Do not Activate without Coffee!!

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Rod's World

I was going to write this blog on what goals I have set for 2017 but decided instead to write about what activities I have chosen to fulfill. I tend to use Danielle LaPorte’s amazing Desire Map process: Danielle’s homepage. In this process you choose 3 to 5 core desire feelings you wish ot create your life to fulfill. At the moment mine are Vitality, Bliss, Love, Helping Other People Evolve = H.O.P.E. and Being Loved.

As I chose these three years ago I am about to do the process again and see what comes up. it takes a couple of days to do and is a very full look at what turns you on – how to activate your life. How do we look at the art of activation, lets begin the journey:

1. We all choose our roles in life even though quite a few of us get pleasure out of blaming others for our situation. Get some responsibility on board.

2. Not formulated classroom lessons but many adventures to find out what will turn the switch on in each child. Some of the great geniuses of history were considered slow or even stupid when attending school: Child’s Play.

3. Robert began his career playing music and studying and teaching musical composition. He began to see that the structural principles that are so much a part of the composer’s art have profound importance when applied to human development.

4. A statement by Superman who lost nearly everything a human could think of losing but it never deactivated his lust for life: See what I mean.

5. Remember when we activate goals and plans for our lives what comes with them is the not that goals and plans, this is to teach you what it takes to fulfill a goal.

6. It’s great to look at including these in your activities, the more positive they are for your mind and body the better for your soul: What a Wonderful World.

7. It was so cute I just had to use it; Reminds me of previous blog on Synergy.

8. What activates fear in you, the underlying emotion that prevents us dealing with our lack of success with our goals because we are afraid of confronting them: When you say nothing at All.

9. All of us do this, it may end up in ecstatic states , or bouts of sadness, or even madness. But be sure it will take you somewhere. I suggest bodywork as a remedy.

10. Could it be this simple, give it a go and see what happens: F***ing Perfect.

11. Here’s a list of people we know for their fame, check out what they did before, from carpenters to chicken pluckers: What did they do?

12. Interesting comparison by king of everything psychedelic Timothy Leary. I think I understand computers but not so sure about some of my acid experiences: Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds.

13. This statement from Albert says a lot about why traditional goal setting methodology fails, it is never activated.

14. Quiz time, which president of the United States was JQA and from which century, this quote still holds today: Titanium.

15. What do you wish to activate with your words on Social Media? I wish to promote possibility and Love. Sometimes I slip into political disarray which taints my personal brand.

So lets have a beautiful day activating what it is you wish to in your lives.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Team Work makes the Dream Work!!

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Rod's World

I was cleaning up my apartment the other day when I found my old Synergy sticker. Synergy is an all night dance event that works because so many people put their time and efforts into making it work. Thats the definition of Synergy: the interaction or cooperation of two or more people, organisations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects: “the synergy between artist and record company”:

synonyms: collaboration · working together · joint action · combined effort · teamwork · mutual support · partnership · coopetition · coordination · liaison · association · unity · concurrence · concord · accord · understanding · give and take · compromise · dealings · relations · coaction.

It been realised for a very long time that synergy works, what have we said about it over this time, lets have a look:

1. Stephen Richards Covey (October 24, 1932 – July 16, 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book was The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me — How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time. He was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University at the time of his death.

2. Another way of looking at synergy is to take all the natural brilliance of the people involved and mix them together and look at what pours out: Team.

3. How do we exploit all the advantages people have? Use synergy as the base for all enterprise I say.

4. si-nar-je , that for my Chinese english students. They would find the original spelling difficult: Rise.

5. James Bond AKA Pierce Brosnan was involved in a campaign that used the synergy a campaign brings to amend when the navy had their training exercises so that mass migrations were not affected.

6. Branson doesn’t merely say things like, “Screw it, just get on and do it.” He actually lives his life that way. He drops out of school and starts a business. He signs the Sex Pistols to his record label when everyone else says they are too controversial. He charters a plane when he doesn’t have the money. When everyone else balks or comes up with a good reason for why the time isn’t right, Branson gets started. He realises the power of synergy: Richard on People.

7. This is what may hold the creation of synergy back, thinking that you are not that. You don’t need to be. Someone else on your team will be.

