What will your New Year's Resolution be?

What a year!

2014 has come to an end and it is time to start over. Start fresh with a clean slate or what ever cliche you can think of... The bottom line is, it is a new year.

This is the time when many people declare their New Year's Resolutions. And a few weeks later many of those people fall short of said resolutions. I have been guilty of this as much as the next person. So, what can we do about it?

I think if we announce our resolutions publicly, we can be held accountable. So I am offering this suggestion. As I will be publishing this post on Facebook as well as here, I want to ask for help from friends and family to help me keep my resolutions.

Step One:
Come up with some realistic changes you want or need to make in your life. Something you can actually accomplish -with help.

Someone once said "It takes a village to raise a child." -or something close to that. We all need help to reach goals sometimes. What changes do you want of need to make?

Think about your changes for the next few days and be ready for Step Three.

Step Two:
Write your resolutions down and look at them each day, twice a day, and ask yourself, "Can I really do this?" Do this until Midnight on the 31st.  Sometime prior to midnight, ask yourself one more time if you really want this change.

Steps Three:
On January 1st, before noon, post your resolution(s) on Facebook and ask for help in keeping your resolution.

Post something like:
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My New Year's Resolution:
I resolve...
One
Two
Three

I am asking my friends and family to help me keep these resolutions. If you see me falling short of these resolutions, please call me on it so I can stay on track. I need your help.
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Step Four:
We can all help each other keep our resolutions with nice, polite, and loving reminders of each others resolutions.

Some ideas on resolutions... that may or may not be mine, are:
quite smoking...
drink less often...
stop drinking...
eat out less...
post only positive comments and share only positive posts on Facebook...
spend more time with family...
spend less time with those who are negative and bring you down...

You get the idea.

Life is too hard to go through it alone and we all need help from time to time -I don't care who you are, positive help from positive people is a great thing. When you see someone you care about doing something against their resolution, call them on it. However, as every coin has two sides, be prepared for people to call you out when you fall away from your resolution.

If you think this is a good idea, share this on your Facebook and wherever you like so maybe we can all make a change for the better. We all need improvement in our lives. Rather than posting negative comments on Facebook, or throwing blame around, or just being a negative person, let's all work together to make a positive change for once.

I hope everyone has a safe, happy, and positive 2015. 2014 is gone so let's not dwell on the past, instead, let's look forward to the future.

Fianl stages on Book Two

MErry Christmas, everyone... I hope 2014 was what you expected and was a great year for you.
What type of events get you feeling great? Christmas, Birthdays, what???

For me there are a few...

Seeing my wife when she comes home at the end of the day....
Hearing the National Anthem...
Hearing Amazing Grace....
When I am writing a story and my character takes a turn that I was not expecting...
Finishing a project....

And a few more...  There is nothing like making a plan, trying to stick to the plan, and actually finishing a project. Not to mention finishing the project on time, or better yet... EARLY!

Someone once told me to NOT set goals. Instead, make a plan. I have taken his advice, and .... well... I think it works. When something happens to take me "off-plan", it is not as discouraging as it would be if I missed a goal point. I do still keep a schedule in my Calendar of when I should have things done... just in case.

Having a goal, or at the very least some sort of plan, to me is crucial. I keep my deadlines in front of me somehow so I can be reminded of what is coming up so I can get back on track should I become distracted... A squirrel is just outside eating a Pecan.

How do you pronounce Pecan? is it Pee can, pr Pah, khan?

See how easily I get distracted. Now, we are all hungry for some pie, aren't we? Back to the subject at hand.

I really enjoy the feeling of finishing a project, the rush of that final period at the end of the final sentence, of the final chapter.... I am happy to say, my 2nd book is done and at my editor's office in New York.

The title is is still a working title so I can't announce it yet, but the book is scheduled to be released in May of 2015. At the end of my previous book, I had an excerpt, of the 2nd one, and announced the title to be "Plan Right and Pack Light".  This has changed. I will let it go once we finally have a title nailed down to the book cover.

It feels so good to be this close to another finished project. I had to be focused on my writing, my time management, my attitude, and be willing to overcome any roadblock I hit to make sure I finished the book on time, early even.

What do you do to keep you on track with your writing project?

Comment and let me know.

-Steve