Three Easy Steps to Take Over the World

But which world you ask? The fictional ones or the every day, run of the mill, drudgery one?

The real world.

That's right. The real world.

I've been reading off my go-list, a very long, long list, and finally hit:

That's right, I'm trying to learn how to take over the world.

The crazy part is, I already know what's in this book. I think deep down, we all do, we just don't usually remember. (Unless you're a psychopath. I've done research on them. They're scary. Love you, psychopaths!)

So what are the three easy steps for taking over the world?

The world revolves around people, relationships, and how we navigate both. Period. End of story. If we understand that success boils down to HOW we address these, we're setting ourselves up to succeed -- in more than just business and finance. In life.

So where do we begin?

 

1. Don't criticize. Don't condemn. Don't complain.

In other words, BE POSITIVE. Look for the good rather than the bad--and especially ONLY put the positive out into the world. This is especially difficult in this divisive world climate, but I always said if you didn't like a person, you just didn't know them well enough. There is no one on this earth that doesn't possess some redeeming quality. (Even psychopaths.) When reviewing books, I can always find something positive to say (because there's always something, usually several somethings) even if I don't connect with the material and struggle with the writing. 

 

We find what we seek. We find what we focus on. The person looking for sunshine is the one who discovers it.

2.  Listen to others.

One of the saddest aspects of our reality is how isolated people are becoming. They can work from home. They can shop from home. They can live on their phone. 

Tech is nice, but we need people. Studies have shown that deep depression is remedied by positive interactions with others, but in order to have those, we have to interact. We have to form and foster relationships. To have meaningful relationships, we have to not only listen, but HEAR what others are saying. (Even between the lines.) 

3. Focus outside oneself.

I don't state this lightly. For about two generations, the world has told us to focus inward, do what makes YOU happy -- this is where true happiness comes from!

Yeah...no.

It broke my heart when this became the narrative society embraced. I'm not ancient but I've lived long enough to know that true happiness comes from pouring into others, seeing them succeed, and having a focus beyond me. Yes, I love it when I succeed -- but I also get all the nerves, tension, and self consciousness. (I say this as a long time vocal performer, author, director, and all things art.) BUT when I see someone else succeed whom I'm championing, there is nothing but positivity, joy, and pride. (I say this having run a drama program, as a parent, as a teacher.)

When we validate others, when they know they are important to us, we become a force in their lives. Until we form that connection, who cares what you have to say? 

Finding purpose beyond ourselves is the key taking over our world.

There you have it! The way to take over YOUR world, to build something that is lasting, beautiful, and fulfilling. And now I'll step off my cheesebox and go read more books.

The IWSG question: Some common fears writers share are rejection, failure, success, and lack of talent or ability. What are your greatest fears as a writer? How do you manage them? (See the answer above.)

What tips and tricks have you discovered to find success? 

P.S. I've started back into sending newsletters with book reviews and freebies. Join me? Sign up.

The Super Secret Project...FINALLY

Have you ever had a dream come true?

I live near Disney World and there's a lot of talk about dreams and following your dreams around here. Which I love, but no one talks about how HARD that can be. Walt Disney had everything on the line -- his home, his life -- when Snow White hit the big screens and took off. He'd had properties/characters taken by previous studios, risked and failed, risked and failed again... His family must have thought him insane. He borrowed money, leveraged himself AND his brother out to make this show happen. That's how hard he believed.

And we can all see the result of his dream...but we miss the true miracle: that he didn't quit.

I keep that story in my pocket. We've had a secret project (that I've occasionally talked about here, because, you know, you're my buddies) and with several false starts, things have suddenly changed.

What changed?

Us.

My project started as a literal dream. I woke, ran to my piano (keyboard), and picked out the song I'd been listening to in my sleep -- a musical about a vampire, where the vampire was the good guy. (This was pre-Twilight, so...) I played and sang the song for my husband and his jaw hit the floor. When he returned from work several hours later and I had TWO MORE songs, he suggested we should take a week and just see what happened. By the end of that week, we had 10 songs and most of the storyline.

That was the FUN part. The creative process usually is.

Fast forward 22 years, three separate starts, NYC, finding a producer, losing a producer, two previous creative teams, three previous readings... And finally the show made it to the stage.

This last month, we hosted a benefit reading to rave reviews. I'm glad the audience got to enjoy it. I sat in the front, madly conducting the entire show while my poor husband sat in the tech booth, head down to make sure we didn't miss any lighting or sound cues. WHAT A RUSH.

No one was privy to the mountain of work behind the scenes: two years of planning, workshopping, casting, reworking, recasting, transcribing sheet music to a new scoring program, the creation of 200 learning videos, financial planning, team recruiting, mixing music (2 hours worth of audio), rehearsing, adjusting, designing...

THEY only saw the final product. The real miracle is what happened before.

And so let me unveil for you the project that has consumed half my life -- my second baby.

Check it out. Follow on Facebook. Join our insanity. GIVE US MONEY. 😂 (But seriously.) And if you'd like to be kept in the loop on our exploits, join the newsletter list (at the end of this post.)

Phase one is finally complete. In the next couple weeks we'll have the audio and video back to form a new highlight reel with these incredible performers. Now we lay the groundwork for phase two: the world premier with a live orchestra. With any luck, this show will hit the stage in 1.5-2.5 years, with a social media campaign to launch it toward Broadway (2030?).

