New Word Day

Reading is awesome for so many different reasons.  One of my favorite reasons is that imagination grows and I get to spend some time in la la land.  It beats sitting in front of the tube for me.  However, reading is also great because your vocabulary expands.

Usually when I pick up a book and I come across a word I don't know my lazy self kicks in and just tries to make sense of the sentence after I see the whole thing.  A lot of times it ends up making sense.  Sometimes I scratch my head to figure it out and then just move on once I have a decent picture of the message.  But other times...I see that same word in a different book!  The twilight zone theme song then plays in my head and darn it...I actually go look that word up!

So my friends, let's learn this word together, shall we?

Aplomb

(Oh, I know some of you are smarty pants and probably laugh and point at me for how easy this silly two syllable word is to understand, but some of us are in need of constant edu-ma-cating:o)

The definition I retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/ is:

 a-plomb  [uh-plom, uh-pluhm]

–noun

1. imperturbable self-possession, poise, or assurance.

2. the perpendicular, or vertical, position.

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Origin:

1820–30; < F à plomb according to the plummet, i.e., straight up and down, vertical position

—Synonyms

1. composure, equanimity, imperturbability.

—Antonyms

1. confusion, discomposure; doubt, uncertainty.

aplomb in a sentence:

His nonchalance and aplomb during hard times have always been his best character trait.

 

There you have it.  I dare you to use the new word today.  You can use it in conversation, on your social media page, or maybe even your blog!  Think you can pull it off?  I for one am full of aplomb in your excellent communication abilities!

Making Sense of Jane Austen

Last night I watched the movie "Jane Austen Book Club".  It was a great chick flick (although there were intriguing male characters as well).  It really appealed to all my senses including but not limited to:  books, girlfriends, relationships, and of course a happy ending. As the title would suggest it was based around a world immersed in the words of Ms. Jane Austen.

One thing this movie made me want to do was to pick up a Jane Austen novel and finish it.  Yes, I am guilty of not being able to get through her books.  Why?  I don't understand!  I love the movies about  her books, and I think she's totally fascinating.  Just as with many of you, I do consider her one of my heroes.  I totally love Jane Austen, I just can't seem to get through her writing.

This is an absolute tragedy, I know.  But please, don't be appalled at my confession.  I want to turn my life around!  I am absolutely determined to get through her books.  All of them.  I own Pride and Prejudice so I will make that one my first priority.  As soon as I finish my current reading choice (Emma Smith:  Mormon Enigma) my plan is to immerse myself into Jane Austen's creations.  One word at a time.

I would love to know what has stirred some of you into reading her novels.  What is it about Jane Austen that makes so many people tick?  After SO MANY LONG LIFE CHANGING YEARS, why oh why is she as popular as ever?  How can a writer stand that test of time?  She is incredible.  It's undeniable.  I am looking forward to finally clicking with the Jane Austen world!

NaNoWriMo

One thing that lays on every writer's heart is to eventually actually write a book.  Many a people call themselves writers, yet feel the task of book writing to be incredibly daunting.  Well, I'm here to tell you that writing a book is no big deal.  That's "write" (wink wink) it's easy!  I can confidently say that because I, my friends, have written my first novel.

Here's the catch.  Writing a novel is easy, revising and editing is the challenge.  How do you get through the initial task of putting your story down on paper?  The most important item you would need is accountability.  You read that right.  It's not a good plot, not a computer, not even research or ideas.  Although each of those are important and can make your process much smoother.  You need someone, something, some place that will keep you going even when you don't feel like it.  Once you get your story down on paper, the editing can begin. 

I wrote my first novel thanks mainly to accountability.  Who was I accountable to?  Well, not really a person, per se, but an event.  Every November it officially becomes NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  It's an even where you as a writer log in and create a novel, from scratch, between the days of November 1st through November 30th.  You can friend people, sort of like you can on facebook or twitter, and you can see their progress and compare it to where you're supposed to be.

This was an amazing tool in finishing my novel because I always wanted to keep pace with everyone.  Since I'm competitive it was nice to have a benchmark to work against.  I am the type of person who figures that if one person can do it, then so can I.  My dream of writing can only begin if I put pen to paper. 

So, even though we're a few months away from NaNoWriMo, start getting in gear for it.  The challenge is incredible and the rush is amazing.  Then, once you're done, once you have your entire story on paper without worrying about editing it until every word spits out of you, then you can begin to revise and start planning on what you'll wear to your first book signing.  Hmmm, what will I wear???