8. Toba Beta is sci-fi writer from Indonesia. He works as economist/practitioner in Indonesia financial industries and capital market. He is dubbed as Mister Bond by Investor Magazine. He writes journals, novels, quotes and poems. This is quite a powerful quote: Open Book.

9. Love this quote, it expresses all that is positive about using synergy in your life.

10. I find it difficult to relate to people who attempt to split their personal and work life into two different aspects. They are all hours spent living int eh same day, the same lifetime: A Day in the Life.

11. Ou were you? I’m a proof reader by profession as well as a blogger. Just a little oops there.

12. This is a great way to relate to other in a situation that requires synergy to evolve: Karma.

13. I believe it also takes action, thoughts are fine, but no action equals nada, nothing, zip, etc. etc.

14. Isn’t this just so beautiful. A big Aww from me: Never let you Go.

15. Here’s another great definition of Synergy.

So I hope this helps you focus on your dreams and the power working with Synergy will bring to them.

Namaste until next time , my dear friends.

It was not in your Textbooks!!

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Rod's World

I love TED talks. 18 minutes of possibility and passion. I’m reading a book called Talk like Ted, because, yes, I have a deep wish to do one, it’s on my bucket list. Titanic explorer Robert Ballard in TED 2008 started his talk with ” Everything I’m going to present to you was not in my textbooks when I went to school. ”

So I ponder why education departments hold so stringently onto outdated technologies and teaching methods as the above statement changes at a more rapid rate. here’s his TED talk: Exploring the Oceans.

The New is what is taking us forward, allowing for what we know already, but it is the added bits that will make the difference.

Let us meander down the path we are being taken by the newness in our lives:

1. Oh, but for the brave experimenters, we would not have the electric light, the solar panel. The people who invented these things knew that the journey came with mistakes. That they did not have the answer instantly.

1. When I was sixteen I did not know that I would run marathons when another sixteen had passed. Or that I would run down the main street of Leningrad with the mayor in the name of Ending World Hunger: I’m not Afraid

3. Doe Zantamata is an author, artist, and photographer. In addition to the Happiness in Your Life book series, she also creates and designs poster books of different titles, including “Happy By Nature,” “Old Children, A Book for “Adults”,” and others. Doe has been writing since before she could tie her shoes. In addition to writing, she enjoys nature, history, and is an animal welfare advocate. She also runs a blog at http://www.thehiyL.com with daily posts.

4. What would you want to be posted on your mini whiteboard that they could use later in your life: Live Your Life.

5. One thing guaranteed life will change, be new, moment by moment. Remember this when you wake up each beautiful morning.

6. I’m old enough to remember Hawkeye from M.A.S.H. From his credits he had this not in the textbook thing down pat: Theme from MASH.

7. On this path, you have to let go of some things you have attachments to. Trust the magic.

8. A new project, travel to a new country, a new love affair. Your feelings are jolted in these situations: Feelings.

9. William Arthur Ward is one of America’s most quoted writers of inspirational maxims. His column Pertinent Proverbs has been featured in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and in numerous service club publications throughout the United States and abroad. He is one of the most frequently quoted writers in the pages of Quote, the international weekly digest for public speakers.

10. There is a quote that points out we all have the same amount of time in the day as Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and HHDL. When I posted it on Facebook my brother went apeshit. This fact can be quite challenging: Absolute Beginners.

11. Don’t think that this is at the forefront of my mind as I travel through the day, I will remember it now, though.

12. Is it a creation if you already know how to do it: Imagine.

13. From the great Paulo Coelho, one simple word – “Hello”.

14. It didn’t work that time. Start again, from little steps big things grow: Starting Something: M.J.

15. How many mistakes a day do you make?

Got a little bit off the subject on the way through, but remember, what is dominant in our society was not in the textbooks you read at school.

Namaste until next time , my dear friends.

The delight with which you Savour!!

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Rod's World

Still reading Jeff Foster’s book, The Way of Rest: Jeff’s Home Page. I’m at the section on abundance. Jeff says it is not the things in your life that equate to abundance but the connection to every breath, how sensitive you are to every flicker of sensation and emotion in the body. It is the delight you savor each unique moment.It is the freshness of each morning unencumbered by memory or false hope.

It sounds very much like the teachings of my mentor Arion Light through his Activation School: What is Activation?

So let’s go on a journey of delight!!

