My Secret Yearning

This evening I am sitting on the bed, waiting for my mom to return. I wait here like this every time she goes out. Sometimes, a bug comes by, and I fear it’ll land on my head. But fortunately, the bug doesn’t, and I’m safe. Hours pass and the sun moves across the bed, and the light turns into dark.

When my mom returns, I want to tell her how brave I’ve been. She thinks I have it easy, sitting at home all day and enjoying my life. My life might be easy, but it’s not the life that I want. I want more than to be safe at home. I want to be like her. I want to go out to all the places that she visits. Whether it is for a holiday trip somewhere or something as simple as going to the store. It might be boring to her, but a complete adventure for me. I want to people watch and see what people are doing and where they go. I want to experience what people experience in the movies.

Tonight, she has gone out to the coffee shop to write with her writing friends. She thinks I had an easy day. I don’t have to worry about paying the bills or even doing any of the housework. She gives me a hug. I’m glad she’s home and I have her company. She says she’s very lucky to have me around. “You’ ‘re a special bear,” she says.

I suppose we envy what we don’t have. She thinks I have an easy life. Maybe I do. But, just once, I wish I could go out to a coffee shop.

What would you like to do differently, or try just once, that you haven’t done before?

Daily writing prompt
What are you doing this evening?
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Interview with a Friend and Writer

This prompt prompted me to ask a friend in my writing group some interview questions. He had been working on his novel for a long time, always telling me about his latest progress on one section or reworking something with the main character. It wasn’t until this interview that I learned what motivated him to keep going on this long-term writing project. Here are the snapshots of our long chat.

What got you into writing your novels?

It was in 2010 when I was reading science fiction that I realized that there are not enough Asian characters there. That’s what got me started in writing science fiction.

What manuscript are you working on now?

Quantum Katana which is a lit RPG (role-playing game) novel about a dethroned e-sports gamer who finds out her husband’s conscience is trapped in an online game and she has to save him.

Who is your ideal audience?

My story would appeal to people interested in Asian culture and Japanese mythology. The story takes place in the future and then moves into a fictional world. 

What motivates you to keep writing? A novel takes a while to write!

I join other writers and writing groups to motivate me to keep writing. I also have external deadlines with a critique group. My critique group meets regularly to review each other’s writing. I also set hard deadlines. I’ve rewritten my story many times, but I have a final deadline in mind to submit the final draft for publication.

How do you keep generating ideas for your story?

I keep reading writing craft books. These books help me to get better as a writer. I also welcome feedback from other members of my critique group.

Final words of advice?

If you want to improve at your craft, read lots, write regularly, set deadlines, and be open to feedback. 

Daily writing prompt
Interview someone — a friend, another blogger, your mother, the mailman — and write a post based on their responses.
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What do you enjoy most about writing?

What I enjoy most about writing is the ability to do many things, from creating worlds to expressing ideas.

Firstly, when sharing ideas, especially in a blog post, you realize how many people support you or have the same thoughts. For example, when I wrote a story, I realized how many people my story resonated with. You can also express your inner thoughts in a way that you wouldn’t have if you were talking in person. I know of many introverts who would prefer to organize their thoughts carefully before expressing them. When you are speaking, you don’t have as much time to think about what you’re going to say.

Secondly, as writers, some of us want to talk about real people without revealing who they are for fear of repercussions, such as sharing a painful story about someone who hurt us in the past. It’s a great way to just get the story out there and clear out the past.

Thirdly, writing also gives you the opportunity to create worlds. You can create metaphors to safely say what you want to say, such as George Orwell’s 1984, which is a cautionary tale with themes of media manipulation and advanced technology. You can also create worlds to describe the fantasy and bring to life the “what ifs” that you’ve been dreaming about, such as what would happen if unicorns existed or if you could live your perfect life.

The power of words is unlimited. Words allow you to share your innermost feelings, say what you might be reluctant to share in person, and be connected to a larger community.

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Daily writing prompt
What do you enjoy most about writing?
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How a Positive Attitude Brings You Abundance

Believe it: how you see yourself and the world around you affects your abundance. A positive attitude is crucial if you want to take the next step in your personal growth and expand your wallet. Having a positive mindset will affect your income, appearance, friends, and actions.

Attitude of gratitude

If you approach life with a positive mindset, you will focus on the winning aspects of life. One way is to have an Attitude of Gratitude. Think of all the things in your life that you are grateful for, such as family, friends, health, wealth, a vacation, or even the weather. Sometimes it becomes too easy to get caught up in everyday problems such as mortgage payments, a lousy commute, or an annoying coworker. These issues can drag you down and bring you negativity.

