….Maybe I can tell my story in a way that is useful to someone else.” ~ Nancy Horan, Loving Frank What makes a compelling personal story? How do you turn rambling journal entries or blog posts into marketable essays or chapters in a memoir? On April 11, I’ll be leading my favorite workshop at the Royal Oak Public Library. Whether you need inspiration…
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When you have to improvise
“Just because things hadn’t gone as I’d planned didn’t necessarily mean they’d gone wrong.” ~Ann Patchett When I was younger, I cringed at the old adage, “Everything happens for a reason.” It seemed like a sugar-coated excuse for rotten luck or bad choices. But the more I experienced life, the more I noticed that the most challenging/stressful events — like having surgery on both of my hips — turned out to be incredible periods of growth for me. There was something valuable to learn from every episode of pain and loss I’ve endured. Sometimes the recipes you follow in a cookbook don’t turn out well; sometimes you have to improvise.…
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Chasing the denim blues
“Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.” ~Henry Miller Boredom combined with inertia can be a recipe for anxiety. But have you noticed that you worry less when you’re occupied with a project — even a seemingly mundane project? Feeling anxious and out of sorts last week, I spent time sorting through two large drawers stuffed with jeans. The drawers had been so disorganized — for so long — that I could never find what I was looking for. Of course, most of the jeans were out of fashion and most wouldn’t zip when I tried them on. In the process of sorting, I uncovered…
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Taking action
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” ~Dale Carnegie Dale Carnegie often wrote about turning anxiety into fuel for success. He understood that our problems and worries always loom larger when we’ve got too much idle time on our hands. Productivity moves us out of the shadows of rumination. Once we tackle an issue head on, it becomes less intimidating — even if we start with small steps toward resolution. What plan of action will you start today? ~CL Miss any posts this week? Check out the Life…
