A Commitment to Safe Schools

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

It is Sunday afternoon, less than 12 hours before this post will go live. If you've checked out this blog you'll know my theme this month has been Commitment.

 I referenced M.L. Buchman’s post at Romancing The Genres earlier in March “But I Had A Plan” in my March 19, 2018 post here. I’ve talked about Olympic athletes and the level of commitment it takes to reach that level of performance. I’ve also talked about a continuum of commitment.

As I write this last post of March 2018, I’ve so many more ideas about commitment running through my mind.

Why? I watched several hours of the coverage of the March For Our Lives events yesterday.

These young people personified Commitment. While the specific message is about gun control, the underlying belief is:

We Have A Right To Feel and Be Safe In Our Schools.

Their passion, whether standing on the stage in front of thousands of people or being interviewed on t.v. talk and news shows, was evident. More than once I had tears in my eyes.

The young person who said that she’d learned to duck bullets before she learned to read.

The Marjorie Stoneman Douglas student who tailored her speech to exactly 6 minutes and 20 seconds, the amount of time it took the shooter in her school to murder 17 students and faculty.

The youth who came from all across the United States to speak about their personal experiences, their losses.

Speaker after speaker spoke about this being a cause that they believe in and will work on for as long as it takes to achieve their goal. They challenged adults to step up and support whatever is needed to create safe learning and living environments. It was clear to me that these young people will settle for nothing less than safe schools.

My other thoughts centered on seeing young people engaged in the democratic process of free speech. It’s more than having free speech. It’s what you do with it. Memories of speech classes and speech contests from my own high school days surfaced. If you took speech or entered a speech contest when you were their age, you know that these young women and men had the ability to write their thoughts and feelings without an adult doing it for them.

And, they have all the ingredients of a successful plan:

A clear and specific goal

A passion for the goal

The belief they can reach that goal.

What I’m excited to see is where the March for Our Lives takes us as a nation. Where the commitment of these young people will lead us. What we, as adults, will choose to do when challenged or invited to join them in creating learning environments where every child knows they are safe from violence.

Your free copy of Lily is waiting for you. Just click here and sign up for my mailing list (I will not spam you and you can always unsubscribe).

I’ve also ventured into non-fiction and Staying Sane in a Crazy World’s release date is today. You can still sign up for my mailing list and receive a free copy of Staying Sane in exchange for an honest review. FYI: You are actually only added once to my mailing list.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2018 Judith Ashley

Commitment

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

Matt Buchman had an interesting post up at Romancing The Genres on 02/28/2018  But I Had A Plan.

Matt references Napoleon Hill’s work specifically

+ Have a clear and specific goal

+ Have a passion to reach that goal

+ Have an unshakable belief in being able to reach the goal

As I read Matt’s post I was reminded of Garrett Gunderson’s point about 100% commitment. What I see Matt and other successful authors have is that 100% commitment. And that is a part of the “unshakable belief” they can reach that clear and specific goal for which they have a passion. These authors put 30 - 40 – 60 hours a week into their writing (research, writing, publishing, promotion).

Others of us (and I include myself in this category), have a clear and specific goal, we have the passion to reach that goal and we have a belief we will reach the goal – in time. We have commitment but it’s not the same 100% commitment Napoleon Hill talked about or these successful authors display. Our commitment isn’t 100%. Our lives do not revolve around our goal.

I’m pointing this out not to say One way is Right and the Other way Wrong. 

They are both valid.

I’m pointing this out to say don’t expect the same results unless you are putting forth the same level of commitment. My 75% commitment is not going to give me the same results as someone who puts in 100%. It will, more than likely, give me better results than someone at the 50% level.

The following is what I shared with some writer friends:

I’m not in the 100% commitment place either. It’s helpful to me to see commitment as a continuum of sorts and look at those things that I work on – as altogether they are a 100% commitment of my time and energy.

I also reminded them about a friend who, this past year, had my 100% commitment for periods of time. This year not so much. I may commit a morning or part of a day to him and his affairs but I am not 100% committed to him. On a three hour round trip drive to visit him, I listened to Dr. Joe Vitale’s “The Missing Secret” CDs. Listening to that CDs was all about me. And as it turned out, listening to the CDs ended up being about my writing.

So instead of saying “I didn’t get any writing done yesterday” the reality is I got a couple of hours (more like 4 - 5 when I add in other things I did) on my writing.

Judith and Sarah Raplee with poster of
first published book

Each of us are living our own lives in accordance to our core values and priorities. Acknowledging what our commitment is to various aspects of our lives is important. Not just our commitment level but also our priorities.

