Tag Archives: ethics

Striking Gold

2 Comments

“The two hardest things to handle in life are failure & success.“ ~   Anonymous

I was so disappointed last night not to find on TV, the National team’s baseball game. I wanted to watch first draft pick Stephen Strasburg, make his debut as a major league pitcher. I love all stories about finding personal fulfillment in life and career paths. And Americans have had as many stories about finding success and satisfaction in our personal gifts as you could find anywhere else. It is the land of opportunity and the freedoms we enjoy in this country provide a stage on which to rise to heights unknown if you are willing to work for it.

Many immigrants have come to this country pursuing their dreams. I am always in awe of those who have left their native land behind in search for more. It is not an easy thing to do. A suitcase full of determination, vision, good work ethics, dreams and focused aspirations is what is needed for the good life in America. Demanding that all legal immigrants pack living by the laws of our Constitution in their bags, is not too much to ask, is it?

Our country’s pastures, green with opportunity, will remain healthy and productive if our laws protect the freedoms that we enjoy. Do you have a Made It in America story you can share through independent publishing?

This blog brought to you by http://www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Stuffed Brain and Seafood

Leave a comment

“In the same way that music inspires us to certain feelings, space can do the same thing,” Sarah Susanka

I can well understand the attractiveness of the Delmarva region on the Eastern seaboard for artists and writers. The abundant shorebird habitat, marine life, the Chesapeake Bay and it’s tributaries, provides an outstanding array of subjects to paint, through words and pictures. A waterman’s way of life is all I need, for food for fodder, during my time here.

Yesterday was graduation day for Naval Academy cadets, and I sat aboard a boat on the Severn River watching the flyover of fighter jets indicating the end of the college training for the graduates and the beginning of a new troop of dedicated and honorable countrymen.

To a gal who has resided in the mountains for the past 30+ years, my visit to the Delmarva, allows me to gather all I can of experiences, sights, tastes until next time I arrive here on the shores. During my stay, I hope to wander the halls of the Baltimore Museum of Art or the Cone Collection at the Walters Art Gallery, then head down the road to Washington, DC and take in Rose Frantzen’s exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. If I get there, I will report my findings along the way.

I hear a table full of Maryland blue crabs calling my name, so for now, I must go!

This blog brought to you by http://www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Weekend Indie Publisher News

Leave a comment

Do you all have the 2010 Christian Writers Market Guide? If not, you better grab a copy while there are still some left! This is a top resource for writers, revised yearly, to stay current with up to date essential information such as:

  • Listing of Book Publishers
  • Greeting Card and Gift Marketers
  • Christian Writing Contests
  • Order Fulfillment and E-Marketing for Independent Publishers
  • Editorial Services
  • Card/Game/DVD Software Developers
  • Pastor/leadership Markets
  • Christian Writers Groups
  • Literary Agents

This invaluable resource, by Sally E. Stuart, is one of the most comprehensive resource guides I have found. Sally is the author of 34 books.

For more information, please visit www.stuartmarket.com

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

Embracing Love

Leave a comment

“Because I am a mother, I hold God’s greatest prize. And he expects great things of me -with a task of such size.” ~ Grace Atkins

I am one of the blessed ones! My Mom was the best example of a mother a child could ever have. She always had her priorities straight in life. She passed along to all of us – her four kids and now her eight grandchildren, the importance of a close family, by always being there for us – no matter what! And although we didn’t always like it, she enforced rules that gave us boundaries and feelings of safety and security that every child needs.

It pains me when I hear a child or teen say that they “Hate their Mother.” When I was raising  my son, I would often ask him not to be flinging that “H” word around lightly. I would explain that some very strong emotions and actions are attached to the “H” word.

Sure, my Mom and I have had some differing opinions throughout life, but I can never remember feeling the “H” word towards her, never – not even as a teen. It’s funny, as an adult, I can only remember one time, in all the years of growing up, that I was absolutely, completely and totally furious with her!

It was the day after Easter, and I was 11 or 12. My twin sister and I asked our Mom if we could walk to “Pettit’s Store.” She asked “what for?”  We said “we want to go buy some candy with the coins we had found throughout the house.” She said “No, you can’t go! Yesterday was Easter and you each have an Easter basket filled with candy. You don’t need anymore!”

Right then and there, we decided we would take our Easter baskets and run away! We were livid! We went down into the woods behind our house. There was a stream and a huge, huge, fallen tree. The tree had a cavity just large enough for the two of us to curl up in it together and hide. (Our house almost still within sight, mind you). We felt free as the birds! We were exercising our independence and we would show our mother who was boss! We were a united front! My twin sister and I!

The long and short of the story was that we ran away from home just long enough to gorge ourselves on all the candy in the Easter baskets and return home with tummy aches, and new attitudes, to boot! Perhaps our mom knew best!

Returning to the real point of the story, how can  you feel anything but love for a person who always has your best interests at heart? How can you feel anything but love for a person who sustained you in your littlest, weakest days? How can you feel anything but love for a person who has been there for you through good times and in bad?

Mom, I could go on at great lengths about the extraordinary Mom you are. But I would like to end this blog by saying “I hope I can be there for you, when you need me the most. Happy Mother’s Day!”

 

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com

Weekend Indie Publishing News

Leave a comment

Looking for good Mother’s Day gifts?

It is critically important to our society and all of our world to have decent homes and families with decent values. This Mother’s Day, order your wife, your mother, or any woman raising a family, a copy of  the book Building Materials for Life by Millard Fuller, Founder of Habitat for Humanity. The three volumes of this book are filled with short essays about raising families with common sense, good values and giving children a solid, strong foundation. Proceeds from the sale of this book and other books and DVDs from the Fuller Center will be used to purchase building materials for Habitat for Humanity houses.

Thanks to the Fuller Center, hundreds of children around the world have decent housing and brighter futures!

You can also honor the Mother in your life by donating to the Fuller Center or win free flowers for entering your essay of what your mother means to you! For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/c9S9cG.

Hurry, Mother’s Day is only 9 days away!

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

It’s A Perfect Fit!

Leave a comment

“The only thing that will redeem mankind is  c0operation.”        ~                       ~Bertrand Russell

In Steamboat Springs, CO and in places all across the country, there are so many non-profits that are quietly contributing to the betterment of others and to the world, in their own special way. Many of these non-profits are unheard of to the “average Joe.” With funding and grant opportunities being cut, it is never more important for non-profits to become visible and to demonstrate how they are helping others to fulfill their needs.

There is a way! To bring visibility and awareness to a non-profit, independent publishing can help. An independently published book or film, about your non-profit, may provide a way for non-profit organizations to spread the word about their mission and obtain corporate sponsorship. Also, it is a creative way for others to learn and see how satisfying it is to volunteer for a worthy cause and to increase your volunteer base by recruiting others who will commit to an exciting project or mission.

Independent publishing is a perfect fit for alternative marketing for non-profit organizations. One of the most successful global non-profits  has chosen independent publishing to advance their visibility throughout this world. To watch a preview of a great example of non-profit work and independent publishing joining together to bring visibility to a mission, please visit www.MillardFullerMovie.com.

Is your non-profit doing all it can to be recognized in your community, in your world?

 

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

The Light of a Soul

Leave a comment

“From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all.”                                   ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Have you ever seen a painting that so exquisitely reflects light, that you feel as if you are seeing a reflection first hand, rather than through a painted medium? I have! Those rare artists that can so exquisitely paint reflections of light, in my opinion, are painting from the depths of their soul. Only a person with great sensitivity and talent can duplicate light that looks so real on a canvas.

How could you fully describe, in words, what the artist of this scene saw with his own eyes when he came across it? Perhaps he felt he could better communicate what he was feeling, experiencing and seeing by painting it rather than describing it through words.