1. Often if you have more than one child you need a box of each as they try their unique diets. For your health information, Froot Loops lead the sugar stakes by a big way.

2. My favourite teacher had this saying, he said he wasn’t trying to get us to be perfect as that was the booby prize, the way to never complete anything: Unique.

3. Did you know that 75% of fashion magazines are advertising, don’t give up your unique beauty and believe their crap.

4. Seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, Ralph disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States, I apologise for the coke ad: Fuc**** Perfect!.

5. If you try and imitate the great artists they charge you with fraud, there’s a reason for this. Be your own great artist.

6. Love this image, nature is so great at being unique: Born This Way.

7. We see them on the trains in their business burqa’s, hundreds and thousands of them. Ban the business burqa.

8. I write all my comments in bold, should I add italics: Confident.

9. Repeat to yourself in the mirror five times after you get up.

10. Only you can be you, the more you get this the less you struggle with the world: Just the Way You Are!

11. Papa Jack, aka John Gemperie is a Filipino celebrity whose main aim is to spread love.

12. The brave men of Scotland: Be Brave Enough!

13. Says it all in two words.

14. At age 13, Kerr entered and won the 1997 annual Dolly magazine/Impulse model competition. She was flown to Sydney a week before her 14th birthday to shoot for the magazine. Upon Kerr’s win, local media expressed “concerned outrage” at her young age. The controversy raised concerns about the glorification of young girls within the fashion, beauty, and entertainment industries^{: Too Young.}

15. I’m not like everyone else because they are not me. Tattoo this on your arm in case you forget from time to time.

Try to get what you want, and it’s already far away. Be what you want, and it’s already in your heart. The rest is details. The rest, you never really wanted anyway. from lack to abundance in a heartbeat.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Fire up your Heart, for the Wind is getting Cold!!

Posted on December 26, 2016 by Rod's World

I have two Jeff’s in my top ten Facebook contributors, Jeff Brown: Jeff Brown’s Homepage. and Jeff Foster: Jeff Foster’s Homepage. I used to post much more of jeff Browns material, then a friend I trust told me about Jeff Foster and brought me one of his books of essays: The Way of Rest. I have been reading it over the holiday break and was particularly taken by one on firing up your heart, hence the title of this blog.

It began: Break me Open, Life. Shatter my remaining defenses against you. It is called Sing, World, Sing.

So let’s have a look at how the world puts fire in your heart with words:

1. When you find what your passion is your life may appear to be like this instead of the numbness of 9 to 5 living.

2. Jim Carrey in his memorable speech says there are only two states, Fear, and Love. Guess which one sets your heart on fire: Fearless.

3. Samuel Butler (4 December 1835 – 18 June 1902) was an iconoclastic Victorian-era English author who published a variety of works. Two of his most famous pieces are the Utopian satire Erewhon and a semi-autobiographical novel published posthumously, The Way of All Flesh. He is also known for examining Christian orthodoxy, substantive studies of evolutionary thought, studies of Italian art, and works of literary history and criticism. Butler made prose translations of the Iliad and Odyssey, which remain in use to this day.

4. Possibly my favorite poet, E.E. Cummings points out in this quote why it is essential to have the fire in your heart: To Be Yourself.

5. I am learning to be able to tell the difference when women have this.

6. Of course, it has to be this song: Burning down the House.

7. In our community, the Conscious community of Melbourne, Australia, we call it finding your Tribe. Rumi says it better.

8. I love it when I meet these people, you are instantly attracted to them: I saw the Light.

9. Weapon of mass Creation – Your Heart on Fire.

10. To kindle: set (something) on fire.
synonyms: light · ignite · set alight · set light to · set on fire · set fire to · put a match to · set burning · get going · start · touch off · spark · torch: Light my Fire.

11. Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an African-American expatriate singer and entertainer, whose career was centered primarily in Europe and in particular in her adoptive country of France. In her early career she was also renowned as a dancer, and was among the most celebrated performers to headline in the lavish revues of the Folies Bergère in Paris. Her performance in the revue Un Vent de Folie in 1927 caused a sensation in Paris, with Baker in her costume consisting of only a girdle of bananas becoming not only her most iconic image but also a symbol of the jazz age and the 1920‘s. She was celebrated by all of the great artists and intellectuals of the era, with various circles dubbing her the “Black Pearl”, the “Bronze Venus”, as well as the “Creole Goddess”. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she renounced her U.S. citizenship to become a citizen of France in 1937 upon her marriage to Jean Lyon.

