Passion is the Genesis of Genius.

Last week, I was gloriously immersed into a creative pool of talented women and a handful of men as well, at Christine Kane’s Uplevel Live Retreat in Asheville, N. Carolina.

The setting at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa was rustic elegance, with all of my needs met by a charming staff that seemed to anticipate my every desire. The views and setting were breathtaking, and there were moments of scenery that forced me to stop and stare at the magnificent beauty around me and give thanks that I had taken time out of my life to enjoy the spectacular week.

So, when I tell you that the hotel and views dim in comparison to the true value of the week, I want you to understand that I don’t speak those words lightly. I couldn’t scribble down notes and ideas fast enough as Christine spoke during each and every segment and then- even more so, as she brought up special quests and experts to enlighten us on Social Media and SEO and her Mastermind Panel of inspirational women who blazed the trail of success ahead of us and were willing to share their trials and enlightenments for us to glean their brilliant nuggets of wisdom.

I came away from the retreat feeling as if my head was so filled with fuel that it was about to disengage from my body like a rocket launch and shoot up into the atmosphere. It’s all I can do to contain the creative mojo until I can successfully turn it into something useful. If I don’t spend time systematically engaging in a strategic game plan, it might look like Fourth of July fireworks have exploded around LLI as I run around implementing all of my wildly exciting ideas.

I promise to contain myself. And…if I don’t…Deb promises to send me to my room for some calming meditation and deep breaths.

I can’t really help it. Christine lit the fires of my passion and tapped into my deep soul desire to help creative people live their artistic dreams, both personal and in their business lives. As I sat there listening throughout the amazing, inspiring week, I was reminded why I even created Life’s Little Inspirations in the first place. To help people live Inspired Lives, full of creativity, passion, vision, happiness, and love, fully present and on fire in every aspect of their being.

Does that sound like a life worth living? One that you would like to have? I know it’s the one that I want, the one that I move closer to every day that I am here.

BEING THE GENIUS YOU WERE MEANT TO BE.

Christine spent a good deal of time last week talking about refocusing our lives so that we can spend our time doing the Genius Work we were put here to do. That one special- or few special- skills that we are uniquely and creatively equipped to shine at and bring forth into this world. But what if you don’t know what those skills are? What if you don’t have a brilliant light of clarity that tells you what your genius work is, or whispers to you what your special gift is? Do you have a handle on what your life’s passion is yet? Do you need clarity? Focus?

Or perhaps you have an inkling of what that passion is but it’s fuzzy around the edges and you can’t quite get a clear picture on how it should all come together or what your particular passion could do for you to help you live a passionate, inspired life?

Well, here is a hint of where we are going here at LLI. We plan to help you step by step in the next coming months to find your passions, clarify those dreams and then create a focused and doable action plan towards living the inspired, passionate life you have always dreamed of having.

WILL WE BE ABLE TO DO THIS OVERNIGHT?

No. And neither will you. But in 2010, Deb and I were able to take our passionate dreams and make them come true by following a carefully laid out plan of action that required specific steps, a game plan, and program of support that made the process seem a whole lot easier than either of us ever thought it could be.  And we are happy to teach you how your passions can become a reality for you as well. Everything we have learned, we want to share with you.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON LLI AND BLUE SUN STUDIO.

In January, we will be unleashing our first program in the Living Your Passion Series, A series of programs, workshops and seminars that we will be building to help you build a passionate, inspired, personal and business life that will change the way you live your life.

READY TO LIVE YOUR PASSION?

I know we are.  And we can hardy wait to get started. On Monday,we will unveil our brand new writing site that will be tied in to our novel, Loyalties, and the entire four part series, The Bonds of Blood and Spirit. The writing site, Behind the Words, will be an exciting place for all writers to come and gather and share your writing tips, troubles, and trepidations. We hope to also share a lot of laughter and fun as well, along with a lot of encouragement and learning. This writing site is for you- the writer with dreams and passions whispering inside, ready to make it to the written page. We are here to help you make that happen.

And also…within the next week or so, we will be releasing our brand new e-zine- The Inspired Studio, so that you can stay up to date on all of our upcoming programs and events in every area of Blue Sun Studio in one easy to keep track of place at a quick glance.  Keep an eye out for announcements to come and make sure you sign up for that, because we will be giving away a free E-book that will be sure to kick-start you into living the passionate life you are looking for.

FLYING TO THE FUTURE

Our first year has come to a close. It’s been a whirlwind. We have changed our name, become incorporated, expanded from a simple web design company to a full service design, publishing and coaching company, with our first completed novel under our belt. We’ve had the privilege to work with the most amazing clients ever- many on multiple projects and not one dollar of our budget has been spent in traditional advertising. All of our great clients have come to us from referrals from happy clients and friends like you.  So thank you.  No successful business is ever built alone. It is an endeavor of many helping hands working together for the common goal of success. We couldn’t have done it without you.

As we enter our second year, our goals are huge. We have a detailed strategy, coaching and accountability in place to keep us on track. We are looking for many more ways to serve you and give you what you want and implement the services that you need. We are always interested in your feedback, comments and ideas. We listen to everything and are always open to new thoughts. So don’t be shy, speak up! And hang on to your seats, 2011 at Blue Sun Studio is going to be an exciting ride!

