I led my third Publishing 101 Boot Camp on Saturday, the second time it’s been offered during Lewiston Adult Education’s Super Saturday format. This six-hour time slot (which also included lunch for attendees) is the right amount of time to walk prospective publishers through the nuts and bolts of independent publishing. This followed closely on the heels of my fall writing class, Let’s Write That Book: 8 Weeks to Writing and Publishing Your First Book. Five of my writing students sat though Saturday’s workshop. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Seth Godin
Facing Our Fears
Turn counter-clockwise to off.
I’ve gotten in the habit of sending out an email on Wednesday morning to my writing students; it’s a recap from the previous night’s class, and it also offers encouragement for the coming week of pushing their book project forward. Here’s a bit of today’s. Continue reading
Simmering in the Pot
I think I’ll let the chili cook a little longer.
I like Seth Godin. If you know me, you know I read his stuff and I think he’s almost always worth considering. You could even call me “pathetic” and accuse me of being a fanboy. He’s been amazingly successful and he offers some great advice, especially if you want to break free of 20th century thinking about work and career.
Having said that Seth’s stuff the past week or so has been causing some dissonance. Continue reading
A Consistent Body of Work
The beauty of a personal blog is just that; it’s personal. I posted recently about personal branding. This isn’t some cockamamie idea that I derived delusionally, while in the throes of dehydration at the end of some training brick, either. It’s supported by a host of thought leaders with the cred to back it up. Continue reading
Does Your Brand Matter?
How’s your personal brand stack up?
I receive Seth Godin’s daily email. His stuff is short, but packed with power.
Some people don’t get Godin. Generally, those that don’t can’t see the efficacy of change, or why effective change entails taking a risk. If you’re vested in maintaining the same old, same old (aka, the status quo), then Godin doesn’t resonate with you. Continue reading
Free Agents, Roller Coasters, and Pushing Past Failure
Hop on the roller coaster–the ride is just fine!
There is a myth that successful people have some kind of special advantage. Perhaps they possess a special “success gene.” That last sentence might seem fatuous unless you regularly hear the litany of excuses that people make about why they regularly fail to deliver, or worse, say things like, “it’s easy for you.” So why do some people succeed, and some people, exceedingly? Continue reading
Baby, it’s cold outside!
Hovering slightly below 0 (Fahrenheit)
We are in the midst of a good old-fashioned cold snap, common to those of us native to northern regions. January has always been the coldest month.
Oddly, the cold is now big news, at least if you watch local affiliate news. It’s part of my morning 5 AM routine that I can’t seem to shake. WMTW-8 sticks their second-string weatherizer out in some live location where this pale and shivering meteorologist tells us that “it’s cold outside.” Yes it is. Continue reading
Reading books 2012
Why read? That seems to be the question at hand since I’m once more at the end of a calendar year with another assortment of books read over the course of the past 12 months. With a list like this comes some sort of requirement to justify the time I invested in making my way through these books. Hence, I report back to you, dear reader.
The rediscovery of reading transformed my life back in 1997. I say “rediscovery” because like so many, I’d found other second rate substitutes for books and reading in the course of leaving school and entering the realm of work. Now I’ve come back to an even more essential task—reading broadly. I wish a few more of you would begin wrestling with this task. Continue reading
Happy thoughts
Happiness is very important to Americans. At the very least, appearing to be positive, happy, and avoid challenging accepted conventions of everyday existence is required to be liked and even popular.
I’ve learned a lot the past 10 years about not letting my thoughts and cynicism sidetrack me and I’ve decided that I’m not going to be tossed to and fro on a sea of negativity or despair. Continue reading
Mowing, thinking, tweeting, blogging
The Toro 22″ Recycler–a lawn-mowing machine.