Boost of Self-Confidence

I spent most of today updating some older resumes with information about the employment I have enjoyed over the past eight (8) years.   The best par of my day was that in searching through the old resumes on my computer I came across an exercise done around 2003.
At an employment workshop I had attended we were told to just list skills we felt we had gained through life experiences, volunteer opportunities or former employment that could be of benefit to a business or another person.    At that time I managed to list almost two pages worth of various office, management, accounting and technical skills along with a list of personal services I had performed since high school, and did not even include the skills needed to be a wife and mother.
It was interesting to review the skills I had listed,  It brought to mind the many people I have had the pleasure to work with over the years.  I thought about the things I  learned from them and even more about the things they  learned from me, along with the many ways I added value to the businesses.
I remembered several positions where I had been hired for my varied skills, asked to reorganize the office,  set-up a new accounting system,  create and implement new tracking systems and develop effective office procedures.  Later, after the systems, forms and procedures were working efficiently and running almost automatically, I was asked to then train someone else, whom they believed they could pay less, to run the office as I had been.  I remember laughing months and years later when I found out that it had sometimes taken two (in one case-three) people to replace me in order to keep everything running as smoothly as when I left.   
I recalled two positions where I worked for several months as a temporary employee and then ended up training my replacement, because the temp agency insisted the company I was working for would have to pay a full year salary as a finders fee in order for me to be continue past the original contract date.   Both companies, I found out later, ended up hiring two people to accomplish the work I had been regularly completing, and in the long run ended up spending even more than if they had retained my services.
Finally, I reflected on my current employment, which I have been informed will be ending soon.
What skills had I used effectively and often?  Which skills had I offered to use for the benefit of the company which were not utilized?  What ideas did I offer which I later saw someone else implement and then be praised for?  What services did I offer which they said they want me to perform but then hired someone else to do at twice what they were paying me?  What skills did I use or things did I do that no one really knew I had done?  What choices did I make to improve my self personally? What new skills did I learn or refine during this time?
As I finished updating the skill list for the day I decided I was pretty  awesome.  The fear  I would not be able to find new employment or a way to support my family as I need to diminished.   I felt confident the future will take care of itself if I just relax and keep moving forward steadily.
I encourage you to take a few minutes (or more) to take an account of  your own talents and skills.  I am certain you will find you too have forgotten how awesome and wonderful  you really are.  I know it...do you?

Lifetime Learners

Our lesson in one of our Sunday church classes was on the importance of continuing to learn throughout our lifetime.  As I listened to the encouragement of the teacher I couldn't help but think of some of those in my life that taught the importance of continually reading and learning, no matter how old or what y our circumstances.

My Grandma Ivie was an example to me of someone who sought all kinds of learning.  As a young lady she taught school, so education was always important to her.  What I remember about her was that she was always wanting to know more, about anything or everything she could.  Living on a fixed income, grandma didn't have a lot of money to buy fancy books, but she always made sure she purchased the readers digest each month.  You could always find copies of the two or three most recent editions on her porch reading stand during the summer or on her bedside table in the winter.   This precious storehouse of knowledge was not just tossed but stored in boxes and sacks in the room beyond the kitchen.  I believe, even in her late 90s grandma went a month without her monthly issue of knowledge.  As we grew we realized  no matter what subject we were learning in school, grandma knew all about it and had interesting facts our teachers had never thought of sharing.  If any of us ever needed an idea for a report, essay or other school paper we could depend on grandma to find one or more copies of the Readers Digest that would have information on a topic of interest.   I wonder how many of us grandchildren still depend on that small little magazine to enlighten, educate,  make one ponder or enjoy a moment of laughter each month.

