Six Tricks to Conquer Insomnia AND The Exclusive, Long-Anticipated Sneak Peek

Read to the end because I have something EPIC in this post.

Speaking of reading, I read a LOT of books when I should be sleeping...because I can't. Sleep, that is. 

We could call out a couple reasons for that -- stress, my musical, kids, health...but we'll leave it there.

A couple things I've learned about NOT getting healthy sleep:

- Over time the brain will degrade and Alzheimer's symptoms may appear.

- Good luck taking off the weight if you don't give the body adequate time to rest.

- Your brain and tongue become separate entities.

So how do we overcome sleeplessness?

1. Exercise: When I first expressed I was having sleep issues, my father and doctor told me to exercise more. Default advice. (But not right before bed.)

2. Hormones/Gut health/Allergies: I don't know about you, but I have TERRIBLE allergies. If anything is off in my environment, sleep is the first to go. And let's face it, for women, hormones are constantly fluctuating, so...you know...get that under control.

3. Light pollution: The body is sensitive to light. Light tells us it's time to wake up. Darkness is your best, sleeping friend. This includes screens. Turn them off a couple hours before sleeping. Use a dim lamp while preparing for bed to help your body recognize it's almost sleep time.

4. Decompressing/routine/limiting stress: Build a routine around bedtime that helps your body and mind relax. For myself, that includes writing in a journal (getting out all the thoughts). Massage and soothing music may be helpful as well.

5. Breathing/meditation/prayer: Deep breathing -- meaning getting air all the way to the bottom of the lungs -- physically relaxes the body. Meditation releases the worries of the day. Prayer gives us an opportunity to place our cares on someone else.

6. And if none of that works, some people count sheep, but I've never found that effective. My brother in law recently taught me a new trick: WORD SOUP. Pick a word at least 6 letter long. While resting in bed, imagine an image that begins with each letter, going through them one at a time and -- focusing on each image for a minute or so. 

Example: Hungry 

H= hat

U= umbrella

N= newt

G= gold fish

R= rain

Y= yo-yo

This relaxes the brain. Chances are you'll get through 3 to 5 letters before sleep steps in.

Speaking of sleeping, the IWSG question this month addresses writing -- and since many of my story ideas come from dreams...

July 2 question - Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it?

Yes...and no. I want to write a biography about my special needs brother. I started it once and couldn't continue -- mostly due to the emotional drain. Also due to worries about conflicts with siblings who have DIFFERENT memories. Will I get back to it? Maybe. Maybe not.

And now the BIG awesome!!! 

Check out the highlight reel from my musical! Snatches, fun little snatches from our staged reading back in March. We'll be sharing more in the coming months -- a whole series of videos outlining scenes, giving the inside scoop, introducing characters, etc. Subscribe to our YouTube channel if you want the updates, join the newsletter to get all the insider info, and if you want EARLY access to all the awesomeness (and more), donate to the WORLD PREMIER. (Tentatively schedule for October 2027.)

What sleep techniques have you learned/employed? Are you trying something new (writing, reading, survival)? Like musicals?

The Age of the Sticky Notes: How to Organize Life + IWSG

How do you measure productivity? How do you keep yourself productive?

My world has been...well, insanity, especially since we started chasing this musical full time. (Check out the website. Follow on social media. Sign up for the newsletter to experience our crazy journey with us -- all the way to Broadway.) In fact, we're elbow deep in video edits and making promotional reels and all that jazz...

But I digress. 

When I was a teen, I had WAY too many interests to be healthy. I was in theater, I sang in choirs and performed as a soloist weekly or more, I wrote stories, I read a lot, I was a sketch artist, I biked and hiked and arranged not only my social calendar, but pulled together group dates and events for a wide variety of friends regularly. And then there was school.

In navigating a crazy schedule, I had a system.

I'd make a list (long term goals broken into smaller parts) and keep it in my pocket. Every time I tucked my hands away, I'd come across the "to do"s, and then would focus on the next easiest one...or most important one, depending on how motivated I was.

This system worked until I quit putting my hands in my pockets. Or had no pockets. 

Then I moved to a planner. 

Everything went in the planner. Everything...

Until that was too bulky to carry around. We transitioned to a calendar -- full family mode -- with notes in ALL the margins AND scribbled over the full-page images.

In this is a new age, every little edit, every suggested change has become a sticky note. A physical presence. A bright colored reminder. Though I still have a calendar, I now keep lists on my phone, but  life looks like a lot like this:

Except in more colors -- yellow, pink, green, blue, orange, purple... All the colors. I try to keep tasks organized by color, but I'm too much of an artists and just grab the nearest thing when inspiration strikes.

This is a constantly evolving system. I think we often get frustrated when our efforts aren't working or fall short, not realizing that there is room for change. That change is good. Change is healthy. Change keeps us growing. So I hope if you're feeling that tension, you'll take a minute, breathe, and reexamine your process or world. Take control. Try again.

Because you're awesome and powerful and you've got this! 

What system have you discovered that works to keep you organized, motivated, and moving forward?

IWSG June 4 question: What were some books that impacted you as a child or young adult?

I'm going strictly little kid here because this is a BIG question.

• The Giving Tree. Loved it as a kid. Someone so selfless was amazing and should be emulated. (I hated it as a mom -- when my proverbial well was empty.) 

• Where the Wild Things Are. Keep that imagination alive, kiddoes! This was life for me as a kid and the book gave me permission to keep that creativity bubbling. 

• The Velveteen Rabbit taught me about compassion, about loving someone to the end.  

• It's Not Easy Being a Bunny really registered with me as one of eight kids and the black sheep of my family, interests wise and academically. It taught me it's okay to be an individual and STILL appreciate your unique family culture. 

• Alexander and the Terrible Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day. Mom quoted this so often it would be hard NOT to have an impact. Bad days happen to everyone, even in Australia. 

And lastly, but most importantly, The Bible (especially the New Testament) and Book of Mormon. Most influential books of all time.

What books had a BIG impact in your life? What are you doing to be organized or motivated? How much cheese have you eaten this week?

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?

Musical Newsletter sign up HERE.