A Recommendation and a Book Review

I just finished one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. It was on the "new book" shelf at my local library and I was intrigued by the title, Letters from Leaders. Letters from Leaders is a compilation of letters the author, Henry O. Dormann, Chairman and Editor in Chief, LEADERS Magazine, requested from world leaders in politics, religion, business and philanthropy. Some of the letters, themselves, were hand-written by the people approached, on their company letterhead. These letterheads were folded within the pages of the book, included with the print.
As I read this book, I could not help but see a strong pattern emerge. I want to share my observations of this pattern, in hopes that you, as a writer, can sense what would make your pursuits in writing more successful.

My observations of the overriding keys to success from the leaders in this book:

1. Integrity
2. Ethics
3. Dreams
4. Respect for others - ALL others
5. Everyone needs leadership
6. Listening - requires one to stop talking
7. Be yourself - this takes courage.
8. Be a team player.
9. Focus on the success of others first.
10. Define your own success.

One of the most intriguing statements in the book was made by Theodore Forstmann, a billionaire investment pioneer, Chairman and CEO, IMG and Senior Founding Partner, Forstmann Little & Company. He said, "Don't ask me how to make a lot of money, because I don't even know. I don't even think that's a particularly worthwhile goal. Instead.......be aware of your own thought process. Be true to yourself, because you don't have anything in the world but yourself."

My comment on that is simply that you are the only you. Who you are is a gift from God, a uniqueness all your own. As I type this, I'm reminded of #7 on my list above, "Be yourself - this takes courage." It DOES take courage to be yourself because the world will attempt to mold you into something they are more comfortable with. If the world is comfortable with me, I am not successful.

Carry on.
~Tricia

Comments

My Top Five Editing Tips

In my e-book, Writing for Publication , I list my top five editing tips. If you have not read the book and you want to earn money writing, read the book today. It's available on Amazon, here , and on Fiverr, here . Editing is vital to writing success, but I do understand that not everyone can afford to hire an editor; some have to edit their own work. I never recommend this, but I know finances require it at times. Here are my top five editing tips: Get rid of "that" whenever you can Use both "very" and "really" in a very limited way. Really. Be careful of repetition. Don't repeat yourself repeatedly. Keep your tense consistent. Don't start a sentence or paragraph in past tense, then time travel to the present tense by the end. Do not write the same way you talk. These tips will help you a great deal. Memorize them and learn to mentally use them as you write or as you review your writing. I tend to e...

Editing Hurts

Editing hurts. Yes. It hurts when someone cuts your words, rearranges your sentences, deletes your creative use of language, etc. It hurts. The first thing a writer has to do is leave their ego at the door. Most writers write with passion and passion doesn't always reflect good grammar or proper use of punctuation. I recently edited for the CEO of a large corporation. She was taken aback by my edits and questioned if she wanted someone cutting her writing up like I did. But, while she might be a great CEO, her grammar, word choices and sentence structure were lacking. Most people, when writing with passion, give little thought to how their words are put together. The words spill out with feeling while grammar is laid aside. And that's ok. That's actually how it should be. We should write with passion.....then hire a good editor to make our points flow well and be cohesive. We editors make your passion shine by clothing your writing in easy-to-read prose with good ...

Grammar, Readability and SEO

Grammar and readability are not mutually exclusive to good SEO. I've recently read a few articles whose authors claim grammar is not a factor in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). However, I've read just as many articles which cite readability as a major factor for increasing SEO levels. You can't have one without the other. You can't have good readability and bad grammar. Good grammar is what makes readability exist....it's what causes your content to be easy to read. According to the Bedford Group , readability is defined as, "the practice of making your writing understandable and easy to digest for your target audience." (First of all, I would correct this to say, "the practice of making your writing understandable and easy for your target audience to digest," but I digress.) How do you make your writing understandable? How do you make your writing easy for your target audience to digest? Step one in answering these questions is goo...

Search This Blog