That got me thinking: Is it really a block or is it just a bump in the road? After all, one never really stops writing. You keep trying to make something happen. You might write, feel it’s not right, ditch it and start over dozens of times. But you’re still pushing forward.

I think from now on I’m going to look at writer’s block as more of a writer’s speed bump. Usually, when I put on the brakes and slow down, creativity has a chance to refill its stores. Sometimes this means doing things other than the current project or post you’re working on.

I go off on a lot of tangents. On the outside it looks like I’m procrastinating. The truth is I’m shifting gears and driving around that little dip between the curb and the speed bump. You can do that kind of thing on a motorcycle, you know.

Doing something else frees up my mind to both concentrate on what I’m doing and think about what I was working on before.

And if I don’t come up with a solution while I’m working on the other thing, I end up with a kick ass project anyway. This lifts my mood, I feel on top of the world again and then I dive back into the other project with amazing results.

So, instead of thinking of writer’s block as a wall, reduce that brick and mortar to a little bump. See if it works.

IF you knew you had the information they needed to help them on their way-would you share it?

IF you knew that the education they were looking for was available for half-price for only a brief moment in time-would you tell them?

OR…would you quietly slip away and say, “It’s not my place, it’s not what I do here, probably everyone who wanted it, has it anyway, so its OK…

and then walk away…and maybe not help that ONE person who needs it, who has been trying so hard to make money in this crazy world of on-line writing, blogging, freelancing, in copywriting…or whatever dream they have been holding on to with all of their might.

Maybe that person IS making money. Maybe that person is working their fingers to the bone, careening toward physical illness and burn-out. Maybe they signed on to the dream and found out-too late-that all they did was walk away from a 9 to 5 job and sign on to a 24-hour nightmare that has no end. Maybe they find themselves drooling over their keyboard muttering “There has to be an easier way. There has to be a better way.”

There is.

Naomi Dunford’s ONLINE BUSINESS SCHOOL   goes on sale today at noon pst. She can help you. I believe that with all my heart or I wouldn’t put my name to it. Or my checkbook-and I already did that. I believe in her so much that I jumped on this bandwagon during her pre-sale. She is worth it. But you don’t have to take my word for it, you can check her out yourself and if you don’t like it, she offers a full money back guarentee no questions asked.

The reason I am shouting from the rooftops today

Because the first 2000 people to buy ONLINE BUSINESS SCHOOL get it for half price. She is awesome like that. But she also e-mailed me late last night to let me in on the fact that three high-profile people are promoting it on their websites today.  What that means is that after the first lucky 2000 get theirs for the discounted price of $197.00 the price will go up to $397.00. and I want my readers to have just as much of a chance as the high profile bloggers readers do.

After all..it’s only fair.

I would like you to understand what kind of woman I would choose to promote here at LLI. I don’t do so lightly. I do so because she fits in with the values and beliefs and the core of what we are all about here. With all of her heart, she wants to make a difference in the lives of the people she serves. Will she make money if they buy her product? Yes. And so will LLI as a sponsor if you use our link up above to go there. But it isn’t her primary goal. And it isn’t ours. Her first and foremost value is helping people and making a difference and that’s what makes her so special.

Listen to her in her own words and see for yourself:

If you don’t have the money to buy my course, I’ve been there. To all of you who have emailed me privately telling me how much you wish you could afford it, how you’re going to try to find the money from somewhere, I am so, so, so grateful for your loyalty, but PLEASE DON’T BUY IT.

Take the two hundred bucks and put a few extra presents under the tree instead. Then go to Problogger and read the archives. (The 31 Days To Better Blogging Series’ are particularly good.) Take the 30 Day Challenge. Read Entrepreneur’s Journey. That’s how I learned it.

If you don’t have any money, watch my free stuff to get a little bit of income coming in before you start buying anybody’s info products or home study courses or ebooks. (As of today, the link for the free stuff is just the free stuff. By tomorrow it will be a sales page but all the content will be in there. You can go back as often as you want and I’m never going to take it down.)
~Naomi Dunford

This is the type of person I choose to promote. At the very, very least, do yourself a favor and read all the free stuff. She has a lot of it and it will help you.

However, if you can afford it, if you have a goal, and a vision of the kind of life you want to live and are in need of someone you can trust who has the business course already built that can take you step by step to the future you have been dreaming of, Online Business School  is what you need. Naomi went from a struggling mother to a successful business owner making $200.000 a year.  Sound good to you? I’ll let her tell you how she did that. It’s a great story. Don’t miss it.

You have heard of the Secret?

No not THAT Secret. A different Secret.

It’s the Secret of The Power of the Word.

And it belongs to you. No one can take it away from you. You own it. It is your weapon. To do with as you please.

Think carefully for a moment. How will you wield that weapon today? Your weapon has a very unique quality about it that no other weapon in your arsenal has. It has the power to shapeshift. You can turn it into a sword to cut down your opponent, a dagger to slice him through the heart, a grenade to blow him to bits with a filthy litany of expletives for grievances committed on highways or elsewhere.

