Smashing Writers Block - Find Joy in the Simple Things

 Find Joy in the Simple Things

Let’s get back to basics and find the joys in everyday life. 

One way to welcome joy into your life is to unplug completely from your phone, computer, tablet, etc. so you’re more present in each moment and so you can actually recognize joy when it appears. 

Do you eat dinner every night with your family? 

Do you know what your kids are doing in school or in their activities? 

When was the last time you allowed yourself time to play board games or read bedtime stories? 

When was the last time you really connected with your spouse or partner? 

Even if you live alone, think about the last time you allowed yourself fun time away from the computer?

Think about the hobbies you used to enjoy prior to marriage/kids/business. 

Now is the time to add at least one of those things back into your life. Join a gym. Join a walking or running club. Volunteer at your favorite charity. Read a book. Learn how to meditate. Learn how to play a new sport. Discover new hiking trails. Write in a journal.

Smash Writer's Block -Why Your Brain Needs a Break

 Why Your Brain Needs a Break

In today’s technological world with constant news cycles and instant access to electronics, it’s all too easy to wear ourselves out with too much news and other stimuli. 

Do you often lose steam mid-afternoon, especially if you’re working hard to meet a deadline? 

Your body and your brain physically can only handle so much before they go into shut down mode. 

Experts believe that “employees spend more than half their workdays receiving and managing information than using it to do their jobs”.

Maybe you’ve noticed that you’re not working as efficiently later in the day or it’s harder to concentrate on business tasks. 

Even if you’re s writing, do you find yourself getting distracted? Your brain is telling you it needs a break, similar to rebooting your computer.

Smashing Writer's Block -Become Inspired by Your Hobbies

 Become Inspired by Your Hobbies

Even though it seems counterintuitive to think about spending time enjoying your hobbies while building a business, you’ll discover that allowing your brain to relax and enjoy something other than business will spur your creativity. 

Have you ever had an incident where you can’t remember the title of a book or who starred in a particular movie but then you had an a-ha moment as soon as you stopped thinking about it? 

Have you heard stories of people who are inspired while in the shower and then are scrambling to write down their brilliant idea while they’re soaking wet? 

Jerry Seinfeld added a scene to his famous television show about writing the funniest joke ever while dreaming, wrote it down in the middle of the night, but couldn’t read his handwriting in the morning.

The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I prefer to read the book before seeing the movie - and as typical did so with this book.
Absolutely loved both book and movie. Edge of your seat read in many places and of course, left me wondering what I would do if ever in this situation.
Definitely on my recommend list.



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Weasel and Rag: wasting time with watercolor

Weasel and Rag: wasting time with watercolor by Richard Schwindt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fun read (even though purple is my favorite color) and I loved the cover!

With an unsolicited, preemptive strike, Richard Schwindt, author of Social Work for Fun and Profit has turned his attention to everything watercolor. In a torrent of cheap shots, mean spirited digs, unfair characterizations, and the occasional helpful tip, he has fashioned a devil’s dictionary of the “watercolor-industrial complex” you never knew existed.
Adopting the persona of an embittered, potty-mouthed retiree and amateur painter, Schwindt launches a mad rant in full attack mode, starting with Albrecht Dürer:
“An early proponent of making ordinary people feel stupid…”
He recklessly moves forward, addressing everything from brushes:
“Like political prisoners and unidentified cadavers, most are assigned numbers.”
To the color wheel:
“…green … it’s leering across the wheel, like a stalker released from detention, desperate to penetrate the red. It just knows they belong together.”
And the colour purple:
“Approaching a purple painting at an art exhibition, I am unconsciously patting pockets for Prozac.”
Eccentric, irreverent and always hilarious, Weasel and Rag is written for every hobbyist who has ever managed frustration with laughter.

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): 2 Manuscripts - Introducing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Made Simple - Examples and techniques ... Intelligence and Soft Skills Book 13)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by Daniel Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I bought this book as I was looking into life coaching courses and one covered this topic.
I found this book to be well written and informative. Definitely recommend.

Are you interested in knowing how to come out of the suffering and struggle of mental health challenges and become more successful in your life using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
Two great books that shine bright light on the subject of CBT are weaved through this book. Here's a comprehensive 2-in-1 guide written to show you how you can use evidence-based CBT techniques to treat an expansive range of disorders such as depression, anxieties, addictions, all sorts of psycho social problems, and overcome real-world challenges.

Exploring the whole concept of CBT and its benefits, this book shares how you can apply the principles of CBT to reprogram your inner thoughts to create lasting change in your life without constant struggles and become a more rational individual.

This book is perfect for everybody including college students, athletes, busy moms, aging seniors and everyone that wants to know how to manage common treatment challenges with CBT.

Within the pages of this book, you’ll discover:

Up-to-the-minute methods to improve your mental health with CBT How to overcome negative thinking patterns using CBT How to completely stay in control of your inner thoughts and direct your life positively A wide range of exercises designed to help you overcome anxiety and other mental health challenges How to define a specific goal to work towards over the course of 6 weeks And much more!
If you want to know how to address dysfunctional emotions and make big changes in your life starting now, then this book is for you.

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Go, Go, Trucks!

Go, Go, Trucks! by Jennifer Liberts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bought as a gift - instant hit. Highly recommend

A brother and sister discover all kinds of trucks as they travel through their own neighborhood, drive on a highway, and visit a county fair! Young vehicle-enthusiasts will take pride in cruising through the simple, rhyming text. Bright, bouncy art will help them along the reading journey.

Step 1 Readers feature big type and easy words for children who know the alphabet and are eager to begin reading. Rhyme and rhythmic text paired picture clues help children decode the story.

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S.t.e.a.m.c.a.p.p.: The Rising of the Moon (The Adirondack Affair Book 1)

S.t.e.a.m.c.a.p.p.: The Rising of the Moon by J.T. Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you know me - you know I love anything steampunk.
Quality read - I definitely recommend it.
August 1901: When Anarchist Terrorists massacre the workers of Archeology dig site 403B in the Adirondacks and abduct fifteen year old Gladys Gwynn, her wealthy Industrialist brother hires the Strategic Tactics and Extraordinary Management Consultation And Protection Partnership, team to rescue her.



But before STEAMCAPP can even board the train that will take them to the Adirondack wilderness retreat of their client, two of their members, the dashing and deadly Kierian McKenna(code named Piper), and his dare-deviless partner Emma Dareheart(code named Banshee), both former Resistance Cell operatives during the British-American War of 1893-1897, are ambushed by operatives hired by the British Secret Service Bureau and thrust into a bloody shoot-out.



At Great Camp Sagamore, Kierian and Emma are joined by their business partners, the mysterious, irascible, genius inventor, Dr. Balthazar Waatt, and the debonair Rescue Automaton Model 7. Along with three wilderness guides from the Adirondack League and Professor's of Archeology, Veronica Stonechat and SJ Boaltt, the team embarks on an action packed adventure to rescue Gladys from the brutal Anarchist terrorist and their deadly Gryphon Battle Mech.



But as STEAMCAPP's mission nears its exciting climax, a new threat more perilous than any of them could have imagined, emerges along with new questions. Who is the mysterious power behind the Anarchist? What is buried in the lost Algonquin Temple Of The Bear? And can STEAMCAPP stop Operation Atlas before it topples the United States of America into utter chaos and ruin?



Set in an Alternate Steampunk reality amongst the backdrop of a British-American Cold war, STEAMCAPP : Rising Of The Moon promises to be a thrilling action packed, rollicking adventure, peppered with humor and romance and set in the wild beauty of the Adirondack forest. (less)

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