Externalizing Obligations

Welcome to the first Monday blog post. My goal is to blog every Monday on a topic around life enrichment. This could be a post about learning new skills, or getting organized, or time management, or living a more vibrant spiritual life. I'm passionate and have made discoveries in all these areas, so I'll write about them on Mondays. Today's post is going to focus on one of a handful of topics I consider central to all the topics--Externalizing Obligations. If you haven't yet, check out "Getting Things Done," by David Allen. (http://www.davidco.com/) We acquire a lot of mental/emotional obligations through out our day and these things stack up in our unconscious. They rob us of energy and focus. From a spiritual standpoint, its impossible to be clear of purpose if you haven't defraged your internal hard drive. You will be distracted. When I went through and cleared out all the hidden obligations in my head, I discovered a remarkable number of agreements. If you haven't yet, check out "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. (http://ransomedheart.com/) The enemies of life will not only tempt us to do things bad things, they also accuse us afterward, trying to shape our understanding of who we are. The real reason we never really deal with all these obligations to ourselves is because it hides our agreements with the enemy about who we are. So I really want to encourage everyone to make an appointment with yourself, set aside a weekend, to forcibly externalize your obligation. Make a list of everything that commands your attention, even momentarily. You will probably unearth some ways in which you've been sabotaging your own success. When you do that you'll experience a tremendous rush of energy, creativity and productivity. However, the real goal in doing this exercise is to both break your agreements and capture your obligations in a system you trust going forward. If you don't do those two things you'll soon return to keeping all of it in your head. So look up those two resources. You'll thank me later.

My friend Amber Sweeney has a CD release party for her newest CD coming up on May 26th at 6pm at the Dublin Down, downtown Vancouver. More details available here https://www.facebook.com/events/465428706882561/?fref=ts or See http://theambersweeney.com/ I would also recommend catching her at the Fat Moose in Woodland WA. 5/11 probably 8 or 9 till close. That's a fun venue as well and Amber kills it in concert.

Charge your Cell from your Camp Fire

Source: PointSourcePower.com (http://www.pointsourcepower.com/products.html)& gizmag.com I'm passionate about locally generated or recouped power. My father was a high voltage DC expert and I grew up around electronics on the small and large scale. I can't even offer a conspiracy guess as to why the well-meaning but misguided eco-nuts among us continue to promote large scale generation projects when they know the line loss to move that power to market makes it pointless. The move to local generation also compliments the other trends which will become ever more evident. Locally grown food and locally produced products. That's right, I'm predicting that even while mega corporations and big government are shipping our manufacturing jobs overseas and touting globalization, the next big trend will be local everything. Here's the writing on the wall. Fuel costs will continue to rise no matter who's in the Whitehouse. Energy independence will become a matter of national security with a need for at least some renewable sources. No one's more critical than I about how they're going about this, but the trend that direction is impossible to ignore. The internet, credit cards, paper scanners, telecommuting etc all add up to a way of doing business that's less dependent on moving personnel and finished goods. 3D printing tech is advancing faster than expected (they're printing cars and houses now). So the main things that will be shipped will be raw materials. It's a natural conclusion that if you can manufacture locally why not generate your power locally. While people want the US to be energy independent I foresee neighborhoods energy independent, and I'm a little surprised that this message isn't embraced by "green" promoters. Take the overwhelming brainwashing that's gone on regarding food production. I've posted articles before about the family farm's efficiency vs the large agro-corp. No matter where you are, some sorts of food can be grown locally and more effectively than the current system. I'm not opposed to organic labeling, but I think it only exists to distinguish what I'd call real foods from some of the scary stuff that's out there. Most people are more reluctant to poison their neighbors which means if we grow local we'll probably not need to label something as bio-engineered or not. Enough ranting. My point is that the community will rise again despite the folks who insist that it takes a village. Tomorrow's entrepreneur will need a computer with internet access, a 3D printer, and a specialized patented design which he markets to a small community of people across the globe. He'll draw less than 10% of his power from a grid that can be float free of the larger network at the flip of a switch. He'll eat food that was mainly grown within 50 miles of his house though coffee and chocolate will be easy to get, if a bit expensive. His children will not leave the house to attend school--it's free online--but they will be able to choose from any sort of sports class they wish to fulfill their PE requirements. Tomorrow's poor will live in wall-less prisons. Housing, power, healthcare, and food will be furnished by the government. Their every move will be watched by camera or tracked by satellite. Their food will be mass produced and lack nutritional value. They'll watch free, state sponsored television most of the day and have very few opportunities to change their lot in life. Sorry if that's depressing, but the more things change the more they stay the same. Ahh, yes, the article I was going to post. Man I depressed myself. Check out this cool product that could be used for campers or even in disaster areas to help power communication. Just because someone is getting close to nature doesn't necessarily mean they need to ditch their smartphone. However, keeping a device charged while in the great outdoors is not always the easiest thing to do. After all, those trees don't come equipped with power outlets. We've already seen the BioLite stove that generates its own power. A new product called VOTO performs a similar function, but with any cooking fire. The device functions via a fire-activated fuel cell. The end with the fuel cell is placed under the fire with the charcoal, and the end with the connected battery sticks out from the top. Because the device holds power on its own, users can charge it up while cooking and then connect their devices to it when it's safely away from the fire. According to Point Source Power, the VOTO's 4000 mAh battery can receive a full charge in two cooking sessions, but that will obviously vary depending on the situation. In addition to the phone-charging portion of the device, the VOTO also includes an LED light that receives its power through the same means. The LED puts out 25 lumens, which should be quite sufficient for most individuals' needs. When fully charged, the LED is able to provide up to 30 hours of light. The creators of the VOTO have this product aimed at two very different markets. First, there's the developed world, where campers will gladly welcome something to keep their devices charged while in the wilderness. Second, there's the developing world, where electricity is not readily available, but cooking fires are commonplace. The video below features Point Source Power's CEO Craig Jacobson explaining the device. http://vimeo.com/33841074

Update on the Bard's and Brews Event

I thought I'd post the flyer's for this event in case people want to help out promoting it. NIWA is a partner in this event but there are more than just NIWA author's there--it's a mix of traditional and Indie authors.

Updates on all fronts!

OK. I'm still alive and kicking. I've had a lot of radical change (par for the course in my life.) I wanted to get back to blogging a little more regularly. So lets start with an update. April saw me complete a move from my apartment to a 5th wheel, which is stage one of my master plan to go on a US tour next spring. I also completed my Camp NaNoWrimo goal of writing 30k words, which is stage 2 of my goal of publishing 2 novels and 1 anthology this year, so that I have enough work out to sell on the tour. My most recent freelance contract appears to have fallen through, which throws a massive wrench in the plans. Settling into the RV, yard selling my furniture, etc. is also taking longer than I scheduled for. So we'll see how badly this all devastates the plan. I have enough work to choke a horse reconstructing my author platform on deck for May and I need another 20k words at least to finish up the draft of my WIP (Work in Progress). So here's the plan: (modified and cleaned up slightly for public consumption) I've got three WIP's to finish as mentioned above. #1 is a mystery/thriller, working title, Vancouver Scooter Club Myster (VSCM). It's plotted and half drafted, but I hit a snag when I realized that the killer moved the body. I think I've recovered from that. This is my first stab at a mystery so I'm not sure how I'm doing until its done. #2 is an anthology I've been planning for years. I've got a brilliant theme for it and I'll be using some old and some new short stories. #3 is a NaNo draft from two years ago. It's a steam punk novel that will need some heavy revision. For those not familiar with NaNoWriMo, it's National Novel Witing Month, and the drafts it produces are as rough as you'd imagine when you try to write 50K words in one month. Even if you do complete 50,000 words in one month the finished novel will be closure to 70-100k when it's finished so the first revision of the draft takes a minimum of another month, usually two. Then the book needs to go to a first reader who will take a minimum of a month to get back to you with recommendation. After you edit that draft (another month) you need to get it to a professional editor, (another month) and then make their corrections (another month). So that's six months bare minimum to complete a book, which is why I'm doing several at once. If that seems like a lot of work in 12 months it is, and that's the writing front. I've been steadily learning the marketing front and I want to reinvent my platform this year to maximize the benefit from my tour. My website is going to need a face-lift and some additional functionality, and I've got no less than 3 books on the topic of marketing to read and implement. (A writers platform involves establishing a brand and creating a wagon wheel of real and virtual network marketing with a main focus in the middle and spokes out into other venues that drives interest in that single source of information. I'll let you know how that's going. All this takes money, so I need to pause everything and find replace the income from my freelance gig. (If anyone needs an editor/ghost writer, I'm fast, affordable, and very experienced.) I've been really blessed with skills and connections to do live events. I know many writers who are better at the online sales for which I'm envious, but I'm proud to be among a short list of authors I know who sell well in person. I'll spend a little more time covering upcoming events individually later this week, but here's a quick and dirty run down. Friday, May 31st, I'll be joining four other writers at the monthly Hillsboro Bards and Brews event and a featured author. Thursday June 13th I'll be joining the talented Nancy Kelley for a talk on the topic of indie publishing. This just finalized last night and I'm really looking forward to this event. I think there's so much people don't know about what's happening in the publishing/ebook world and a lot of writers don't have time to investigate it while trying to actually write their novel. This event will be free at the Three Creeks Library and I encourage everyone to attend and ask us tons of questions. We're heading into the summer event season, which means I'll be adding at least 4 more sales events as soon as they're scheduled. I'm also going to go ahead and commit to updating this blog every Wednesday on this topic. I'll move my crazy reposts to Mondays and Fridays. Everyone have a great day, and God Bless!