12. Life is never like a silent stream, it contains flows and ebbs. If your fire is alight it is easier to remain strong: We shall Overcome.

13. More Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, aka Rumi. This is a beautiful few lines to live life by.

14. Mary Lou Retton (born January 24, 1968) is a retired American gymnast. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, she won a gold medal in the individual all-around competition, as well as two silver medals and two bronze medals. Her performance made her one of the most popular athletes in the United States. The fire is still in her heart, Wikipedia says she is worth 5.8 million dollars: Undeniable.

15. Bruce Lee makes a point here, the flame comes from the coals, without coals no flames.

So I thought I would end with the entire Sing, World, Sing!

Break me Open, Life.

Shatter my remaining defenses against you

You placed magnificence at the heart of my despair.

You sowed volcanic strength into my vulnerability.

Even my doubt vibrated with courage.

“Leave the familiar with no hope of return?”

Of Course!

I am not afraid. I was never Afraid!

I once walked a familiar path of self-construction.

I now walk a path of grace and destruction,

of weeping at birdsong and telling the truth.

I will never turn back!

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

What are your always Charateristics?

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Rod's World

Just downloaded Carolyn Myss’s The Language of Archetypes as my holiday listening. I love Carolyn because she is so direct and in your face, no bullshit for this woman. I have seen her twice over the years, I have come away transformed each time. One of them was the Sacred Contracts workshop where I learned the 12 archetypes that affect each of us. Our power systems. Here’s a link to her wisdom: Carolyn’s home page.

Let’s go on the journey of how archetypes have affected our society and matured it:

1. We grow up with fairly basic archetypes but what if your calling is to be extraordinary. These archetypes won’t get you there.

2. Did you know Keanu was born in Beirut, Lebanon. I’m not sure what this means. Perhaps this Youtube clip explains it: In the Mirror.

3. All my artistic friends live by this koan. They clearly know their dominant archetype.

4. We are all on the path of discovery, here’s how it relates to the universe: Love Yourself.

5. When you discover your primary archetype will you follow it, it’s your choice to do so.

6. Your archetypes are your moments of magic when the stars light up for you. Are you ready to follow the stars: It’s magic.

7. We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. We know are archetypes and are trying to live through them.

8. When you do the work, do all of it, this is what Carl is pointing to here: Heart Touching.

9. Carolyn points out there are twelve dominant archetypes but our makeups are all unique.

10. Meeting your archetypes will not be easy, the treasure awaits on the battlefield: Imagine Dragons.

11. How do you locate your archetypes, here’s one way.

12. Another way to reveal them is through new material and situations daily in your life: Whats New Pussycat.

13. Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA; born 8 January 1942) is an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge. His scientific works include a collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity theorems in the framework of general relativity and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. Hawking was the first to set forth a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He is a vigorous supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. Not a lot of archetypical mixes like Stephen, methinks.

14. Everything you truly are, your Sacred Contract: take it on: Who You Really Are.

15. Says it all really!!

I hope you are enjoying your journey with your sacred archetypes, I certainly am.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Life is Calling!!

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Rod's World

I recently created a vision for 2017. In it, I used the three questions Vishen Lakhiani suggests in his excellent book The Code of the Extraordinary Mind. They were What do you want to experience? How do you want to Grow? and How do you want to contribute?

It was an exercise for the last week of the Activation Program. If you are a regular reader you will know I have committed to a 2-year training program with Arion Light, the convenor of the school. Here’s the link to it so you can learn a little as to why I did this: Activation School link.

Vishen talked about end goals in life, goals that follow our heart, excite and inspire us, and put our ultimate target in our sights, our calling.

What does society say about our callings, let’s have a look:

1. How do people rise above their societal upbringings, I think belief in the statement above may have something to do with it.

2. How could I not include Oprah Winfrey, here is her gift to you about your calling: Your Calling.

3. When you find your calling, you are fully steeped in your essence and definitely, don’t need to do this.

4. Your job is to wake up your internal alarm clock: Wide Awake.

5. The man who invented the term bliss in his iconic book The Heroes Journey. It describes finding your calling pretty well.

