On Bucket Lists

I have a bucket list which keeps changing from year to year. One item that has remained constant has always been my desire to adopt a child. This one thing on my list is about to be crossed off as I am now in the process of adopting a fourteen-year old girl. I never expected to adopt at child at my age which just goes to show you should never say never. If things work out, I will do it again next year. Now, what else is on that list?
 

Acting "As If"

I've always loved the philosophy of acting "as if" you were already where you really want to be in your particular stage of life.  I am taking a week off of work and pretending that I am already a freelance writer and depend on my work for my total income. What a challenge!  It's the first day and I'm already getting sidetracked, already procrastinating - I need to prove to myself that I can do this! Goals of the week:  Find new writing jobs, work on the ones I already have and ditch the ones where I make two cents a day.  I'm off! 

Working Toward Goals

I had a screenwriting guild meeting this morning and I did not want to go. A little voice inside of me kept telling me to get off my butt and get over there so I did. I'm so glad I listened to that irritating little whine because I had a great time and met some new people.

Your criteria when faced with events like this should be whether or not they help you achieve your goals. This morning it was a resounding yes even though I got lost, couldn't find the damn thing and had to drag my friend Eddie out in the street to wave me down.

Action is what is going to get you where you want to be and lining up a group of like-minded individuals to keep me on track is exactly what I needed at 10 a.m. today. Listen and heed that voice, it may be the best thing that ever happened to you.     

On Goals

Goals are what move us forward and one of my main goals has come to a halt because of a technicality. Don't let small glitches get in your way of achieving your dreams. I will figure this one out somehow, someway.  Many will stop working toward their dreams when they it a stone wall. Dig under, go around it or jump over it - just keep moving.

I find it truly amazing that I have found time to write two articles about New Year's resolutions and yet have not had time to write my own. Below are the links to these short pieces: 

http://factoidz.com/the-new-year-the-importance-of-resolutions/
http://factoidz.com/the-new-year-creative-resolutions/

Enjoy! Would love to hear any comments!

Christmas Day 2011

In the past I have found Christmas Day to be quite a letdown. After the morning rush of gifts and breakfast, the remainder of the day looms as blank as a piece of copy paper. But now I have plenty to do. Originally I had planned to volunteer somewhere at a soup kitchen or children's home but could not find anything so I am filling up my day by writing and working on my blog. Added a Christmas dinner to our itineray as the Chef where I work was nice enough to give us a piece of meat big enough for all of us to enjoy. If I really wanted to get productive, I would start on my New Year's resolutions but that will wait. 

My main project for the remainder of the year is to finish something, anything. Procratination bites all of us in the butt but I am particularly susceptible. Make it a point to close out something that you have fought againsts completing all year. It will feel really good to get it off your plate by midnight on December 31st. I have so much to choose from but I must make my final choice today. Will it be that memoir I am working on for a client? That chick flick that has been almost finished for four years? Or that Christmas script I just started?  Just writing it down in this blog is motiviating me to get started because I know that others are watching to see if I have the stamina. We'll see.   

Living a Double Life

As people grow older (and we all do), most resign themselves to working toward retirement and then traveling, spending time with the grandkids and maybe growing a rose garden. Empty years may stretch ahead with meaningless but interesting activities to pass the time until you expire.  But there are an adventurous few that view the second half of their lives as the opportunity to start fresh and live a completely transformed and totally different existence full of promise, excitement and learning. That is what this blog is all about - living your life twice. With advances in medicine and medicine, many live much longer and healthier lives, giving them the opportunities to stretch and grow into a second phase.