Your Life Yoda

September 20, 2019

Is it Time to Make a Radical Change?

Change isn't scary. It's terrifying. Radical change even more so. We are hardwired for consistency. We take the same route from home to work and back again, telling ourselves it's because it's the shortest path. Not true. We are not agents of change even if we pretend to be sometimes. We are agents of consistency. Agents of repetition. But should we? What if that which feels most comfortable and natural to us is bad for us? What if the change, a radical change, is the best thing we can do?

September 19, 2019

Learning to Write Longer by Writing Shorter

Big tasks can be overwhelming. Huge writing assignments or the notion of starting a book with an intended final word count in the 80,000 word range (after edits) is daunting, discouraging, and usually leads to distraction and defeat. Little tasks and short writing goals, however, are easy and achievable. If you don't think you can trick your brain into viewing your writing assignment differently, think again.

September 18, 2019

Making Lists Brings Order and Success to Chaos

Have you ever had trouble falling asleep because your brain is on overdrive? It's hard to turn off the switch when so many things need our attention. Human beings cannot think two thoughts at the exact same time. We can move between thoughts incredibly quickly, and we can act upon multiple thoughts at the same time (like compound exercises), but our brains are literally unable to take two inputs and process them at once. It's this natural proclivity to become overwhelmed that results in the effectiveness of making lists.

September 16, 2019

Building a Brand on Trust

When I think of a trustworthy brand, my mind splits in two directions. On one hand, higher quality brands are trusted to make good on their promises of delivering an exceptional product, like the latest Apple iPhone or a new car. On the other hand, large businesses have been cutting away at the cords of trust over time with ever worsening incidents. Private data is sold to the highest bidder. Financial information is hacked despite the promise of safeguarding. And high-end products don't always deliver. Trust is growing as the commodity of choice in the modern age and that is a very good thing for you.

September 15, 2019

Success is a Tweak Away

Doing the same thing over, and over, and over while expecting a different result is insanity. Why on Earth would the results change if the application of effort does not? That, my friends, is truly living on a hope and a prayer. We tell ourselves, "This is how it should work!" And yet, it doesn't. So the next day, we do it again. Instead of considering how things "should work", let's consider how things "do work". What I've found is that success, the kind of success we are feverishly after, is often times just a tweak away.

September 13, 2019

Building a Brand on Being Remarkable

It's a crazy notion that we can create a product or service that is truly remarkable. But why is it so crazy? Why is being remarkable so rare? So unique? So valuable? So likely that, if someone sees it from a distance or holds it close to their chest, they'll want to tell other people about it? But the fact remains, that as others have already blazed the trail to be remarkable, we too can achieve such a mark. Our brand can be remarkable. Who we are, what we do, and what we create can be worthy of making remark about.

September 12, 2019

How Successful Authors Overcome Writer’s Block

We've all experienced the common nemisis...writer's block. It appears when we least expect it and takes away our trusty muse. Some authors and illustrators fight it. Some try to ignore it. Creatives rally together in the disdain they have for the feeling of not having anything to say, not being sure what to write, and being anxious over what to draw next. Take courage and learn how these successful authors handle and overcome writer's block.

September 10, 2019

Creating Picture Books as a Team with Amy and Greg Newbold

Creating picture books is not always a solitary, lonely endeavor. Great books require great teams and where better to start than within the same home? Amy and Greg Newbold share their story, experience, and insight into how they work together, as husband and wife, in creating beautiful books for children. Join us as we gleam from their experience chasing, and dare I say reaching, the author and illustrator's dream of publishing books.

September 9, 2019

10 Things Only Writers Understand

Have you ever been asked what you're writing only to be looked down upon for your cute little hobby? Has anyone ever suggested you should just self-publish as if getting a traditional deal is beyond your reach and you may as well give up? Has someone given you their "next big idea" for a book that you should write? There are some things only writers understand. Here are 10 of them.

August 30, 2019

Writing When – No One Reads What You Wrote

I know you struggle with this. Know how I know? Because everyone struggles with this. I posed this question to Twitter recently asking people if they would still write if no one read what they wrote. The results surprised me. Not because just about everyone said they would continue writing. It's what so many added to their response. By and large they said, no one reads what I currently write so of course I would continue writing if no one reads it. Here's a simple truth. Writers don't write to be read. They write for a much more powerful and instinctual reason.