Rosie The Riveter's World War II-Era Plant Faces Demolition

The Willow Run plant is part of our nation's history, felt this npr article was worth a read. It could be used as a museum, but it's probably easier and cheaper to knock it down and build something else. Not sure how I feel. What do you think?

Article link:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/29/308062125/rosie-the-riveters-world-war-ii-era-plant-faces-demolition?ft=1&f=

Wednesday Wisdom

I've been working hard in my corner of the world, but wanted to take a break and share some Wednesday Wisdom. 

My calendar told me it's Talk like Shakespeare Day, so here's a little of the bard to help inspire you today. 

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves."

Estimating E-Book Sales-Info and link

Work, work, work…these days writers who want to get published have to take on the work of more than just writing. There's idea creation, organizing, editing, marketing and promotion, programming, sales tracking, and more. 

I'm neck deep in all this as the push to publish continues. One of the habits I picked up along the way helps me through periods of writer's block. I read about all the other stuff I should be doing. Doing so makes me feel productive, instead of staring at a screen worrying about the next sentence. Plus, reading industry news usually gives me ideas for my approach to the business of being a writer, which can be profitable, I think. 

Here's an industry nugget. It's a Forbes article about Estimating Kindle E-Book Sales for writers, and other curious folks out there. 

What do you do when you get writer's block, or when your day job gets tough? Feel free to share. 

Just Keep Swimming!

This post is not just about swimming.

Our children have a book about the Disney character Nemo. In the book Nemo faces doubt and obstacles about whether or not he’ll make the swim team, or win a race. He doubts his chances because he has two mismatched fins—a regular-size fin, and a tiny little one.

While Nemo may not be so sure of himself, his friend Dory encourages him every chance she can. “Just keep swimming!” Dory cries. By the end of the book, well, I won’t spoil it. You can find Just Keep Swimming online or at a store. I like the positive messages about faith and perseverance.

We all need this in our lives! Personally, there are times when my writing work, and revisions get tough. When I feel bogged down and can’t phone a friend, I remind myself to, “Just keep swimming!” I needed to say it a lot last week to power through a tough spot. And it worked! My project is moving forward, and I’ll be making some fun announcements about it in the coming weeks.  

Do you have an encouraging phrase, or something you do for yourself, or others, when the going gets tough? Share it with us, maybe you’ll help someone, or start a trend.

Just Keep Swimming!

Friday Inspiration-Nashville: "A Life That's Good" by Lennon & Maisy Stella

Talented young singers, and a great song—amazing! Happy Friday!

Wednesday Wisdom

Here's some Wednesday Wisdom…

Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging. —Joseph Campbell

Between the lines by K.Gibson

Work-life balance: The Impossible Dream?

Work-life balance. What do you think when you hear it, or read it?

Whenever I hear someone talk about work-life balance, I nod politely agreeing yes, it’s hard to come by—like finding a unicorn, under a double rainbow, with a pot of gold waiting beside it.

As Nigel Marsh says in this Ted Talk, it doesn’t have to be impossible if we take some personal control instead of letting others/employers do it for us. Discussions of things like flex time, casual Fridays and paternity leave, “only serve to mask the core issue, which is certain job and career choices are fundamentally incompatible with being meaningfully engaged on a day-to-day basis with a young family,” he says.

Wow, so we choose to work in order to pay rent or a mortgage, to put food on our table, and to hopefully, help put our kids through school. And buy cars, clothes and electronic gadgets. Yet, this work actually takes enjoyment away from some of those very things. Doesn’t it feel like we should be able to have it all—without the stress?

Marsh thinks we need to recalibrate our lives in order to strike a work-life balance that works. “We have to be responsible for setting and enforcing the boundaries that we want in our life,” Marsh says.

If you watch the video, you’ll see he makes a great point about realizing what to balance (intellectual, emotional and spiritual), and what we can actually accomplish over a certain time period—say, a day.

What’s your ideal day? If you’re not sure, make a list of your ideal day, as Marsh recommends and see what matters most. Did you put work at the top of your list? Then why spend so much time doing it? It’s time to get real about what you want and when you can accomplish your goals.

“We need to be realistic, you can’t do it all in one day,” Marsh says. It’s such a simple statement, yet so very wise. I often find myself, and others, anxious to cross off every single last thing on their To-Do list in one day. Maybe I need a To-Do List Manager. 

Marsh suggests creating a more realistic time period for reaching our ideal work-life balance. “We need to elongate the time period for which we judge the balance in our life,” he says. “But we need to elongate it without falling into the trap of I’ll have a life when I retire.” By then there may not be kids, a spouse or interests left to enjoy.

Okay, I get it. So, where do I go from here? I suggest thinking about your ideal day, or maybe a couple different ideal days. Why more than one day? Because, maybe you’re a parent craving some time to do your own thing occasionally, not every day. Plus, if you have expensive taste, but not a ton of cash, driving a Ferrari to lunch at the yacht club every day may not be realistic right now. Make a list of what you can do now, and a list of what you’d like to do, over time.

You’ve got a list, or two. What next? Do what you can, when you can. If work stresses you out, and miss family time, schedule a day, or an hour and take your kid to a museum, or the park. Marsh says even the small things matter.

What is your ideal day? Mine would involve a lot of family time, playing outdoors, reading, writing, music and food. Maybe even a ride in a Ferrari, someday.

Cloaked by K. Gibson