What gets you going? Back in July I received a very special wedding anniversary gift. It was a beautiful Tiffany pen. My wife knows that I have an appreciation for nice pens so she decided to get me a sterling silver pen. A beautiful thought, but it came with a little bit of a twist.
I have been working on my 1st book and my goal was to have it done and ready to ship by Aug. 18. I was on pace to complete my goal and my wife added an additional incentive. It is an accomplishment in itself to write a book, but my wife challenged me to set up a book signing. You guessed it, my beautiful pen came with a stipulation that it could not be used until my 1st book signing.
I was racking my brain to find out where I could set up a book signing when it hit me as I was driving. With the opportunity to use my new pen, I quickly picked up the phone and reached out to my Alma mater, Hartwick College, to see if I could set up a book signing on Alumni weekend. They said, "yes," and on Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 11am I will use my beautiful sterling silver Tiffany pen for the first time.
Two Lessons:
- Sometimes you need external motivation to help you reach your goals. Find or create your own.
- It never hurts to ask. When you have an idea, don't hesitate to place the phone call that could help you realize your dream. I learned this from my mentor Andre Taylor, "Make the phone call before your nerves and all the reasons why you should not call kicks in."
2 comments:
I finally made it here and, with great fanfare and ceremony, I will answer your question. . . What is my motivation? To answer that I will need to hijack your blog. . .
*snatches blog away*
I was 18 and pregnant, a freshman in college who didnt even know what I was going to major in, let alone how in the hell I was going to raise a child. But I went through with it anyway, thanks to Common and his cursed song "Retrospect for Life." (315 dollars ain't worth yo soul!)
When he was born, he was perfect, and I was in love. It was here that it occurred to me that i was the person responsible for providing everything this perfect little baby would need and he deserved to have the kind of parent (emphasis on parent in the singular) that would put him first. . . So in everything I did, i made sure he was never far from my thoughts. Drive slow and careful because he's in the car. Study hard in school because you'll need a good job once you graduate to make sure he has everything he needs. Don't drink because you won't be able to take care of him with a hangover. . .
So he's my motivation. Now that he's 10 and doesn't need me quite so much, I still rely on him to keep me in check - to remind me to be a good role model and in turn I remind him to brush his teeth and that he can't eat ice cream for dinner. . . so I think we're even :)
Now you can have your blog back. . .
ms kennedy..that was something powerful. Thank you. Positivity, single mindedness, and focus are attributes the world can not get enough of. You seem to be a powerful catalyst for change. God Bless.
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