There you have it. It's happening. Why? Because we are willing to work ourselves into the ground to make it happen. Any truly amazing dream is worth the blood, sweat, and tears. You have to believe your dreams into reality because otherwise they remain only that -- dreams. 

What secret projects are you chipping away at? What dreams are you pursuing? Who do you look up to as a dream-accomplishing hero/inspiration?

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The Art of the Distance Run

How many of you are runners?

When I was young, I was the fastest girl in my school. (I had older brothers -- it was a survival skill.) Of approximately 3,000 students in my middle school, that status stuck, so I decided to go out for track...and lasted about a semester, when I mentioned to my dad (a doctor) that I was shaky and coughing and miserable for 3 days after running a mile. Turns out I had exercise-induced asthma. That ended my running career and I turned to biking.

Fast forward 30 years. My son, whom I had always assumed also suffered from exercise-induced asthma, decided he was going to run a 5K. He trained everyday for a semester, and when he called me and told me proudly he had run for 10 miles straight without even realizing it, I took that as permission to try again. If he could do it, why couldn't I?

My first running session was torture. I think I made it an eighth of a mile. If that. But I didn't give up. I took the kids to the park every other day, and I built on what I was capable of, pushing myself until I wanted to puke. Until my lungs ached. Until I was sure I was killing myself. 

2 years of this, and I came to this magical place where I had built up to running 2 miles. As a teenager, I had never run 1 mile straight, and I was stinkin' fit!

So what got me there?

1. It started with seeing another person go the distance, realizing it was possible. 

2. Making a plan--I had to have a pathway to success. I had to be consistent. I had to push through even when it felt like torture.

3. I had to make realistic goals. Small ones at first, building, pushing myself harder and harder. 

4. I had to keep my eye on the Target: the hope of being healthier and having more endurance daily to handle the demand of multiple kids, homeschooling, directing plays and musicals, and so, so much more.

This is one success story in a plethora of failures. There were many times when I had to quit running due to injury, only to pick up a month or two later and build to where I had been. My joints didn't like the exertion. Oftentimes, I'd limp for my run. My lungs hated me. They screamed they couldn't pump through another step.

But ultimately, it was possible.

I listened to a talk once about a man who sat down with a billionaire and asked what his secret was. What could he do to reach the level of this expert? The man told him the story of The tortoise and the hare. He said, “Be the tortoise.”

In another inspirational talk given by multi-marathon runners, I heard some of the best advice ever: “Never question the race on the uphill.” – Meaning don't consider quitting when you're on the hardest part of the course. Wait until you are gliding down the hill before deciding whether or not it's worth quitting. 

These are the keys to success. I've realized them in three of my kids who've reached adulthood, two more on the way. I see them in the talents and skills I've gained through the years. I see it through our slow accumulation of successes in every aspect of life. 

We get too anxious to sprint. We get excited by small successes and think think we've done it. The reality is:

Life is a distance run.

If we can learn the art of the distance run, we'll finish our race with success, joy, and the sense of accomplishment that only those who crush hardship can know.

What challenge are you huffing & panting through right now? What crazy obstacles have you overcome? What advise do you have to reaching success?

Heartbreak in the East: Hope in the Homeland

This last week has been a hard one for me. Living in the heart of hurricane land, I don't love when a storm comes along, but I don't worry too much.

Florida houses are typically built to withstand a category 3 hurricane (meaning winds as high as 130 mph and crazy rain for days), but the rest of the nation doesn't build to that standard.

As I watched the trajectory of Helene & listened to it being upgraded to a category 4, I knew the results wouldn't be pretty. Although grateful this storm missed us initially, my attitude changed when I heard about Tennessee and North Carolina. Georgia and South Carolina are dealing with the fallout too. I wished the hurricane had turned and hit us more fully because we have the response, the infrastructure, the attitude to face big scary storms and carry on.

Our governor put all the preemptive processes in place -- emergency workers, supply routes, road and electricity line repair -- but he couldn't do that for the other states. 

Especially the ones inland.

The stories... Oh the stories. I was drowning in heartache. (This is why I can't read WWII books, folks.) Two dams were oversaturated and burst, flooding whole towns. Family members lost. Livelihoods swept away. An inability to communicate with loved ones. I went to bed with tears in my eyes and prayers on my lips.

Answers come too. They didn't come from the federal government but from governors of neighboring states, from people whose hearts broke like mine who own helicopters, from good Samaritans who donated cash and goods. Desantis sent aid to the hardest hit areas FROM Florida and I cheered at every new development. Last I heard, he sent a brigade of road workers with bridge materials to help people trapped in the North Carolina mountains.

I still watch and worry and pray, and soon our family will trek out to assist with disaster clean up (as is our way), but it's incumbent on all of us to make the world better -- to find those who are suffering, to lift where we can, to BRING HOPE in place of devastation.

My prayers continue with those who have no electricity, no running water, who are scrambling for food and safety. At the same time, my heart is light knowing good people in the world are responding to the desperation. Lets be those good people, eh?

How is your heart holding up? How have you found peace despite the upheaval in the world? What are you doing to find/bring happiness each day?