I thought also of my Grandfather Pugh.  Even at 98  years of age, you could be sure that he would find time to sit down and read .each day  He had an old stuffed armchair he would sit in as he read.  The table next to him always contained a stack of books he was in the middle of reading.  Grandpa rarely read a book cover to cover.  He would read, take notes, and then often set it aside and come back to it hours or days later with a new perspective and/or questions to find answers to.  Although he read and studied many church books, he was also well versed in the classics.  He could tell the story of almost any classic we were studying in school, explaining not only plot and characters, but the emotions of the characters that were often overlooked or too hastily passed over in discussions.  I used to think grandpa had the most wonderful library upstairs.  He had an entire wall covered with bookcases full of books he had read, and two more glass front bookcases that held well worn editions, and a few first editions, and collections of college textbooks, reference books and school books.  While it sometimes seemed like a mess to grandma and I, grandpa knew where every book belonged.  He always knew if someone borrowed a book, and if  asked if he had a particular book or one containing a specific story, it would take him only a few minutes to hand you exactly what  was asked for (or needed).

So with this kind of a heritage is it any wonder I enjoy reading (and writing.)? I have been so blessed with wonderful examples of how to continually grow and learn, no matter what my present circumstances may be.  I hope that in some way I can reach a level even close to what they achieved and taught.  I guess, that itself, is part of the lifetime of learning - patience and perseverance.  

The Promise Took a Turn

As I started the new year I promised myself I would do more with my writing this year.  I started the year posting regularly to this blog, and actually did so fairly regularly until April.  I was feeling fairly pleased with myself.  That was the month I attended a writer's conference in the area.

The writer's conference was geared more toward those writing a novel but there was something that happened after the conference.  My promise took a turn in a different direction.   There were a number of authors who had books for sale, some on how or what to write, a number of science fiction, numerous romances, a variety of fantasy and even some scripts/screenplays. What I did not see many of were books for children, although I think there was one table that I thought offered a few. I remember walking away with the question as to why didn't more people write for children?
One of the things I found was that many writers said they had thought about writing for children but they didn't know what children would like, and didn't want to risk the reputations they had built as an author writing fiction for adults.  Another prohibitive factor mentioned was the cost of illustrating  a children's book with 24 or more full color pages, even using freelance illustrators.  

Well, a reputation was not something I was terribly worried about at the time. I had published two self-help books, but had only sold a few to date.  I didn't have reputation or a reader base of hundreds.  What I did have was a feeling that did not go away, that I needed to share what I had already written before worrying about writing more.   I had spent much of 2016 following a prompting to purchase stuffed animals that would go along with a series of stories I had written over the years as my grandchildren were growing up.  Along with the animals, I found myself purchasing two dolls whom I felt were much like the princess and prince in the stories. At the conference I had learned about several websites that offered free or low priced photos that could be used or edited for illustrations and particularly covers.    I had also talked with several authors during lunch that were happy with results they had received via Kindle Direct Publishing. One of the authors in the audience during one of the presentations asked a question about using a presentation program to design the cover and/or front pages of a book.  His question prompted me to search the internet for more information.  In doing so I came across an idea of how to prepare a children's book using a slide presentation program.  The final thing that convinced me publishing my stories might be possible, even on a budget, was that while taking a refresher course in publishing, I found an easy way to combine elements from different photos into a slide presentation.

As the weeks passed, an idea began to move forward and the belief that it was at least worth the effort.  So I began to self-illustrate some of my stories using low-cost purchased backgrounds and images, and adding elements of photos of the animals and dolls I had taken myself.  The next step was to add the text, making minor edits to the stories as they had originally been written and format them into a form that could be repeated.    The final step, for me, was to decide was what the covers should be - something about the particular book or something that would be recognizable from book to book.  I finally decided to use the same cover for each book, but to make each unique by varying the color of the background.   The first of the books about Princess Jelisa was finally published in  July in both print and ebook formats.  .   As  of today I have published 6 of the possible 20 or more stories I have written.

I don't know about you, but for me keeping a promise to myself, has been something I am really excited about.  It may not look like what I anticipated or expected back in January, but too many new year resolutions in the past have disintegrated or been pushed aside by other demands by this time of the year.  So I am anxious to continue my efforts.   I invite you to follow me as I share more of the Princess Jelisa stories and more of my own as well.