Ever since watching Amanda Gorman recite her poem The Hill We Climb at President Biden and Vice President Harris’s inaugurations, I have had poetry on my mind. I’m reminded of the simplicity and power that the right words can invoke with such emotion and inspiration. Because I was so taken by her, I was tempted to just provide a link to the video and reprint Gorman’s poem for us all to revisit. That was until Thom came across a poem written by the late John O’Donohue that also deserves to be remembered and absorbed. To me, his poem, For A New Beginning is a perfect poem for the start of a new year and a new era in our country. Besides that, his message echoes so much of what I consistently write here on SMART Living 365. I don’t know about you, but I welcome this new beginning for myself and the world.
Living Fearlessly And Refusing To Be A Dancing Bear
Ever hear of Robin Fisher Roffer? Me either, until I received a copy of her fourth book Your No Fear Career. Honestly? I didn’t care much for the cover or the title. But about ten pages into the book I knew why it showed up in my life. Not only does it have great advice for all women—working or not—it also contains nuggets of SMART ideas that will benefit anyone who is looking to live boldly at any age. Written in short and easy to read chapters, I thought one of the best ways to review the book would be to share ten gems of wisdom I want to remember in the days ahead. [Read more…]
Payment Doesn’t Always Look Like Money
Lately I’ve read a number of blog posts that discourage writers from giving any of their work away without payment—in other words, writing for free. These other writers feel that if a writer writes something without being paid for it, they diminish the value of the work for all other writers. And while I agree that every type of artist is wise to honor and value their gifts and contributions, that doesn’t mean that the only means of payment comes in the form of money. In fact, looking back over my own experiences, many of the payments I’ve received for my work came in a variety of forms and fashion. As creative artists of any type, let’s never forget that value means something different to each of us, and compensation doesn’t have to look like money. [Read more…]