As a human being with a range of emotions, when you stumble upon a splendorous landscape that takes your breathe away, a beautiful relationship between husband and wife, the gift of friendship and love, stop and turn your thoughts to what meaning you can draw from it.  There is meaning in every occurrence and relationship we encounter in life, take the time to discover it.

It was the wish of this artist, Timothy Thies, to share this magnificent  scene with not just the owner of the original painting, but with all who care to purchase a lithograph of this image, which displays the reflection of his soul. To order this image, please visit www.WestWindFineArt.com.

I am grateful for beauty and light that Tim has shared with me through this image and his other beautiful paintings. His paintings have stirred and intensified my love for representational art.

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

All Angles of Fulfillment

Leave a comment

“All the so-called “secrets of success” will not work unless you do.” ~Author Unknown

There are so many ways to look at fulfillment! Fulfillment can be thought of from a personal point of view, emotional point of view, intellectual point of view and a business point of view. Each of these perspectives have been addressed by www.dictionary.com in their definitions for the word fulfillment:

1- the act or state of fulfilling

2- the state or quality of being fulfilled; completion; realization

3-the process or business of handling and executing customer orders, as packing, shipping or processing checks.

Expanding this definition of fulfillment is what we like to strive for. Knowing we have done our best in helping independent publishers  become successful and visible in their business and have acted in a manner that is consistent with our goals and values brings the most satisfying feeling of all. Staying focused on a vision and being dedicated to what we set out to achieve, brings realization of our goals, each and every day.

Simple principles that take hard work to achieve.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com

Rallying the Troops

4 Comments

“One of the things we desperately need is spiritual renewal in this country. We need a spiritual renewal in America.” ~  Billy Graham

It is Spring! What better time for Kiwanis International to have their new member campaign drive. May is coming up, and Kiwanis International of Steamboat Springs, CO is on a mission! As an organization, we are all going to put our focus into recruiting new members who have energy, heart and a common interest in “improving children’s lives, one child at a time.” Kiwanians believe “through guidance and example, we can work together to develop future generations of leaders.”

Guess what? We have started already! We have sprung ahead a month early by talking with prospective new members. To some people, spring means warming temperatures, longer days, crocuses, tulips, daffodils, baby chicks and a re-awakening of the earth from a long winter’s sleep. Those are all beautiful things!

To Kiwanians, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, spring means:

  • Stewardship
  • Possibility for New Members
  • Recruitment
  • Interest in Improving the Lives of Children
  • Non Profit Work and the Fulfillment it Brings
  • Growth and Renewal

Membership in Kiwanis International requires little time, and it brings great rewards in personal fulfillment! Join in, meet new community members who share some of the same values, and re-awaken the spirit in your step and guide by example, future generations of leaders.

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

Shedding Some Light

Leave a comment

“One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can’t utter.” ~ James Earl Jones

A week or two ago, I blogged about men. I wanted to know what things men like to write about.  My point that men, I suspect, like to write about entirely different subjects than women, could very well be proven if only I could open wide the doors of communication on this issue.

One of my loyal blog followers wrote to me to say that her husband likes to blog all about his skiing adventures, he also writes about the rules of Australian football and is tinkering around with the possibility of delving into science fiction writing. Ok – that is a start! And then there is my acquaintance , Jon! Jon Katz is the best communicator I know who writes about his relationships with four footed creatures (canines!). Now he has decided to try his hand at writing children’s books. For more information, see www.Bedlamfarm.com.

I have been taking particular note of the men folk in our writers group- we’ve got a poet among them, a writer focused on young adult (teen) literature using a very creative approach, and a few other interesting subjects that I can forsee the target markets as being male readers.

Don’t for once think that women can’t write about men’s issues! Jon’s daughter, Emma, has decided to jump into the publishing world, and she has written a book about baseball, of all things!

Come on, guys, don’t be shy – let’s hear about your writing endeavors. How are you going to sell your books if you won’t talk about them? It just does not work that way – bookstores don’t sell books, people do! If you aren’t hyped up about your publications, how do you expect others to be? Get out there, sell yourself as an author and perhaps with a little help from your friends, we can get the job done!

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