How to be Successful

"Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day." ~Jim Rohn

Since I've never heard anyone say they wanted to fail or to grow up to be an underachiever, I'm assuming that we would all like to be successful. However, if that's the case, then why do so many of us fall short?

Because wishing and being are two different things. And the dreaded "D" word, discipline, is the key ingredient.

I'd like to succeed in dropping a few pounds and getting into shape. But that means dragging myself out of bed in the morning and lacing up my running shoes. Pushing for an extra lap or two. Saying no to the french fry craving and saying yes to a salad. Success takes discipline in the little things repeated daily.

I'd like to build our family's financial stability. That takes discipline to cut back on spending, to find bargains, to pay down debts, and to set aside money into savings.

I'd like to earn enough money from my books to pay for my kids' tuition at their private school. Well, that too takes discipline. Discipline to write consistently, to read voraciously, to learn all I can about the industry, to submit to critique groups, to query agents, to meet editors at conferences, to network with other writers and potential readers, to build a "tribe" of followers, to develop unique ideas, to promote my work, and to do it all over and over on a daily basis.

How much do I want to succeed? It'll show up in how disciplined I become.

What about you? Where do you want to be successful? What simple disciplines done daily will get you there?

Vacations - The Amusement Park

What do professional athletes say after winning the Super Bowl? I'm going to Disneyland! Well, not really. After all this is a virtual vacation blog tour. But this week we're headed to the amusement park.

What do places like Disney, Six Flags, Silver Dollar City, or the traveling rides camped out in the vacant lot have in common? Wild rides and funnel cake. Ferris wheels, bumper cars, roller coasters, and spin-until-you're-sick mechanical contraptions. Popcorn, frozen lemonade, hot dogs, and cones of rainbow-colored ice shavings.

A place where adrenaline rules and nutrition is optional. A place to step out of our comfort zones and push back the boundaries of our fear. A place to create memories, earn bragging rights, and experience the stories that will fuel the family lore for years to come.

Stories like: Remember, dear brother, the time you bribed me with the promised of a funnel cake if I'd strap in to a seven-story tall hydraulic swing that launched us into the air, upside down (both frontwards and backwards) before screaming (literally) back toward the earth? A ride that made me lose all desire for funnel cake and gave me a headache? A ride that made the next one seem like child's play?

Yep, that's the extreme change of pace found only at the amusement park.

What about you? What is your favorite amusement park memory? Favorite ride? Favorite food?

Don't Look Back

If I had to pick my favorite fiction genre to read, romantic suspense would be near the top of the list. Because I really enjoy the mixture of a good love story and a mystery to solve.

This week's fiction focus is on Don't Look Back (Revell, 2010) by Lynette Eason. It's book two in a series, but I didn't feel like I had to have read the first book in order to understand this one.

Jamie Cash is a forensic anthropologist (meaning she studies bones for clues and reconstructs faces to help identify victims). Twelve years ago, she survived a brutal attack and is working to rebuild her life and ability to trust again. However, her attacker is back and taunting her from afar. Now, she must face her fear to help solve the crimes as she identifies other victims.

In this fast paced novel full of twists, turns, tension, and a touch of romance, Jamie displays a life transformed by the pain she experienced. She finds an inner strength honed through the fire of suffering and is able to offer comfort to other victims and their families.

The title advises not to look back - implying that she shouldn't dwell on the past, but instead move forward. Yet, by looking back, she is able to recall significant clues and gain the strength to face evil once again.

What about you? Have you grown stronger after going through pain? Do you look back at that time or look ahead? Should we do both? Why or why not?

Prioritizing the To-Do List

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." ~St. Francis of Assisi

I love lists. Daily to-do lists. Weekly goals. Groceries. Marketing contacts. Project steps. Writing ideas. And almost as much as making the lists, I love crossing things off of them! (Confession time: I've been known to put things on a list after I did it, just so I could draw a line through it.)

But how do you know what to put on the list?

Start with what is necessary. Quiet time, exercise, meals, a load of laundry, errands that must be done today. The next steps to complete a project at work. These are the things that have to be done and really need to be finished today.

Next on my list are the things I'd like to get done if I have time. Additional errands I can cross off now on this trip. A trip to the swimming pool with the kids. The next items on the top of my writing to-do list. A craft project. A batch of cookies. These are the extras that will free up additional time later and take me another step closer to my other goals.

Like the opening quote pointed out, if I'm getting the necessary and the possible done, suddenly I find myself able to do the impossible. Why? Because with steady progress and focused efforts, I have journeyed to the place I previously thought impossible. Hmm. Kinda like redesigning a website and self-publishing a book in three weeks while working 35 hours a week and shuttling three kids to various activities over summer vacation.

What about you? Are you a list-maker? How do you decide what to put on your list? Have lists helped you accomplish your goals?

