One-Problem Writing by Dennis Becker--A review

Last week I downloaded a free copy of One-Problem Writing: A Writer's Guide to Speed writing Helpful, Nonfiction Books & Earning Money in 7 Days or Less.

If you're looking for a textbook or week-long study guide, this book isn't it. It's only about 70 pages. But that should be pretty obvious from the description. By the title alone, you should be able to figure out what you're getting. In short order, Mr. Becker explains how anyone can write a one-problem book and make money off it. Best of all, your one-problem books can lead readers to your other writing or whatever business you're in.

I never thought about writing nonfiction before because I didn't think I knew enough about anything to write a book on it. That's why I stick with fiction where I can make up everything. But Mr. Becker's book showed me even I know enough about something to write a one-problem book about it.

I've published ten fiction titles, but I wasn't sure where to start with a nonfiction project. I downloaded several books to explain the process, but this one was the most concise, logical, and exciting. After gobbling down the book, I couldn't wait to get started. I particularly loved Mr. Becker's challenge to all readers to write and publish a one-problem book in 7 days. I sort of cheated since I already had a project in my head and halfway mapped out. Now a week later, my project is written, though not formatted or in order for publication. I'm waiting to finish at least one more title so I can release as a series. Thanks, Mr. Becker. for a great little resource.

Click on the link above to grab yours.

Seize the Day

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness...never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. - Lord Chesterfield

I have a friend who says he’s always wanted to write a book. Actually, just about every person I meet tells me this. Then they say they would, but they are too busy. They offer to tell me their idea and let me write it. Okay, that’s not going to happen. I have enough of my own ideas, thank you very much.

Even though my friend insists he doesn't have time to write, he apparently enjoys discussing his ideas with me. He is a busy man. He has a family and a full-time job and property that needs maintained. But he also watches sports on television every weekend. He is nearly addicted to computer games and loves surfing the Net for news coverage.

All of us—no matter how busy we are—find time for what’s important to us. If it matters enough, we'll carve the time from somewhere in our schedules. Writing is hard. It’s lonely and usually more work than it’s worth. It's easier and a lot more fun to sit around and talk about the art of writing and discuss plotlines and characters than to actually fasten our butts to the chair and put words on the page. We put it off. We say; “Someday”.

The problem is, most of us do not put enough value on our time. Ask any successful person. It’s our most valuable commodity. Think back a few years to what you knew you should do and really meant to get around to. Were you thinking about contributing more money to your 401K? Or contributing any money to a 401K? What if you had started ten years ago? Or twenty? Just think how sweet your portfolio would look today.

Did you entertain notions of beginning an exercise plan at the first of the year? Maybe you didn’t, thinking you’d start after the weather got warm enough to get outside to exercise. Now it’s nearly June, and you’re no closer to your fitness goals than you were last June. Did you dream of starting a home-based business? You knew the steps you needed to take, but it was so daunting and overwhelming, you never got around to it.

Have you put off cultivating relationships with loved ones? Maybe there is something standing between you and a family member. A past hurt or wrong that left you both bitter and disillusioned. Time is passing and you want to make amends, but you don’t know how. Or you don’t want to make the first move.

The older I get—and, boy, have I gotten older in the last few years—the more I realize time is so so short. It is truly precious. We must seize every moment and hang on. All too soon, we’ll be looking back, wondering why we aren’t closer to our goals. Closer to what truly matters. We’ll wish we had acted sooner. Saved more money. Asked forgiveness. Offered it when no one asked. Written that book. Planted a tree outside the kitchen window. Fallen in love. Inspired someone.

Make each day count. Stop wasting time & seize each day you’re given.

Moving Past the Hurt Once & For All

I believe past hurts are the biggest reason we don’t live happy, fulfilled lives. We all have them. Someone did or said something—or most often, heaped abuse and pain on us for years and years—and then walked away without accepting blame. My goal with this post is not to make that person see the error of her ways and repent, but to help you recognize the pain that keeps you from living the life you want.

It’s easy to say we forgive and move on. Isn’t life easier that way? "I will totally put this out of my head. Forget the jerk. He’s not worth a moment of my time. I’ve moved on."

Usually, though, we’ve not forgiven, we’ve just done the moving on part. We don’t dwell on the hurt because we determine to be stronger than the pain. We get on with our lives and don’t look back, thinking we’ve overcome the past.

It doesn't take long, though, to realize we haven’t overcome anything. The moment the subject comes up or someone mentions what happens or the person who hurt us comes into view, Bam, there it is again. All the pain and betrayal and bitterness are back as strong as the day it happened.

What’s wrong with us? We’re doing everything we can to get past it. It’s not like we dwell on it. We don’t lie away at night plotting revenge. At least not every night. We refuse to let the unforgiveness get a toehold in our lives. Doing so would be allowing the hurt rule us. To control us, and that’s the last thing we want. We're bigger than that.

Why can’t we get past the hurt? Why has it taken root like a cancer and no amount of distraction or meditation or determination on our part can weed it out? Like a real cancer, we can’t wish it away. We can’t ignore it and convince ourselves it isn’t there. Only the Great Physician can eradicate this cancer of unforgiveness that is eating us from the inside out. We may think we’re healed on our own, but as long as we experience anger and bitterness any time we’re reminded of the pain, we haven’t truly forgiven.