Your words can turn to cubes of ice that you can coldly toss over your shoulder as a parting shot or a zinger that flings with a snap of your wrist  or through barely parted teeth.

OR…

Instead of using your weapon for the battlefield, you can use its power for the cause of good instead. You can harness its energy to become a warm blanket of comfort for someone all alone and scared. Or a sheild of encourangement and strength for someone facing adversity and challenge. Your words can become a library of wisdom to inform and educate, to uplift and inspire those searching to learn. You can create bridges with your words to bring others together and help communities grow. You can be a haven of peace, A light in the darkness, a beacon of hope.

You are holding a tremendous power. You  have a tremendous choice of what you can choose to do with it today.

Just by paying attention to your thoughts.

Just by opening your mouth and being careful what kind of words you allow to come out.

Take a moment to think.

Will your words:

admonish, attack, bewilder, betray, criticize, confuse, condemn, demoralize, discourage, destroy, enrage, frighten, gossip, harm, intimidate, judge, label, manipulate, neglect, ostracize, prejudge, quarrel, rage, scandalize, scream, tear down, terrify, underestimate, victimize, weaken, wound, or yell?

OR…

Will your words:

adore, affirm, beautify, bless, caress, celebrate, delight, empower, encourage, fascinate, gratify, help, honor, inspire, kiss, love, motivate, nourish, pamper, play, redeem, respect, serve, share, support,thank, trust, understand, value, validate, or welcome?

It’s your choice. It’s your secret weapon. Your VERY POWERFUL WEAPON.

Choose wisely. It can change your life.

It can change the world. What will you do with your words today?

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“You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair – the sense that you can never completely put on the page what’s in your mind and heart. You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.”
~ Stephen King, On Writing

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about words. How words affect our daily lives. That probably isn’t too surprising for a writer -and an avid reader-who emmerses herself in writing and books as many hours of the day as she can squeeze in. I’m currently reading Stephen King’s book On Writing. His point-quoted above – about coming to the blank page seriously resonates within me. Once written, words live on forever, especially now in the world of computers. We have a responsibility to be careful with what we send out into the world. Words affect people.  They can hurt, help, entertain, inform, encourage, transport love or carry hate to the corners of the earth.

Sometimes we fire off our words like a weapon carelessly loaded, not very well aimed. We regret it when they splatter the target but it’s hard to take them back. Hard to erase what’s already been written. Hopefully we learn to be more careful with what we put out with our weapons the mighty pen and keyboard.

Sometimes we won’t put pen to paper out of fear of not having the exact right words. We have a respect for the written word alright. So much so that the page stays blank and no words ever get written at all. Our opinion is silent. Our words go unheard. Our thoughts lost among the chatter of others braver than ourselves. The fear is palatable. The pain of being invisible time and time again is worse.

Sometimes we DO get the words down that we wanted to say. Then we wait for the approval. The acceptance that we so desperately seek but are afraid to admit to. That we don’t want to have to ask for.  The torture of knocking on doors, selling our writing. The fear of rejection and public disgrace is part of the job of writing…no one said it was going to be easy. 

Is it any wonder that Hallmark has already written cards that all you have to do is sign your name to without having to take a chance at having to write even a single sentence? Is it any wonder that sock drawers and underwear drawers all across the world are filled with half completed novels and stories going nowhere?

The written word is powerful and can be frightening. Announcing the intent to call yourself a writer or to say you are writing a book or that you plan to earn your living writing ( especially on-line) will get you a good number of sideways glances and condescending looks. Even from people who mean well. It takes a great deal of resolve to get up every day and face the pen and keyboard in the face of adversarial stress from the words themselves and their human counterparts.

How then do writers face the morning ready to take on the challenge of the written word?

For me, love conquers all. Sounds silly but it’s the closest I can come to an honest answer. I write because I have a passion to write and I have been writing since I was a small child. Writing is how I express myself and let my true emotions come forth. Sometimes I find that words get stuck in my throat and won’t make it out of my mouth, but they will find their way out of my pen or keyboard. Once I’ve seen what I have written, then I can get a true handle on what I really feel.

When writing fiction, I realized a long time ago that I have no idea what my characters are going to do until they tell me on the page. It’s as much of a surprise for me as it is to my readers. I think if I didn’t write I would fill up with steam until I burst. I have no choice in the matter at all. So, the obstacles are something I have to overcome. I try to be very careful to be honest in my writing, to protect the privacy of others and never try to offend anyone. As far as the fear, the rejection and the looks, I am doing my best to ignore it. I have to write. It isn’t an option to me.

How about you? How do you handle the written word? The need to be careful with what you have written so as not to offend anyone, the writer’s block, the fear of rejection, the sideways glances, the ones who think you should keep (or get) your day job?

How do you deal with your love affair with words?

Want more of Life’s Little Inspirations? Want to be a part of our fun community? Please join us in the comment section with your thoughts and comments and subscribe for free with the orange Icon in the top right hand corner. We are glad to have you here!