6. Passion, turn to the left. Passion turn to the right. Follow them, they are your calling: Passion.

7. Lissa Rankin M.D. is one of the top ten people I follow on Facebook. I have read all her books, there are three of them, my favorite is the Fear Cure, check it out on this link: The Fear Cure.

8. If you find your calling, you are ecstatically happy, it rubs off: Raise Your Glass.

9. I believe in this statement. The elevator speech, mine is Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included.

10. It doesn’t have to be Jesus if people believe in your calling, this is all they need to do: One step at a Time.

11. I have taken part in a developmental process called Catalyst. In it, they get you to look back at your past and thank it for its contribution and then say goodbye to it because it is not where you are in life now.

12. Most of the time as I was growing up I did not even notice I was breathing. It was these moments that pointed me towards my calling: Every Breath You Take.

13. A baseball outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles. He is known for his quotes more than his baseball career.

14. They say, Love, what you do and you will never work another day in your life. Hooray, you have found your calling: Hold up.

15. last night we were doing an exercise and had odd numbers, so someone had to use the mirror. That person was doing this, thank you Rumi.

Have you answered or do the same things keep calling you? Listen or they will get louder and louder.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

I just Awesomed all over the Place!!

Posted on December 17, 2016 by Rod's World

I’m reading The Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakshani, founder of Mindvalley. In it, he defines three kinds of happiness:

Happiness from Special and Unique Experiences
Happiness from growth and Awakening
Happiness from Meaning

Chances are we live our life somewhere in between our highest high and lowest low. Researchers call this phenomenon hedonic adaption. Vishen talks of using Blissipline to raise our happiness on a daily basis through three practices:

The Power of Gratitude
Forgiveness
The Practice of Giving

So how do you raise your happiness levels, let’s look at what the world has been saying about it over the years:

1. There are times in my life, I have thought, Why Me!!, now I realize I would not be leading the extraordinary Life I do now without these experiences.

2. Do not give up your happy land for others, you have to live there: Happiness is a warm Gun.

3. The first five statements sum up our childhood until they put us in the system that is meant to educate us. Fight for the right to party to be happy.

4. Not as easy as this classic Banksy image makes it: Letting Go.

5. One ingredient that helps a lot is a simple smile, practice it daily.

6. The Power of Now, not our to-do lists. Eckhart Tolle is the man for this: The Power of Now.

7. One of the practices to achieve number 6.

8. At 62 I am having the most awesome years of my life. I call myself an elder of the conscious community who has not brought the bullshit: Elder Hip Hop.

9. We are visiting that time that is the height of Object worship, captured by the retail industry Christmas has lost it original meaning many decades ago.

10.I have a daily practice to repeat the I Love You mantra in the mirror because I know that this is true but that I sometimes forget: Roar.

11. Go on, you know you can put it in your purse or wallet and bring it out when you need to.

12. How old were you when you were told to grow up and act like an adult, hopefully, it still happens today for you: Dancing Queen.

13. This quote comes from The Maxims of Marmaduke, written in 1908. It is ageless and just as relevant in this century.

14. Forgetting those things that wrecked the relationship will have a greater effect than apologizing or forgiving: Forget about Me.

15. Remember these people: Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, J.K. Rowling, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Mark Pinkus, Jack Dorsey, Susan Boyle, Abraham Lincoln and Colonel Sanders. All took to at least the age of 30 to find their passions and become successful.

So what is your awesome, never give up on finding it, remember it’s a journey, not a destination.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Something out of Nothing!!

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Rod's World

There is a poster in front of me that is advertising the Goodstart Preston program, on it is written the statement Creativity is more than artistic expression, it’s a safe and engaging way for children to explore their feelings and imagination while developing motor skills and language.

Remember as a child when you had imaginary friends who could be dragons, princes, and princesses or the brothers and sisters you didn’t have. Where has that incredible creativity gone in our more mature life? Let’s have a look at what society has said about creativity over the years:

1. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Dorothy Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in publications such as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed when her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the Hollywood blacklist.

2. I love this statement by Brene Brown, sharing your soul with the world, what a way to describe creativity: You Have to Get Back UP.

3. I thought John Kennedy said this, but it was definitely George. Over his 94 years, he wrote an incredible 60 plays, the best known being Pygmalion, a stalwart of the school curriculums. A little-known fact is that he opposed vaccination back in the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s.

