Barbara Florio-Graham, our guest blogger this week was kind enough to share the following links for Freebie Friday:
www.SimonTeakettle.com/options.htm
www.SimonTeakettle.com/checklist.htm
www.SimonTeakettle.com/
Category Archives: Guest Blogger
Shojai Mentoring Award
by Barbara Florio-Graham, www.SimonTeakettle.com
I was honored to receive the Shojai Mentoring Award in November, from the international Cat Writers’ Association. The award consists of a wooden plaque with am engraved metal plate, and $500. The full citation is on Bobbi’s website, at www.SimonTeakettle.com/bfgmentoraward.htm. The nomination letter mentioned that Bobbi helped innumerable CWAers tackle the complexities of contracts and self-publishing, and has dispensed invaluable advice. She also designed CWA’s formal Mentoring Program, to enable any member who needed help on a specific writing topic or technique to get personalized attention from another experienced member. “As architect of our organization’s mentorship system, Bobbi once again showed her commitment to voluntarily giving her time and sharing her knowledge. Her willingness to help guide others is never in question.”
CBC radio will air an interview with me in January, and a review of my third book, Mewsings/Musings, will be published in the January/February 2011 issue of Women on Top Magazine (www.wotmag.ca). That issue also contains an interview with me about how I created the persona of my co-author, Simon Teakettle (Canada’s celebrity cat).
After being given his own page in the award-winning book, A Cat’s Book of Days, by Peg Silloway, Simon Teakettle III now has his very own 2011 calendar. Published by www.ottawaphoto.com, it features 12 photos of Simon III, plus one on the cover. Plans are underway for a 2012 version.
I’m also one of three editors of an anthology of short prose by members of a group of professional journalists I formed four years ago. Prose to Go: Tales from a Private List, will be published by Bridgeross Publishing (www.bridgeross.com) in the spring.
I continue to work with two mentoring clients who hired me last year, and to contribute articles to various publications, including a monthly column for The West Quebec Post, a quarterly column for SCRIBE, and regularly for SOURCES Hotlink and for Freelance Writer’s Report.
You can listen to the audio from when Barbara was a guest of Blog Host, Gail Z. Martin’s Shared Dreams podcast here: https://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WW4RS1pX
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Freebie Friday – Gift from Meredith K. Bromfield
Meredith K. Bromfield, M.A. Ed, our guest blogger this week has kindly agreed to provide the following gifts:
Visit https://www.CrossingYourBridge.com to sign up for free copy of “How to Declutter Your Important Papers” (bottom). Simply enter your name and email and a copy will be mailed to your email shortly. Or, sign-up for our mailing list (upper right corner) and have your choice of a free copy of Bridging Change in 5 Steps audio or Tax Tips for Caregivers article as well as our free WEEKLY WOWS (Words of Wisdom) and monthly newsletter.
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Freebie Friday – Gifts from Sandy Dumont
Sandy Dumont, The Image Architect, our guest blogger from this week is kind enough to share the following gifts:
https://bigdreamsandhardwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/sandy-shoppingtips.docx
https://bigdreamsandhardwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/sandy7secretsmf.doc
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Why First Impressions Matter
by Sandy Dumont, The Image Architect
The way you look and dress announces the outcome other people can expect from you. It also announces how you feel about yourself, and you’ll be treated accordingly.
Numerous university studies, including one at Harvard, have concluded that we make an in-depth and long-lasting “first impression” in a mere two seconds. We think we make decisions based on serious considerations, and after much thought and time. Wrong. We choose the professionals who serve us and even job candidates the same way we choose our significant other. It is “love at first sight.”
Job seekers would be advised to dress to impress, because the one who is hired is qualified, of course; but he or she is the one who makes the right impression in the first few seconds.
The way you look and dress determines many things, including the tone of your day. The way you look defines who you are to the person in the mirror when you leave the house each morning. Self esteem soars when you see a mover and shaker, but there’s not much motivation when the person in the mirror seems to say, “Aw, what does it matter how I look.”
You sell yourself short when you don’t look extraordinary every day. If you only “dress up” when the occasion arises, that person in the mirror may look like an imposter to you. If you feel good about who you are and what you do, you want to shout it to the world by looking like a million dollars.
Image doesn’t cost, it pays. When you look dynamic, you get deferential treatment and are accorded more respect. Just ask social psychologist Kevin Hogan, PhD. In his book, “The Science of Influence,” he asserts that when you meet people you put them in one of three categories: Yes, No or Maybe. Hogan says the vast majority are in the No category and they are dismissed entirely. He says it’s difficult to get out of the Maybe category, and that only a few are in the Yes category. He contends that those in the Yes category basically have a high-status look and are well-dressed and accessorized. You’ll find wonderful tips about how to dress in a professional manner in the white papers that are attached.
Color is the cornerstone of image, and color preferences are embedded in our DNA. Early cave men and women noticed that if they dressed to blend into their environment, the wild animals wouldn’t notice them. This “instinct” still lingers. In fact, it’s the secret to the success of the early books on color analysis. They were popular because they confirmed our “instincts” that dressing to match our superficial appearance was a good idea. All the blondes beamed when they read that baby pink and other pastels were for them; while the redheads nodded in enthusiastic agreement when they saw that redheads were shown in rust and burnt orange. It was so “logical” and so easy! Alas, it didn’t work. It kept the wolves away, but it also made everyone look invisible. Invisible people pass by unnoticed. They are dismissed. They are in the No category.