Day Dreaming

Currently, I am re-reading an excellent book.  This one falls within my top 10 of all time favorite books.  The title is:  "The Answer" by John Assaraf & Murray Smith.  I originally read it in a blur, trying to suck in all the good stuff and get on to my next read.  This time around I picked it up on a intuitive hunch and have breezed through the first 60 pages with much more amazing insight.

One part of the book talks about imagination.  There was a study done which discovered that by age 35 most people will loose a majority of function in the "imagination" side of their brain.  Why?  Well, what are you told to do as a child when you're caught looking out a window and not focusing?  Yep, you got it.  You get the good old, "Get your head out of the clouds" speech.  So we get programmed from a very young age to let go of our dreams and focus on what the world perceives as reality.  HOW TRAGIC!  Especially since we create our lives based on the things we imagine!

In business, it's true that I prefered working with younger people.  I know, I know, that can be viewed as discrimination, but in a sales industry you want to work with people who are hungry and motivated.  People who have lived through life a little longer have had the shine wiped clean out of their eyes.  They tend to stop hoping for great things and find it easier to settle for smaller feats.  Before you know it, if we follow these paths we can end up not caring about much other than getting to the weekend.

My hope is to inspire myself and others to constantly use the imaginations within.  There is a lot to create and the ability is ours, but nothing will happen if we first don't clearly visualize what we want.  What are some of the things you daydream about?

Leaders are Readers

Last year I set a goal to read 50 books.  I fell short with 36, but I didn't feel like a failure.  Actually, I was proud of myself for keeping a steady pace of 3 books per month.  From those books I took away a lot of wisdom and implemented several processes which I think have made my life better.  So at the beginning of 2010 I threw out a goal to read 50 books...again.  It will be June in a couple of days and I've gotten through 4 books.

This may seem like my reading effort has drastically fallen off of the face of the planet, but it hasn't.  I read A LOT.  It wouldn't be too far of a stretch for me to say I invest about 3 hours per day (MINIMUM) reading.  What do I read?  Blogs, Websites, Magazines, Essays, Articles.  I read very frequently (thanks to having a smart phone with internet access readily available).  I subscribe to SUCCESS magazine, WOMEN'S HEALTH magazine, and the O magazine, and I read about 80% of the issues each month.  I search and find many helpful Self Improvement Blogs and Websites. 

So, if I were to compare my reading activity from last year to this year so far, I would easily have to say I read MUCH MORE now than I did before...even though it hasn't been in the form of books as much.  My quest in life is to continually pursue learning, one way or another.  My goal is still 50 books, though.  I do have a special place in my heart for pages I can flip compared to a mouse I click, so I have a deep desire to fly through some and devour the knowledge and creativity available for me.  It's just great that we GET to learn and have such easy access to it.

Books

Maybe it's the binding, maybe it's the smell of the pages, maybe it's the blood, sweat, and tears poured into each word...who knows?  Why I love books so much is a mystery that is simply embedded into my DNA.  I've loved books and reading since I was 4 or 5 years old.  Fiction, Non-Fiction, and anything in between.  I read a LOT! 

Last year my goal was to read 50 books.  I fell way short.  I only got through 36 books, however, with all the blogs and magazines I read, my word count surely far surpasses that of a 50 book total.  There's just something awesome about picking up a book and having a story come to life completely in your mind.  Ever facet and feature just thriving inside your imagination.  It's powerful.

Currently I am finishing up "The Host" by the illustrious Stephenie Meyer.  Of course, I loved the Twilight Series.  Hello?  Gorgeous vampire, average and ordinary girl, sparkling skin, and tree climbing?  The story had it all.  One thing about Stephenie's books with me, though,  is that it takes me a while to get enthralled in it.  She writes big, long, wordy books and it isn't until about half way through the book that I get totally involved in the story.  After that point, it's over for me.  I'm hooked until the end.

Sometimes when I'm reading a book that's slower for me to get into I think about quitting and moving on to some other talked about sensation.  But, I don't.  I stick to it, because sometimes in stories like that, the very ending ties all of the drawn out contingents together.  Making the entire process worth it.

Books are great, and I'd rather be reading a book than watching TV any day.  Here are just a FEW of my favorites.  Check them out!

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

Rich Like Them by Ryane D'Agostino

The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Happy for No Reason by Marci Schimoff

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins