Category Archives: Creativity

Planting Technology Seeds Early

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“Some people are really drawn to technology and I liken them to artists.” ~ Mitchell Baker

I’m sorry but you can’t tell me that e-books are a passing fad. I read an article the other day that convinced me that we have only begun to realize the magnitude of advancing digital technology.

200449942-001The article was about eight year old children who are learning computer code in schools. The article supports the importance of keeping school curriculum current and relevant with advancing technology and doing away with outdated ways of teaching and learning.

Young children are those who, in the future, will  drive independent publishing and digital technologies to areas that we can adults can not even fathom. We can personally resist reading e-books and continue reading books in print, but the reality is that e-books are becoming a growing presence in our world. Electronic books are what the next generation of readers will want because they are so accustomed to using digital technology. In the end, it will become all about supply and demand.

To read more about Why Your Eight Year Old Should be Coding, here is the link.
http://bit.ly/Z39yLr .

It concerns me that if American schools do not have the resources to keep up with other countries, our workforce will be supplying products that people don’t even want or can not use and this country’s workers will not have skills that will  be useful in business. Knowing how to write computer code will be an advantage  for all kinds of careers in the future.

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Reflections on the Writing Process

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Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn’t wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say. ~Sharon O’Brien

This morning as I open this blank Word document, I think of the adage that “every person has a story to tell.” A white page gives us a space to create, a place to give birth to a beginning and an ending. Our imaginations can compose a fictional tale without a bit of truth or we can recount a factual story with unswerving loyalty or create a composite, with a bit of both.  Even with writing a narrative that is one hundred percent true, there is choice in the words we use and the voice we use to tell it. What an opportunity! That’s the beauty of writing.

If you are a person who has a story that needs to be told, I urge you to begin writing. If you need support, look for a local writers group in your area, or take a writing class at a local college or on-line. Networking with other authors and attending writer’s conferences or seminars also is helpful throughout the process. Unbiased feedback, from others can be invaluable because it is difficult to critique your own work.

You will be surprised how a tale will begin to take shape all by itself, if you allow it. You’ll learn all kinds of things you never knew about yourself or your characters in the process. Writing is a beautiful exercise in self-discovery and perhaps discovery about others.

Enjoy creating. It will be reflected in your work.

beginnings and endings

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Celebrating the Publishing Process

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Today, I awake with very mixed feelings. Thrilled that the beginning of May is soon to arrive, it means, for me, escape from still snowy Colorado. In about two weeks I’ll be on my way out of here for some business dealings. The change of scenery and new things to blog about, from another perspective, will be refreshing. I’ll find plenty of inspiration along the way. I look forward to also visiting art galleries, museums, independent bookstores and other things that bring me fulfillment.

Yet, there is regret and sadness that duty calls me away at this time of year. For the first time since I arrived in Colorado four years ago, I will miss the EVVY book award night. Authors from We Write Steamboat who have submitted to the contest are hoping to be award-winners! It has been such a pleasure to connect, network and share information about the industry with We Write Steamboat members and with other people who share connections with me through the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. CIPA is a very resourceful group of professionals  who support, educate and provide services to help authors who have chosen to publish their books in a non-traditional way – on The Fast Track! http://bit.ly/10cCp1Y.

It ‘s hard to describe the pleasure that comes with writing a book. The process is a quite a learning experience.  To become an award-winning author, with an award-winning book, is very satisfying and you can see the JOY on the authors faces as they claim their prizes. Today, I’d like to say “Good Luck to all independent publishers who have submitted to the various book contests this spring.”  Tis the Season and I hope it’s jolly! Even if you don’t come home with an award, look for the rewards that you found in the process.

Wishbone DogReturn tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Living and Learning

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“Writing and learning and thinking are the same process.” ~ William Zinsser

I had a lovely afternoon on Friday with a woman who fully embraces the concept of “life long learner.” I met her two years ago at a retreat sponsored by the United Methodist Women. Right away I was inspired by the interesting contributions she was making to our group discussions and wanted to know more about her. I’ve since learned she is an artist and a writer who is still avidly interested in the world and learning at eighty-three years of age. So young at heart, she still is in command of her own life. She swims at our local hot springs pool, volunteers weeding gardens and has a fulfilling spiritual life.

Last week, it was fun to finally see her contemporary paintings and discuss the thought process that she put into each composition. She interestingly explained the symbolism she incorporated into each of her paintings and how it related to where she was along her life path when she created them.

I took along an independently published art DVD to share with her that I knew she’d appreciate, a portrait painting demonstration, called “The Captain’s Portrait” by master painter Richard Schmid
 http://bit.ly/103RYtr. For me watching it brought back wonderful memories of 2001. I was in the audience the day the video was filmed and was attending my first live painting demonstration of a world-renown artist.

elderly paintingFrom our back and forth exchange of discussion as we watched the film together, it was evident that this woman has been a life-long art student. Although her works of art may not hang in top galleries throughout the country, she has won “Best in Show” awards. She seems to have a wonderful grasp of the concepts that were discussed in the film such as shape, form, values of light and dark, line, textures and color harmony. I shouldn’t be surprised, from the moment I met her she seemed very astute.

Just before we parted company , she told me how she has a void in her heart. Some years ago, the group of local painters who used to gather regularly at the Steamboat “Art Depot” and paint together, disbanded. She said “its much harder these days to find motivation to paint, and she misses the camaraderie greatly.”

I was reminded, once again, why art matters to young and old alike and to myself! This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Film Friday: Funny Retirement Movies

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“If one has no sense of humor, one is in trouble.”  ~ actress Betty White & author of  If You Ask Me

One of the secrets to a long life is humor. Being able to laugh at ourselves as we age takes the sting out of the loss of our capacities. Everyone ages at different rates, and thankfully, there are things we can do to forestall the aging process.

Watching funny films is good for people’s spirits at any age. On this Film Friday, here are a few suggestions for comedy movies about retirement.

• Gran Torino Click for Info & Ordering

• The Bucket List Click for Info & Ordering

• Up Click for Info & Ordering

• The ArtistClick for Info & Ordering

• About Schmidt Click for Info & Ordering

• The Notebook Click for Info & Ordering

• Something’s Got to Give Click for Info & Ordering

Betty White

Actress Betty White at 91, still actively working

A Grande Dame of Living with Humor and a Fulfilling Life

Have a fun weekend everyone. Return on Monday to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. and Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.Click for Info about Sue’s memoir

Beyond a Working Life

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“Pick your passion and pursue it.” Psychologists say it’s good for emotional and mental health to have hobbies. Some people love to travel, others like stamp collecting, knitting, quilting, hunting, cooking, drawing, writing, baseball card collecting. It doesn’t much matter how you like to use your spare time, hobbies contribute to a sense of personal fulfillment .

Finding and making time for our interests is sometimes a challenge. Balance is the solution and this can be tricky for people who work long hours, are raising families and growing careers. If you can incorporate what you love to do into a business, more power to you! It is the best way to feel personally satisfied and work never feels like, well, work.

living-with-passion-and-purpose-quote-maya-angelouPeople are living longer. Nowadays people retire from one career, and then start up a small business which involves their passions. They become more personally satisfied than ever because they love what they are doing, even though they are continuing to work much later in life.

If you are at a crossroads, where you’re near retirement age, but not ready to sit in a recliner and put your feet up, here is an article from Entrepreneur Magazine that gives six tips about Turning your Passion into Profit. http://bit.ly/1496EZG .

If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do for a new career in your “golden years?”

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Armchair Travel to Europe

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armchair travelpg“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.” ~ John F Kennedy

Europe is an old civilization compared to the United States of America. Tourists from all over the world flock to museums in Rome, Paris, Venice, London and other cities as part of their European vacations. The Louvre has approximately seven to eight million visitors every year. People enjoy taking in a wide variety of art reflected in paintings and other artifacts – from Celtic art to the Renaissance and Baroque eras, as well as Neoclassical, Romantic and the Impressionistic period. A chance to see  architectural elements many hundreds of years old, are reason enough to visit European cities – turrets, towers, flying buttresses, steeples, spires, vaulted ceilings and gargoyles, embellish the buildings.

If you are a connoisseur of European culture, there is a new blog that you will enjoy called Castles and Coffeehouses: Exploring European Art and History. http://castlesandcoffeehouses.com/. Blog writer C S Carley shares all sorts of interesting information geared around the humanities. And of course, she can’t mention European art and history without including just a little bit of how religion fits into the overall picture. It played such a major role in the world’s development during the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Travel along with C S Carley as she shares her knowledge of places abroad and finds all kinds of fulfilling things to explore and write about.

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Four Fulfilling Words

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“I am who I am because of the choices I made yesterday.” ~ Unknown

Four words with powerful meaning –

• I AM
• I CAN
• I WILL
• I DO

help define and fulfill our sense of self. These words took on even greater meaning when I began working in the independent publishing industry.

positiveThose simple words that have kept me on track. Every time I’ve faced a challenge, and thought  “I’m going to try to,” I’ve substituted it with one the four important self-fulfilling statements, and then taken the necessary action that is required to complete the task or challenge.

Used to be independent publishers had to go it alone, but things have changed in the publishing industry.  According to an article dated 11-11-12 in the Miami Herald, http://hrld.us/17bIrAH, Bowker (the storehouse of publishing statistics) says independent publishing “has nearly tripled, growing 287% since 2006 and 236,625 print and e-titles” were non-traditionally published in 2011 alone. Since then, the e-book industry has prospered further and print-on-demand publishing has grown also.

The stigma behind independent publishing of books, films and movies has nearly disappeared, as standards and technology for desktop publishing have improved. In this day and age, it is often difficult to distinguish between an independent and traditionally published book.

If you are considering an independent publishing project,  now there is help and support available. I am, I can, I will and I do help people understand the newest generation of publishing through the webinar On the Fast Track: The Independent Publishing  Industry http://bit.ly/10cCp1Y and through the  information provided on All Things Fulfilling. Join us regularly on this on-line site.

 This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Film Friday: Loss of A Film Critic

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“Your intellect may be confused but your emotions never lie to you.” ~ Roger Ebert

Siskel and Ebert, Leonard Maltin, some of the most well-known  film critics of our time.  Yesterday, Roger Ebert passed away at 70 years of age. Leonard Maltin said of Ebert’s  death “The thing I’m remembering now, most, is his bravery,” referring to the health challenges he faced in recent years.

Can you imagine how many hours Ebert spent over the course of his forty-six year career in the screening room? His passion was watching movies and critiquing them. A fulfilling career but, not every production  he watched was worthy of his attention. I’m sure he viewed his fair share of movies that were poorly edited, had holes in the plot, scripts without continuity, casting mistakes, visual effects blunders and acting goofs.

independent spirit awards ebertHis film reviews were highly regarded. Albeit sometimes very spirited and outspoken in his independent thoughts, he was the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize. Roger Ebert was also author of twenty books, including I Hated, Hated, Hated this Movie.

The 15th annual Ebert Film Festival begins on April 17 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois. What Ebert called “one of the most beautiful films ever made,” Terrence Malick’s 1978 “Days of Heaven” will appropriately open the film festival. It won an Oscar for best cinematography. Click here for info & ordering Days of Heaven

To read more about this man who had a bright mind, a very observant eye and did so much to promote good films and the art of good filmmaking, please visit his website http://www.rogerebert.com/.

Return on Monday to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Hiking the PCT with Strayed

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“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
~ Dr. Seuss Oh the Places You’’ll Go

This week I’ve hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s a place I never thought I’d visit. I hiked it with author Cheryl Strayed
and saw bears, rattlesnakes, a Texas longhorn bull and more.  At times throughout the journey I felt desperation set in, unimaginable fright, gratitude, inspiration, relief and grief.  Strayed’s thoughts of accomplishing what she set out to do, were familiar.

crossroads in the woods

No, Strayed was not alone  in her story, good authors always find the company of readers who appreciate what their characters have gone through and can often relate. I decided to travel along with Strayed by reading her book, so that when she shows up in Steamboat, at the Bud Werner Memorial Library http://bit.ly/16nUuYj  on April 11th, I’ll able to envision exactly what the Pacific Crest Trail looked like.

Wild is exactly the kind of book that reminds us why even when things are scary and uncertain, it is best to push through it, and accomplish the goal. Then we can look back and find the lessons within, and how challenges help us to rebuild our life.

Seuss’ words of advice are well-meaning. We need to do better job of teaching children there are so many fulfilling places to see and things to do in this world, and not to let obstacles stop them.  Books teach children and adults that we  never travel alone, there’s always a path thats been traveled and beaten before us.

“And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance

You’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.

There are some, down the road between hither and yon,

that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.”

~ Dr. Seuss Oh the Places You’ll Go

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.