Vacations - Other Cultures

In our continuing summer of virtual vacations, this week we're headed to another country (or at least another culture within our own borders.)

If money, time, travel speeds, and political situations were not a factor ... what parts of our world would you like to see? The lush tropical rainforests of the Amazon? The Inca ruins of Peru? The pyramids of Egypt? The Eiffel Tower in France? The Neuschwanstein castle in Germany? The Great Wall of China? The Alps of Switzerland? Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe? The gypsies of Romanian history?The Eskimos in Alaska? The Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania?

Why are these places so fascinating? I think it's partly geographical and partly historical. What events took place there? What is life like in a different climate or part of the world? For me, I'm curious about the people and what their lives are like. My imagination runs wild as I try to picture myself living in a different place and time. (Perhaps that's why I also write fiction!)

Visiting other cultures takes us out of our comfort zones and stretches our experiences about what life on planet Earth is like. We start to see ourselves as a piece of larger humanity and develop greater compassion for others when our similarities outweigh our differences. And these lessons stick with us when we return home.

What about you? Where in the world would you like to go? Where have you been? What lessons about humanity did you bring home with you?

Making Lemonade - FREE for a Limited Time

When life gives you lemons, how you approach, process, and transform them makes all the difference. Especially for parents facing the sour experiences of raising a child with developmental, behavioral, and/or health needs.

Making Lemonade: Parents Transforming Special Needs incorporates practical strategies from a Christian worldview and the emotional stories of parents (including me!) busy in the kitchen of life to offer readers hope and encouragement as they face their own lemons. Mirroring the steps of a recipe for making lemonade, this book covers the pucker reaction, juicing process, adding sugar, watering down with life, adding other fruit, stirring, the pitcher of support, chilling, sipping, and sharing.

Does this sound like something you, or someone you know, would be interested in reading? If so, the book is available in both print and ebook formats. And, for a limited time, you can download the ebook in a variety of different formats for FREE.

For a free ebook download (or free sample): Go to Making Lemonade at Smashwords and enter the following coupon code -- RN93L -- to get the $2.99 ebook for free for a limited time. (Formats available for Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Sony reader, pdf, html and more.) The ebook is also available now at the Amazon Kindle store (full price) and through other online retailers soon.

If you'd rather get a print version, go to Making Lemonade at CreateSpace and get the book for 20% off the regular price of $9.99. Discount code -- 8FHJYB6E. The book should be on Amazon within a few more days and other distributors in the weeks to come.

Either way, may I ask a favor in return? Please spread the word. And consider posting a review on Amazon and/or Smashwords. Just let others know what you thought about the book and if you found it helpful or not. The more reviews, the higher it appears in search engines and the more likely families searching for books on this topic will find it.

Why did I write this book? Well, as many of you know, my fourteen-year-old daughter has Cornelia de Lange syndrome and it has been an emotional parenting rollercoaster. What you might not know is that my seven-year-old son has allergy-induced asthma requiring medicine to visit Grandma's house. When he was diagnosed, I discovered the surprising truth that my emotional journey as the parent of a child with asthma was strikingly similar to that as the parent of a child with CdLS. I interviewed seven other families facing a wide variety of issues including autism, mosaic Down syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, and cancer. The common threads of our experiences were woven into the pages of this book.

What about you? What's been keeping you busy so far this summer? (Formatting, editing, and self-publishing have been on my list!)

Vacations - Mountains

This week we're continuing our summer of virtual vacations by heading for the hills. I live close to the Rocky Mountains, so it's not hard to imagine driving up winding canyon roads hemmed in by steep rock faces.

As we gain altitude, we are surrounded by hillsides of evergreen trees sprinkled with the lighter green of aspen leaves. The pine-scented air may be light on oxygen, but it's noticably missing the smog of city life. Jagged rocks contrast with delicate wildflowers. Melting snow feeds ice cold streams while hidden canyons beg to be explored on foot.

And all around are massive and majestic peaks. Mountains that are so much bigger than my circumstances. Mountains that remind me of words the Psalmist wrote so long ago. "I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)

By looking up from my current situation and fixing my eyes on mountains bigger than myself, I am reminded that God is bigger still. After all, He formed the heavens and the earth ... and these few rocky peaks ... and can certainly handle my personal mountains.

I head for the mountains and find my perspective is changed.

What about you? Do you live near any mountains? Do you have any mountain-sized circumstances?

Peace, Be Still

I've got a very large stack (well, stacks) of to-be-read books and my seven-year-old son picked out the next book for me to read. This week's fiction focus is Peace, Be Still by Terry Fowler (Heartsong Presents, 2011).

Katy Sinclair faces serious storms in life. Her little girl was kidnapped and she suspected her estranged husband was behind it -- until he turned up dead. Following the inner compulsion to do her own investigating, she heads to a beach house on the Atlantic coast and into the path of a hurricane. In the aftermath of destruction, she meets her husband's half brother, Richie, and together they must unravel the clues to find the child.

