Overcoming self-doubt is your most important job as a writer. Don’t think so? Answer one question: Do you believe that with hard work, determination, and persistence, you can succeed in achieving your writing goals? Your answer determines your fate. You may not believe that. Success depends on other factors likeContinue Reading
Do you need to change your work situation? Almost every day, I read something about a writer struggling to find time to write because of a difficult day job. Writers want to write, but after a full day at a demanding job, they face all sorts of barriers, from mentalContinue Reading
As a writer, do you know what your writing means? We tend to get so caught up in producing our work, publishing it, and marketing it that we fail to stop and think about this important question. I encourage you to take some time to do so. Here’s why. 7Continue Reading
There are times when you may wonder if you should keep writing or not. Here’s a story that may help. What I Learned from a Dental Hygienist I went to see a new dentist the other day, and I was lucky enough to come upon a great example of someoneContinue Reading
It’s hard to imagine that the only person standing in the way of our success in life is ourselves. That’s just too much responsibility! Even harder to imagine that we might actually get something out of avoiding what we most want to do in life. Is it possible? What WeContinue Reading
Those successful people. How do they do it? My dog gave me an idea the other day. Have you ever seen someone behave as if they really wanted something? My dog is really good at it. If she wants a bone, you know it. She’ll do all the tricks she’sContinue Reading
I got a chance to re-watch a few scenes from M. Night Shyamalan’s movie “Unbreakable” awhile back. I’ve always liked the film, but this time I realized what a great illustration it is of someone desperate to find his purpose in the world—in this case, the antagonist, Elijah, played byContinue Reading
Hollywood isn’t known for its multi-layered box-office smashes. They don’t often make millions with metaphorical masterpieces. The general word is that Americans don’t like them. They like their stories nice and neat, simple and straightforward, properly wrapped up and sealed at the end. Apparently, that’s why many of them scoredContinue Reading
At the risk of sounding ignorant, I’m going to admit something here: I’ve never read Letters to a Young Poet by Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. I’ve heard of it, of course, but never read it. Maybe my teachers were negligent in school. Maybe for whatever reason it just hasn’tContinue Reading
When I was growing up, I loved to listen to Barry Manilow. Call me square. I probably was. One of my favorites was one of Barry’s greatest hits, “Copacabana.” It was the beat that first attracted me, but as I grew older, the story came to life in my imagination,Continue Reading
Actor Kiefer Sutherland has a new, innovative series showing on Hulu called “The Confession.” Airing in five-minute episodes, it tells the story of an assassin who corners a priest in the confession booth for an in-depth conversation about the nature of good and evil. The assassin wants to understand faith,Continue Reading
In April 1950, Einstein’s article, “On the Generalized Theory of Gravitation” was published in Scientific American. In it, he wrote: “Once a theoretical idea has been acquired, one does well to hold fast to it until it leads to an untenable conclusion.” Ideas can be fleeting things—especially if they ariseContinue Reading