Photo by Alvandi Tabrizi (Creative Commons)
The sun is brighter this morning.
Not hotter
but brighter.
Yesterday was cold, dark, and dreary.
But today is a new day.
The colors are more vivid.
Reds redder.
Greens greener.
Blues bluer.
The rain washed the dullness away
and now everything looks new.
The clouds surround the sky
and support this new light.
Photo by John Antoni (Creative Commons)
I don’t want to boss you around.
I simply want to help you do awesome things.
I want to be the Scottie Pippen (on the Bulls) to your Michael Jordan (pre-Wizards).
I want to be the Tony Almeida (good guy version) or even Chloe O’Brien (less quirky version) to your Jack Bauer.
The Trivette to your Walker Texas Ranger.
You get the idea.
You might not think you need coaching.
Even Rambo had Colonel Troutman and the Lone Ranger had Tonto.
You might not want to be challenged.
I don’t blame you! No one likes pain.
But pain is not as bad when you have someone on the journey with you.
My coaching sessions are comfortable, upbeat, and filled with encouragement.
It is time to pursue dreams only God can come up with.
Can I help you on your journey?
I offer coaching services and you can read more here. I’d also like to invite you to an introductory 10 minute phone call for FREE to see if we are a good fit. Just email me with the subject line 10 minute phone call. I’ll set it up. I can’t wait to talk to you!
The contents of the book Start by Jon Acuff truly changed my life. When I first heard them, I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown. Each heartbeat grew in intensity. I fidgeted to distract myself, but my heart just kept pounding louder and harder.
I was depressed and filled with despair.
Then I heard Jon Acuff ask a question that grabbed my attention: “What do the voices in your head say?” A young lady in the audience replied,”Mine say I’m not smart enough.” A man in his fifties said “Mine tell me my dream is stupid.” The woman a couple seats from me said, “Mine tell me I’m a loser.”
Upon hearing these answers, I instantly felt better.
I was not alone—I now had hope. I didn’t know what I wanted to do for my dream. I didn’t know specifically where my passion lied either. But this new sense of peace encouraged me. It let me know I wasn’t alone and now I was on the right path.
Fear is what stops us from being what we know we should be. It is time to not just ignore fear, but to PUNCH IT IN THE FACE.
Jon made this book as helpful as possible to guide you through. Jon is funny, helpful, and encouraging. I encourage you to buy this book for yourself and a copy for a friend you know who needs it too.
If you are filled with fear, there is no shame or judgement in ANY WAY from me. Just check out this awesome website here. See you aren’t alone!
If I can help in ANY way please contact me– jim@unknownjim.com
What’s a way YOU can CRUSH fear today?
I’m giving away a SIGNED copy of the book Start–to enter just leave a comment and share this post. It is signed by Jon, L.E. and Mcrae!!!
Just leave a comment and click this link to Retweet and you’re entered!—-> I’m Giving Away a copy of #Startbook signed by @jonacuff!
Good luck!!!!!!!!!
Photo by Tnarik (Creative Commons)
I’ve been writing seriously for a little over a year and a half. If you don’t know my story, you can read more here. I’ve grown so much in a relatively short amount of time and I’m so honored to know so many fantastic writers.
But I’ve also had some challenges along the way: from focusing too much on social media and web traffic, to being obsessed with becoming a carbon copy of the most popular bloggers.
I wish I would have focused more on these things instead:
1. Read a lot. But most importantly—read work that inspires you. Topics and stories which captivate you and carry you to another place. Know there is no shame in revisiting old classics from when you were a kid. For example, I have fallen in love with comic books and graphic novels I read 15-20 years ago.
2. Write in private. Don’t start a blog because you keep hearing folks tell you to start a blog. Keep the work in private and focus on your craft. With blogs come a million new distractions. It can easily become a popularity contest as opposed to an exercise in writing—especially for a beginner. Without extreme focus and dedication, blogging can become a roller coaster.
3. Don’t overdo it. When I first started out, I was very excited about writing so I spent hours and hours writing every day but I didn’t take care of myself. One month later, I was completely exhausted. I fought my body and tried to ignore the warning signs. Before you know it, I made myself sick.
4. Don’t go in alone. You need support. You need community. I so wish I had this when I started out. What if you don’t know anyone? Well, you know me. I want to help! Know there is hope, so please don’t be overwhelmed. There is a great group of writers in Writers Unite and they want to encourage you and support you to create your best work. I have lead this group for the last 8 months and I am thrilled to be a part of such a great community.
5. Write with joy. Write because you love what you are writing about. Go ahead, you can get fired up. I’m currently writing a Batman story and it’s one of the most fun things I’ve EVER done. If the thought of writing doesn’t excite you like a kid on Christmas morning, you probably are not writing about the right topic. If you are writing only to make money, you have already failed. You won’t ever be satisfied. You have to write for something more; why not choose joy?
6. Question everything. When starting out, it’s easy to just look to others for answers. The assumption is as follows: this worked for Jake, therefore it will work for me. This is often false. Each of us is different. There are no real writing rules or steps that you must follow. Everything you read about writing is a suggestion. Go ahead and question this post. I’m not offended at all. All of this is from my personal experience and yours might be different, so please find what works well for you and do it.