Instead, focus on the positive aspects of your life. Be grateful that you have a good friend who is there to listen when you need some advice. Be grateful that you have a source of income to pay for your upcoming credit card bill.

Having a positive mindset is the foundation for additional growth. You set your own boundaries on what you deserve. If you believe you are someone who owns a one-bedroom condo and your income is $50,000 a year, then that will set the limits of your life. You can dream about increasing your income to $1,000,000, but until you believe you deserve it, your situation isn’t likely to change.

Thinking positive starts the foundation for increasing your limits. People who are negative tend to be more cynical about opportunities. As a result, they limit themselves. What makes you money—and the income you deserve—is what lifestyle you believe you deserve. Only then will changes occur.

You are the average of your social circle

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”— Jim Rohn, motivational speaker

Having a positive mindset is key to bringing positive changes to your life. But your circle of friends also affects the outcomes in your social life, career, and family life. There is a saying that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, whether those five people include your significant other, friends, or coworkers.

One way to think about that average is this: What are the life goals of these five? What is the average of their income? What do they do in their free time? What is their health and fitness level like? When you have the average for all of these answers, figure out where you fit in. Is your income the highest? Is your health somewhere in the middle?

If you’re looking for a drastic change from these five people, this change that you desire may be met with conflict. For example, you may be the first one to get married and have children. Or you may be the first one to want to start a business, instead of working for an employer.

The key in this situation is to stay positive. A positive attitude brings you abundance and gets you closer to your income goals. Positive people see opportunities everywhere. They will not obsess over disappointments or failures. In the long run, even if they meet short-term setbacks, their persistence will help them to prevail and achieve success.

For this reason, it is important to surround yourself with others who share your mindset. For example, socialize with successful people who believe in and support you. Their encouragement will help you maintain a positive attitude as you seek a new form of financial success.

People are attracted to positive people

Positive people attract all kinds of people, whether they are positive or negative because of the energy they radiate. Positive people gravitate toward positive because they lift each other up.

Positive leaders motivate others with their optimism. When they share stories of their struggles, people become inspired by their messages of hope.

Negative people also gravitate toward positive people because of their ability to motivate. Negative people see the problems in the situation and don’t necessarily become proactive about changing their situation. They seek leadership and hope, but can’t seem to keep themselves afloat. They can pull positive people down.

Strong leaders are positive people who can motivate others, regardless of whether they are positive or negative. People are drawn to their ability to find solutions. They’re the ones asking, what opportunities are out there that make you money? Increase your connections? In the business world, these types of leaders are needed to take a business to the next level or to increase its revenue.

Small steps lead to great outcomes

Positive people don’t give up easily. They focus on getting things done instead of putting things off. When faced with a huge task, such as cleaning up a messy house, they will start by picking up one object and putting it away. Large projects start with small accomplishments.

Similarly, when faced with a task, they will not focus on perfection right away. Nor will they set up mental roadblocks for themselves. Procrastination is incredibly destructive.

For example, if the goal is to learn to write a thank you email quickly, they can start with the easy parts, such as typing out the recipient’s name and writing a sentence to explain what they are thanking them for.

They won’t focus on grammar or spelling, fuss about choosing the best words, or research whether they’ve used the latest fonts or formatting styles. Working on any of these details will only delay the process and the completion of the task.

Similarly, when taking on a goal such as increasing their income, positive people will make a plan and stick to it. They will map out the process they need to take to achieve that goal, and they will keep working to reach that goal every day.

Even if they hit setbacks in their plan, they will keep going, knowing that eventually, they will reach their destination. It’s that positive mind that makes you money and improves your financial situation.

Taking action, even if the actions are small, imperfect steps, is more important to them than planning out the perfect result and not taking action at all. They don’t fear failure. They are believers that the tortoise, and not the hare, can win the race.

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Reading and Phone Humor

Reading and writing are two of my favorite pastimes. Often a bit of humor catches my attention, so I collect those comics and images. I’m unable to identify the original owner of these images that I got off the internet. If you know who to give credit to, please share! In the meantime, I hope to brighten your day.

Starting with this image… has this ever happened to you because you were distracted?

Sometimes we can get so caught up in our book that our world looks like this:

These days, our phones can be such a complete source of information that it’s nice to go back to getting information from books.

Check your punctuation! It can make a huge difference.

And for those who look at their phones right before bed, they can relate to this:

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