At one point, Katy commented on how she thought the beach would be a peaceful place and that she wanted her life to be the same. In reply, Richie pointed out that life is exactly like the waves -- sometimes calm and sometimes stormy.

I sense an unexpected theme this week. The beaches on Monday. Suffering and overcoming on Wednesday. And a character facing down the storms of life ... on a beach.

What about you? Have you found life to be more calm or more stormy? Sometimes even a hurricane? How is life like the waves upon the sand?

Overcoming

"All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming." ~Helen Keller

As a child, I remember reading a book about Helen Keller. If anyone knew first hand about overcoming, she was certainly one of them! Left deaf and blind after illness at age 19 months, it was years before Helen discovered the power of sign language and communication through her teacher, Anne Sullivan. She went on to college and in 1904, was the first deaf blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe. Helen was a speaker, author of twelve published books, political activist, and world traveler.

A life full of suffering. A life full of overcoming. And she couldn't have done the latter without experiencing the former. After all, in order to conquer or prevail, there must be opposition standing in the way. And a world full of suffering is also full of opportunities to be victorious in the face of trouble.

What about you? Have you experienced more suffering or more overcoming in life? Are the two connected?

Vacations - Beaches

Summer is the perfect time to get away from home and take a vacation. Especially if you have kids out of school and running around the house. On Mondays for the next couple of months, I'm going to take you on a virtual vacation to the kinds of locations on my dream list of getaways.

Pack your bathing suit and sun hat, because the first stop is the beach.

My dad was raised in southern California and I remember trips to visit my grandparents in Long Beach. Of course, a trip to Disneyland was usually on the agenda. But I always remember going out on the ocean in Grandpa's boat. And going to the beach.

Slogging through deep, hot sand until we reached the packed, cool sand at the shoreline. Foamy waves washing in to tickle bare toes and suck the sand out from under your feet as they receded back where they came from. The salty spray on my face. The screech of seagulls carried on the breeze. Exploring the tide pools to find colorful sea urchins, sea slugs, starfish, and other creatures seen only at the aquarium. Collecting shells and hunting sand crabs. On rare occasions, watching territorial seals barking at each other on the rocks. Splashing in the cool water and then retreating back to sit on a towel and soak up the warm sun.

Years later, my grandparents moved and I recall driving along the coastal highway in northern California and Oregon. Those beaches were less populated, the water colder, and the terrain more rugged. Yet the same ocean waves are pulled by the cyclical tides to crash upon the shores.

For me, there's something soothing and relaxing about the beach. Watching the surf roll in and out, washing away the footprints in the sand and leaving a clean canvas. Staring out to where the sky meets water and wondering about how big God is to have created this vast expanse.

What about you? Do you have memories of the beach? Would the beach be your top choice in vacation spots? Why?

The Pastor's Wife

I'm a PK (pastor's kid), so when a writing friend passed along a book she thought I'd like ... and the book turned out to be The Pastor's Wife by Jennifer AlLee (Abingdon, 2010) ... I assumed I knew what I'd find inside the covers.

Yes, there were church council meetings with a few stern and judgmental types seated around the table. Not to mention references to a parade of casseroles and a parsonage furnished with hand-me-downs.

I also found an engaging character in Maura Sullivan. She thought she knew what she was getting into when she married a soon-to-be pastor. But when his devotion to the congregation left her out in the cold, she ran. Now, six years later, the provisions of a will bring her back to the small town ... and husband she'd left behind. 

In the past, she had tried unsuccessfully to fit into the mold of expectations for the role of pastor's wife. This time around, she's learning how to forgive, to stand up for herself, and to find the unique niche God created her for.

And all because of the crazy provisions in Miss Hattie's will.

What about you? Have you ever tried to live up to the expectations of others only to find your personality squashed?

The Applause of One

"The person who seeks all their applause from outside has their happiness in another's keeping." ~Dale Carnegie

Last week was the end of the school year, complete with elementary awards assemblies and field day. A time to honor those who have achieved great things and celebrate their accomplishments.

But not everyone got a certificate. Not everyone is gifted with artistic or athletic abilities. What about those who went home empty handed?

What about me? I'll be the first in line to admit that I like being recognized for a job well done. I'll also admit that I've (sometimes) gone out of my way and turned myself inside out striving to gain that moment of fame ... only to hide my tears when another's name was called and slink home in misery. Ouch. The truth hurts.

However, like today's quote points out, there is a danger in pinning my hopes for happiness on things I cannot control -- like the opinions of others.

What if, instead, I simply did my best with the gifts I've been given? What if the applause I sought after was to look at myself in the mirror at the end of the day and know I gave it 100%? What if I lived to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant?"

If I never heard the accolades of others, would the applause of One be enough?

What about you? What applause have you received? Have you pursued the applause from outside more than the applause of One?