7. Experiment like crazy. Experiments are not failures, they are experiments. I experimented with a guitar blog for quite a while. I thought guitar was my main passion, but it turns out it’s a hobby right now. But you know what is great? Guitar could still become my main passion down the road. NOTHING is certain. Just put yourself out there and experiment. Go ahead and start today!
If I can help in any way, just fire me an email.
What is the best advice you have for beginning writers?
Photo by Tammy Perlmutter/Cover Design by Gabby Cosco
Community matters. Community can be the difference between shipping or quitting. I am so honored to be a part of a community of writers who want to take action.
Recently, the Writers Unite community I lead published an ebook titled Love Poems Deconstructed and it is NOW available!! It’s TOTALLY FREE and you can get your copy by clicking–> right here
How did this happen? This poetry collection was not something I planned in advance. As I led a #writestuff Twitter chat during February of 2013 and I was frustrated talking about writing instead of actually writing.
Then the idea for this project popped in my head.
What if we did an ebook as a community of writers? We could encourage and support each other. What if it was something totally different, like a poetry ebook?
I put the question out there to see if there was any interest, and the response was fantastic. Writers sent in poems on the topic of love and relationships—each one with an interesting, fresh perspective.
I hope you enjoy the ebook. Again you can find it just by clicking—-> right here. Thanks so much for reading!
If you enjoy this ebook, will you please share it with a friend? Thanks!
Photo by Bobafred (Creative Commons)
I woke up this morning in hopes of writing, but instead I paid some bills. I shared a post on Twitter and Facebook.
I wasted a fantastic opportunity to really jump start my day but instead did mundane tasks that require little or no energy.
Instead of beating myself up about it, I decided to write about it.
I often have an incredible tendency to self-loathe.
“When we don’t know who to hate, we hate ourselves.” Chuck Palahniuk
What does self-loathing accomplish? Not much at all. It just bottles up hate, and then it eventually leaks out.
And as you know, hate leads to the dark side.
How can you avoid falling into this trap?
1. Don’t compare to others—do your own thing.
2. Surround yourself with a positive support network: friends, family and other dreamers.
3. Pursue whatever you do with joy. Do what gets you FIRED up.
Do you face this challenge as well? How do you avoid this trap?
Enjoy this post? Please consider subscribing (white square box under my picture) and you’ll never miss a post!
Photo by HystericalMark (Creative Commons)
I often talk about creativity on this blog. But I have to be honest; the key is ACTUALLY CREATING, not just talking about creating.
Those who create are heroes in my mind. To actually make something and put yourself out there is a very AWESOME thing.
Tim Gallen is one of the most creative people I know. He writes all day for a newspaper (just like Clark Kent). He writes all night. He makes TV shows. I sometimes wonder, when does Tim sleep? The answer—well, he does not sleep very much. He’s pretty much a creative Superman (as noted with the great picture behind him in this interview).
Here in this video I spoke with Tim about his current writing projects and his exciting new TV series on Kickstarter, Harbor Shores. It’s a brilliant tongue-in-cheek nod to many of the teen shows of the 90′s. Will you please consider donating toward this fun project or even spreading the word about it—that helps a ton too!
Hope you enjoy the interview! (Email subscribers will need to click the link to view the video on Unknownjim.com– thanks!)
You can see the very first episode of Harbor Shores right —> HERE.
Photo by photoarion (Creative commons)
Blogging burnout is inevitable.
If you aren’t careful, you might even start to hate blogging altogether.
The joy is gone and then you go through the motions.
What do you do then?
Instead of giving up, I realized “It’s Time for a Writing Revolution.”
In this short ebook, I will give you some practical steps to help you figure out what you REALLY want to write about.
No strings attached—this is my gift to you.
Just click right here ——-> Writing Revolution Ebook –(Right click and select save as to save.)
Have you ever experienced blogging burnout? How did you respond?
Photo by Hanz.Gerwitz (Creative Commons)
Today’s guest post is by Erik Fisher. He is a full time family man, a husband and father to two kids, social media manager for Indiana Wesleyan University by day, a podcaster on productivity by night. Check out the interviews he’s recorded here and follow him on Twitter @ErikJFisher
I like to reflect on life at birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. So when New Year’s comes around–naturally I make a few changes.
This year, I decided to get up early–at 5 AM everyday to work out, and to focus on my dream. Then I could rack up my ten thousand hours of expertise. I also shared a resolution with my wife to get up early to pray together and talk with each other before the kids wake up.
But I’ve failed all my new years resolutions this year.
My track record speaks for itself:
I’ve slept in. My wife has slept in. We’ve said to each other quite a few times “we forgot to pray this morning”.
I’ve even gotten up early—only to watch television instead of workout or do anything productive.
But I refuse to quit.
Each time I derail, I dig deeper and get back on track. Each time I fall down, I get back up.
It takes a minimum of 21 days to form a new habit. We’re about 70 days into the new year.
And I have failed—A LOT.
But every time I fall short, I learn more about myself, and revisit the desire for change.
“Bad habits are like a comfortable bed. Easy to get into but hard to get out of.” - Anonymous
Do I really want change, or am I comfortable where I am?
Take a moment to think about where you are and where you want to be.
You know you want to change something.
Picture yourself as you finish writing your book.
Open a new business.
Dropping those extra pounds.
Or even just wake up early with coffee to finish reading a book.
What are you constantly reminded of that you need to change?
Now can you identify what is holding you back from doing it?
Face it down and fight the fear. Do it now. Keep getting up.