How to Brew a Perfect Cup of Tea

I ran across these directions and thought I'd post it for all. It's from an article by Dr. Mercola about the dangers of plastic tea bags leaching Cancerous Compounds into your tea. So its a good article to read. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/04/24/tea-bags.aspx?e_cid=20130424_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20130424 How to Brew the Perfect Cup of Tea There is an art to brewing tea using loose tea leaves, but once you find your “sweet spot” you may never go back to bagged tea again. Here are a few simple guidelines for making the “perfect” cup of tea: Bring water to a boil in a tea kettle (avoid using a non-stick pot, as they too can release harmful chemicals when heated) Preheat your tea pot or cup to prevent the water from cooling too quickly when transferred. Simply add a small amount of boiling water to the pot or tea cup that you’re going to steep the tea in. Ceramic and porcelain retain heat well. Then cover the pot or cup with a lid. Add a tea cozy if you have one, or drape with a towel. Let stand until warm, then pour out the water Put the tea into an infuser, strainer, or add loose into the tea pot. Steeping without an infuser or strainer will produce a more flavorful tea. Start with one heaped teaspoon per cup of tea, or follow the instructions on the tea package. The robustness of the flavor can be tweaked by using more or less tea Add boiling water. Use the correct amount for the amount of tea you added (i.e. for four teaspoons of tea, add four cups of water). The ideal water temperature varies based on the type of tea being steeped: White or green teas (full leaf): Well below boiling (170-185 F or 76-85 C). Once the water has been brought to a boil, remove from heat and let the water cool for about 30 seconds for white tea and 60 seconds for green tea before pouring it over the leaves Oolongs (full leaf): 185-210 F or 85-98 C Black teas (full leaf) and Pu-erhs: Full rolling boil (212 F or 100 C) Cover the pot with a cozy and let steep. Follow steeping instructions on the package. If there are none, here are some general steeping guidelines. Taste frequently as you want it to be flavorful but not bitter: Oolong teas: 4-7 minutes Black teas: 3-5 minutes Green teas: 2-3 minutes Once desired flavor has been achieved you need to remove the strainer or infuser. If using loose leaves, pour the tea through a strainer into your cup and any leftover into another vessel (cover with a cozy to retain heat)

Ways to Write Healthy

Here's a great article I found on a topic I'm passionate about--The art of writing without going insane. Good practices for a healthier writing life The writing life can be awfully sedentary. You sit at a desk, your shoulders hunched, typing, thinking, fidgeting, stressing — sometimes for 10 or more hours a day. If you’re not mindful of your posture, your breathing, your movements and your attitude, this creative act that is so vital to your mental health (writing!) can become harmful to you. And when your body suffers, your creative flow generally slows down too. Here’s a few tips to help you break bad habits and restore your body to a more balanced state 1. Invest in an ergonomic writing setup OSHA’s website is a good place to start your research; you can see what an ergonomic computer desk looks like, as well as the ideal posture to limit joint, tendon, muscle, and eye stress. Once you know what you’re looking for, do some comparison shopping and purchase a desk, chair, and any necessary computer accessories (stands, monitors, keyboards, etc.) 2. Take a 10-minute break every 2 hours A longer break would be even better (especially if you can go for a walk, run, workout routine), though I know how it is when you’re really working on something good; you want to stay in the zone. But force yourself to take at least 10 minutes to get up and move your legs. Shake out your arms and shoulders. Breathe some fresh air. 3. Practice seated Yoga Yes, seated Yoga. There are a whole range of stretches and postures you can do while at your desk. So if you feel a twinge in your neck, or a strange pull in your back, or your leg cramps up — take 60 seconds to work it out. Yoga also helps you stay mindful of your breathing. Shallow breathing can often lead to lots of other physical stresses — so be alert to how your lungs are functioning. 4. Drink lots of water Not soda. Not whiskey. Not Red Bull. Not coffee. Water. Lots and lots of water. If you’ve got to get up to pee more often, great! Extra breaks to stretch and… get another glass of water. 5. Change up your writing routine If you’re always in a home-office on your computer, try writing with a pen and notepad while sitting in the park. If you’re always in the coffee shop taking notes on your iPad, go for a walk and record yourself reciting your thoughts onto your iPhone. If you’re used to slugging through a 14-hour writing marathon on the weekends, try writing 2 hours every single morning instead. You get the point. Change it up. Your body will thank you. BookBaby.com