Books Open Worlds & Heal Wounds.

It's not even been released yet, but author Cheryl Strayed's new book, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, about her year-long personnel odyssey--and the healing it provided--had me hooked with this paragraph:

"But later I returned and bought the book. I couldn't explain it. Something bloomed inside me as I traced the jagged line of the trail with my finger."

What a wonderful description of the the worlds we can travel by reading.

Since I was a small girl, books have stirred my dreams, dreams that inspired action.

They still do.   

Love this Commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9L-8372A3w

Five Words for Wednesday.

Taut
Galvanizing
Rigorous
Audacity
Measured

Soulful Agitation.

I am lucky to call Marcia Reynolds a colleague and luckier still that she is a new friend.

Her book, Wander Woman: How High Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction, is resonating with me.

I just celebrated a birthday, I've moved to the Southwest and I am re-evaluating my career direction.

New chapters, all.  Plenty of agitation--soulful and otherwise.

Reading Marcia's introduction about how "soulful agitation" leads us to accomplish great things but ache for what's missing, captures what many of us--and not just women--feel.

I look forward to an insightful, inspiring read.   

http://www.amazon.com/Wander-Woman-High-Achieving-Contentment-Direction/dp/1605093513/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327870769&sr=1-1

Did you know that vocation is Latin for "voice?"

A vocation means a calling that one can hear. 

But before any of us can respond to our inner voice--whether its writing or preaching or selling or cooking or woodworking--we must listen. 

In the listening, we become wise.

And that wisdom, in turn, allows us to listen to others.  Actively listening is a gift we can give our family, friends, colleagues and clients. 

As writers, we try to ferret out a client's voice with word choices that reflect a company's unique character. 

That's why the most succeessful writers are superb listeners.

The Art of Storytelling.

In a review of director Angelina Jolie's new movie, In the Land of Blood & Honey, Entertainment Weekly columnist Owen Gleiberman praises her diligence in recounting the facts, but writes that "there's still a big difference between telling it like it is and telling it compellingly."

The film earned only a C+ from him.

Even when it is reality-based, the best storytelling is anything but average.

The Power of Intention.

New Year's Resolutions are so last year.

Wha't current are your intentions.

So, instead of saying "I want to lose 10 pounds," try "I will eat better and exercise more, so I believe I will lose the weight." 

It's a small shift in thinking that can make a big difference in results.

Happy 2012.