The point of the Ready, Set, Go! blog is to encourage and inspire the world to love the life we’re given, coz let’s face it, we don’t really get to pick, but we can make it the best it can be. That can’t be done with unforgiveness eating away at the peace and hope in our hearts. God knows the root of the unforgiveness you're dealing with. He knows the cruel and unreasonable things people have done. And, yes, he understands and empathizes with the pain. Only he can take it away and cleanse your heart like new. Allow him to do a work in your heart today so you may live a life of joy and peace.

Selfie Reveal

It’s easy to get discouraged when seeing what other people post on social media. Last week was Mother’s Day. No one posted they were having a bad day. No one admitted their kids forgot to send a card or didn’t bother to call. Even inmates on Death Row seemed to have a better day than I did.

What do you do if your Mother’s Day is less than social media-worthy? Or your Christmas? Or any plain old ordinary day that didn’t line up with what the rest of the world claimed was going on in their lives?

Sadly, very few of us have the sort of life captured on social media. We don’t post pics of ourselves the moment we climb out of bed. Or in a bad mood after a tough day at work. Or cleaning vomit out of the carpet at one a.m. when our little one woke us up sick again. Life is life. It’s pretty much the same for everyone. We have good days and we have lousy days. We have more so-so days than anything, when nothing the least bit interesting happens for us to share with the world.

The Bible says a man is appointed a few days, and they’re full of trouble. Life is definitely full of trouble, whether we immortalize it on our phones or not. Knowing this doesn’t make it any easier to smile and ‘like’ a picture of yet another bouquet of dandelions from our friend’s adorable preschooler when our little darling has just knocked over a display of fruit juice at Walmart.

How do we truly celebrate our friends’ blessings when jealousy rears its ugly head? Recognizing the jealousy and where it’s coming from is the first step. We are always our own worst critic. But we can’t be so hard on ourselves if we want to lead healthy, balanced, productive lives.

Don’t beat yourself up because your life isn’t seemingly as magical as those around us. Theirs isn’t magical either. At least not as much as it looks. More often than not, they feel the same way about what you post. We all have moments, good and bad. It’s what you make of them and what you learn from them that matters.

Make a conscious decision to enjoy your life today. Look for something good in a place you usually overlook.

It's Up to You--Good or Bad

My husband & I just returned from a vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains. We spent a week doing all the tourist-y stuff—like the Comedy Barn and Dixie Stampede, enjoying dinner at the Timberwood Grill, and visiting museums like the Titanic. Not to mention climbing mountains to ogle vistas and taking tons of pictures—some of which will appear in future posts and may become cover art for an upcoming book release.

It’s still technically the off-season in Tennessee so crowds were small and foot traffic slow in the local shops and art galleries. It afforded us the opportunity to chat with staff and get to know people. Out of all the people we met, I only had one negative experience with someone I didn’t actually meet.

I got yelled at in a public restroom when I walked in on a woman. There’s a way to prevent someone from walking in on you. Lock the door! She didn’t, so I burst in, and she got indignant.

For about half a minute, I got indignant back at her. After all, how could she blame me when she’s the one with the power to lock the door?

Immediately, I decided I wasn’t going to let that one experience spoil the memories of my trip. Our vacation was wonderful. We had numerous, enjoyable interactions with people from North Carolina, Long Island, a beautiful young bride from UAB, and a lovely lady from Hattiesburg, MS, not to mention all the Tennesseans who made our trip exceptional.

Life is full of choices. We can remember the good and let go of the bad. Or we can let a truly crappy day at work crowd out a good moment with a coworker. Most times, a negative experience stays with us longer because it makes a more indelible impression. Don’t let it. It’s a choice. A conscious decision to focus on one thing instead of another.

Choose to focus on the good things in life. Fun conversations. A child’s laugh. A silly joke that wasn’t that funny. A good book. A beautiful view. Being wrapped in the arms of someone you love. It takes a lot more energy to stay mad over a slight than it does to find delight in one of life’s simple pleasures.

Speaking of simple pleasures, my first book, Streams of Mercy, Book One in my Jenna’s Creek Series, is available as a free download on Amazon through May 17. Check out the other books in the series while you’re there.

All the best for a blessed & beautiful weekend.

Focus on One

I don't know about you, but I always have a hundred things to do. It is so easy to get overwhelmed by a To-Do list that never seems to get done. This morning I read an article on marketing. (Subscribe to Randy's ezine & you'll find tons of great marketing info to benefit any biz.) My takeaway on a very informative read was: Focus on doing one thing really well before moving on to something else.

Whether starting a new business or building a brand, or a platform to showcase that brand, or even beginning an exercise regimen, it's easy to get freaked out by all the details necessary to become successful. The never ending list of chores can be so daunting we quit before we ever get out of the gate. We look at someone else who is already wildly successful at what we want, and we think we have to do everything exactly the way she does. If not, we'll never break out of the masses, and we're doomed to failure, so what's the point of trying anyway...

I often think of an old adage: If you chase two rabbits, they both get away.



Instead of staring at 20 tasks guaranteed to make you a millionaire by next Tuesday, choose one. Yes, one. Isn't that a relief! Focus your energy. Choose the task you can do really well, and then do that thing the best you can. After--and only after--you become adept at that one thing, then you can move onto something else.

We don't have to be great at everything to start. We just have to be willing to strive for greatness.