What success is NOT

Is it Thursday already?

I have to tell you, this is one of the best weeks I've had in quite some time. I'm sure all of you have weeks where you look back and smile.

I had some really great things happen to me personally and professionally. First of all I busted through a serious case of writer's block. Next, I made progress on a non-fiction book I'm collaborating on, and my fiction really took a step forward.

In the midst of all of that there was a big boost to my blog hits and a plethora of comments.

I'm very excited about the feedback I'm getting from others on this blog and the places I'm being picked up. Thank you so much, all of you, for posting about me on your blogs. What a wonderful compliment.

I decided with all the great things that have happened this week I'd take time to share with all of you what success is NOT. I share this because I realized today I was putting my success in a place it didn't belong. Getting it back in balance is the reason for the smile on my face today.

I teach TOEFL, ACT and SAT prep as I've shared before. Today I was driving in to work when a song by Point of Grace came on the radio. I think it's called "How you lived". My 9 year old LOVES that song and screams to the radio whenever it comes on. For some reason I really listened to it today. I'm not going to plagiarize the song here but I would like to address how this relates to our writing.

We need to maintain balance in our writing. We must understand what is important and what is not important. We need to know how we define success and pursue it. We must know what needs to be done and do it. We need to follow through on our commitments with excellence.

For me, writing is an important way of communicating. I teach my Writing Career Coaching courses because I Truly LOVE mentoring aspiring writers. I know what it was like in those early years to feel like I was the only one in the world who wasn't published yet. It was a lonely place. That is why I encourage you to link to me on your blogs, tell others about my free resources and low cost products. Get the word out. I offer affiliate programs so you can earn a stream of income by spreading the word. I mentor writers because I love it.

Why do you write? Why do you have a blog? Is it only because someone told you to do one? Or do you have a person in your mind that you want to reach? What do they look like? Where are they?

Success is not simply going through the motions and doing things half way. Success is setting a goal and pursuing it with all the resources you have. Then not giving up when you face rejection or have setbacks. Success is about getting up when you fail.

Success is adjusting. I found out from a few people that all the resources I put on the right side of my mentorship website are almost impossible to see. On my computer they are fine. This is a problem because the free article I offered as well as information on my produce were placed on the right side for easy viewing....instead they were invisible. That explains why there were so few downloads of my free E-zine on articles as compared to home page hits.

But I didn't give up. I found the problem, I adjusted for it and I solved it.

There will be setbacks-success is NOT the lack of failure but rather what you do as a result of that failure.

So, I'll lead by example. I'm reformatting my Mentorship website. Come over and find out about my Writing Career Coach Course part 1: Creating a platform. And while you're there pick up my free E-book on using articles to build your writing.