All of the authors I know that I see at the 100% commitment level to their writing, do stop and focus on other priorities in their lives. The ones I know have done this because of people in their lives needing them. Writing goes on the back burner for the time needed to resolve, solve whatever was going on.

Looking at your life as 100%, what are your priorities? Where is writing? Or if not an author, your career/job? What about re-creation? Family? It might be helpful to look at this as a pie chart with the various aspects of your life having varying size slices.

However, look at your life another way – prioritize your life.

Relationships (family, friends, etc.); 

Recreation (what you do for fun/relaxation); 

Career/Hobby (activity that you have fun doing and get lost in the process so time just slips by); 

Survival (Health and things like bill paying activity – you’d put your job here if the purpose for working that job was only to pay the bills).

You can share your thoughts about commitment in the comment section below.

Your free copy of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl is waiting for you. Just click here and sign up for my mailing list (I will not spam you and you can always unsubscribe).

I’ve also ventured into non-fiction and Staying Sane in a Crazy World release is planned for March 26, 2018! Click this link to be added to my mailing list and you’ll receive a free advanced copy of Staying Sane. This offer ends at midnight March 25, 2018. FYI: You are actually only added once to my mailing list but this way you get both books free!

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2018 Judith Ashley

More Lessons From The Olympics

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

Another lesson from the Olympics that applies to being an author.

It doesn’t matter what other people think about your performance. If you are doing your best that’s “good enough.”

Who won the Gold? As the surprise winner of the women’s Giant Slalom said (and I paraphrase) “The others had so much pressure to win. I could just ski.”

I can’t imagine having a microphone constantly stuck in my face before and after a competition. Some of the athletes are still regaining their normal breathing and are gasping for air. And how does the reporter, no matter how nice she is or how well-formed the question, think the person feels when they don’t medal. Loved Lindsey Vonn’s answer. “I tried.”

That’s another lesson.

We try.

We show up.

We do our best.

As we write, our “best” shifts and changes. 

Best Selling Author, Malcolm Gladwell and Earl Nightingale, of Nightingale-Conant, pioneers in audio Motivational Programs, give stats on what it takes to become an expert/master at what you are doing.

Malcolm’s number is a bit foggy in my mind. What I remember is, when I translated it into writing, I needed to write at least a million words to gain any level of expertise.

Earl Nightingale’s message is “spend an hour a day learning/studying your business and within 5 years you’ll be an internationally recognized expert”.

Therefore, because we show up, we increase our skill level.

And when we show up we are demonstrating a critical element in any success. Commitment. I'll share more about Commitment next Monday. I hope you'll share your thoughts about the lessons you've learned from life experiences.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2018 Judith Ashley

Lessons From The Olympics

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

The opening ceremony was Magical! Amazing! One part had 1200 drones flying in formations! And then there was the drumming, dancing, music and the use of lasers or whatever it was that made fantastical shapes. I started “watching” playing Mahjong on my tablet but soon had it put aside to really watch.

Another highlight for me was watching both North and South Korea athletes walk in together under one flag. I was struck with the core values of The Olympics being played out before me.

Seeing the athletes compete at that level and at the end congratulate each other. Seeing the excitement of just being there, of doing their best, of representing their country. Seeing the athletes interacting with others who have the same passion and commitment for the sport as they do.

I found myself looking forward to the hours I spent watching the popular (ice skating, half-pipe, hockey and the less popular sports like the biathlon, speed skating, short track. And then there was the emerging interest in curling!

While I enjoyed and at times marveled at the performances of the athletes, I also paid attention to what I could learn from people who’d dedicated so much to reaching this level of accomplishment.

Here are some of the lessons I learned from The Olympics:

Set your goal.

Believe you can achieve it.

Do the work.

Have fun doing it!!! So many of the athletes talked about the joy of participating in The Olympics and in their sport.

I see that joy every day in my chapter’s on-line forum, #ftb (finish the book) as we encourage and support each other to reach our goal.

Another comparison between authors and athletes is we both have to actively participate in the process.

Authors, to belong to Romance Writers of America (RWA), must be actively pursuing publication. Some writers enter contests like Rose City Romance Writers’ Golden Rose. These contests would be similar to the athletes entering various competitions at different levels of achievement.

Authors also need to have finished a book before they can enter RWA’s Golden Heart or Rita contest.

Olympic athletes have participated in numerous local, state, regional, national and world competitions before reaching the Olympics.

But whether an athlete or an author, it starts with setting our goal.

If you watched The Olympics, what did you learn that you can apply to your life? And if you didn't, what did you experience that became one of your "life lessons?"

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2018 Judith Ashley