4. Probably my favorite quote maker. Albert Einstein’s work is contagious and I love passing it on: Pass it On.

5. It’s Santa time. How old were you when you stopped believing or are you a survivor?

6. We remain loyal to people but how often do we give up on our gifts because we are told by society they are not the way to make our living: Get Lucky.

7. Fahrenheit 451, one of the most iconic sci-fi books ever written. The novel presents a future American society where books are outlawed and “firemen” burn any that are found. The book is named after the assumed temperature at which paper combusts. Thank goodness for Kindle.

8. Paint attracts the child in one because it so bright. But when Danny was around on TV it was black and white. Here is a classic dance routine from his show with Gene Kelly: Danny and Gene.

9. Do you remember those puzzles that were popular where you had to go outside the box. If you solved them you were a creative.

10. A lot of Creatives never make it to their Uni graduation. Here is one of the most famous and his speech about it: Be Inspired.

11. Do you know that most things that are created are after an incredible journey of failure, Edison being the classic example with the electric light bulb.

12. You can Dance if you want to: A koan for creativity: Safety Dance.

13. It’s essential ot remember the last element, have fun on your creative path.

14. I know I have made some awful flub ups because of my unwillingness to let go of my certainty about life I think I’m making one at the moment : Get Back Up.

15. As I mentioned before I thought JFK had made a quote, he didn’t but he definitely said this one. Idea’s are timeless as is your creativity.

So fight for your right to party/stay creative. It’s that part of you which can make the world a better place.

Namaste until next time , my dear friends.

This is Brilliant, You are Awesome!!

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Rod's World

Caught up with the woman who started my blogging career tonight at a publicity do for her book on writing, Use your Words. I did her Gunnas writing course about two years ago and had not committed a word to print before attending. I am now up to blog 187. Here’s a link to her web page, if you ever intend writing your words, check it out: Catherine’s web page.

Cath gave some amazing tips during her talk, one being don’t seek feedback, they are your words, write them and then find a publisher or self-publish. Also, that whoever tells you that writing is easy is bullshitting you, It’s hard.

So what does the world say about the art of writing your words, let’s have a look.

1. I think I have done some things worth writing about. Interrupting the main street of Leningrad to run down with the mayor and the Minister for Sport on a Friday afternoon being one of them.

2. Great books to me are just as visually stunning as a great painting. The images you create as you read the words stick with you as long as seeing the Mona Lisa or Blue Poles : You’re The Voice.

3. People probably think Elizabeth Gilbert sat down one day and churned out the million-selling Eat, Pray, Love. Gilbert earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from New York University in 1991, after which she worked as a cook, a bartender, a waitress, and a magazine employee. She wrote of her experience as a cook on a dude ranch in short stories, and also briefly in her book The Last American Man (Viking 2002). It was not until 2006 she wrote Eat, Pray, and Love.

4. I have probably written as many wrong words as I have words that have ended up in these blogs: Elastic Heart.

5. I stopped writing this blog for three months when I had a thinking block that went something like this: No one is reading it anyway, so what will it matter if I stop.

6. I put Namaste at the end of every blog I write, it means one soul recognizes another. I hope that you can see mine in my writing : Say my Name.

7. We are all organisms, from our pet cats to the curious breed known as writers.

8. The world’s greatest booby prize, perfectionism. At the Gunnas master class, our first exercise was to write for 5 minutes, which was actually 15 which proved to us all that we could write: Hear You Me.

9. Just start your writing, now not later.

10. My 89-year-old mum can still recite William Wordsworth’s I wander lonely as a cloud. It must have filled her heart upon reading it. William got his job done: Daffodils.

11. I don’t know how many times I have thought is that revealing too much Like that I have been hospitalised 6 times for mental health issues, then I realise writing is not about censorship.

12. Motivation follows action, do you give up your designated writing times and word targets, never ever ever: Instant Crush.

13. What people think of your work is none of your business, as long as it makes you a better person, who gives a shit.

14. Write real words, real stories about real people, because that is who you are writing them for.

15. I only found out about Maya Angelou after she had passed. Maya Angelou , born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.

I say I am a blogger, but am willing to own that I am a writer as well. I think the two words mean the same thing.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.