If you want to stand out in the crowd and turn heads when you enter a room, you don’t want to blend into your garments. Think contrast. Take the time to discover whether you look better in cool colors like royal blue and cherry red; or in warm colors like teal blue and tomato red. It will make the difference between looking ordinary or looking extraordinary.
Make certain that person in the mirror is dressed to impress!
You can listen to the audio from when Sandy was a guest of Blog Host, Gail Z. Martin’s Shared Dreams podcast here: https://www.audioacrobat.com/play/Wsd8KlZx
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Freebie Friday – Melissa Wadsworth
Melissa Wadsworth is a creative personal growth visionary, intuitive dream board expert, author and inspirational speaker. She has helped thousands go from blocked to brilliant through her books, personal guidance and workshops. She is offering you her “What You Notice Matters! Special Report as a f*ree gift. It details the top six challenges to daily success and the six awareness-based solutions to living more empowered. https://www.melissawadsworth.com/get-your-free-special-report.
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Three Ways to Overcome Your Fears!
By Melissa Wadsworth
It’s natural to think: “If I feel passionately enough about my dream or my goal I will act to make it happen.” Yet, this isn’t always true.
No matter how badly you want something, you can still experience blocks to action and manifestation. In fact, have you ever found that the more important something is to you the more blocked or stuck you get? How about times when you push and push something to happen and it feels like your pushing a rock uphill?
Awareness of what dynamic is blocking you from successfully achieving your dreams is the key to truly believing in your dream and moving past blocks with renewed enthusiasm.
Here are a few typical blocks and tips for bridging your fear with inspired action that aligns your emotions to your desire and affirms your intention to succeed.
1. Fear of failure. When something is really important to both your sense of security and your sense of self, like creating a successful business, fear can rear its debilitating head. The mental chatter tape starts to play: “What if I try and can’t make it happen? Then what do I do?” Your ego mind may be convincing you that it’s worse to try and fail than to not try at all. So your precious dream remains a mental construct that doesn’t manifest into physical reality. It remains a “safe” possibility you can cling to and aspire to.
Solution: Believe your vision through step-by-step action. Once you hold a vision for yourself, make a mini-action plan. Remember, you aren’t trying to make your dream come true in one giant leap. You’re taking steps that can be evaluated for effectiveness as you progress. Progress is the operative word here. When you take steps with good intentions you can’t really fail. You’ll always be moving forward even if you feel like you’ve made an error. Each step informs the next step so you can always learn and self-correct. And if you celebrate the small steps, the small successes, you’ll create a habit of rewarding yourself for living the dream!
2. Fear of inadequacy. It’s common to psyche ourselves out when it comes to our big goals. We imagine how our lives would change if only we…. (You fill in the blank). Yet, when it comes down to taking a concrete action all of a sudden there’s all kinds of reasons that “you can’t “do that!” You’re not prepared enough or experienced enough or lucky enough, or smart enough to make it happen. You might even imagine that other successful people have that magic something you just don’t possess.
Solution: Appreciate that you’re the whole magnificent package. You came to this life with specific talents, gifts and interests. These have led you on a path of developing additional skills and knowledge. Life circumstances have produced further reservoirs of abilities and capabilities. When you understand that your life is not a mistake, you understand that you are fully enough to make your dreams happen. No one has the exact talents, skills and capabilities you do, because your life purpose is meant to unfold YOUR WAY. When your brain tells you different: don’t believe it! Laugh, inventory your strengths, affirm your amazing individuality and gladly take a step that affirms your goal.
3. Fear of looking stupid or being unrealistic. I just spoke with a woman who has felt BORED and RESTLESS for two years. “Practicality” keeps her stuck in an emotional space that is getting increasingly uncomfortable. When practicality helps you to simplify your life great! When you hear yourself saying you have to be practical and your heart feels heavy and you sense your dream life just got down-sized, not so great. Our culture tells us to be practical, yet daily supports irresponsible risk-taking behavior (a contributing factor to why our economy burned and crashed). What’s a level-headed big dreamer to do?
Solution: Balance dreaming and practicality. These desires aren’t polar opposites, no matter what you’ve learned from a parent or teacher or boss. Your best resource for balancing these two is your intuition. Don’t wait for intuition to pipe up; directly ask your intuition for input related to your dream or related to a specific action you’re considering, This is will help you relinquish the habit of letting your brain override your intuitive wisdom. You can ask your intuition whether particular steps are best for you right now. You might get an immediate answer that pops into your head. You may feel a physical reaction. Acknowledge the feedback you get. If inspired, act on it. Also, stay open to the information the universe sends in support of your goals. Notice it!! Intuitive dream boards are a great way to access your intuitive intelligence and to even see your future in a wondrous way.
Fears that aren’t keeping you safe in the moment are fears that don’t have your best interest at heart. Don’t believe everything you think! Rather believe what you can imagine, believe what you can intuit and believe in what you can take a few beginning steps toward. Believe that the universe has your back and wants you to succeed.
Melissa Wadsworth is a creative personal growth visionary, intuitive dream board expert, author and inspirational speaker. She has helped thousands go from blocked to brilliant through her books, personal guidance and workshops.
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