Habits & Teamwork
This past week has definitely been unexpected. The good news is, I finished revising my novel! I received feedback from my test readers, made some adjustments, and sent it to the three agents who were waiting on the full piece. I’ve also begun the query process again, which means I’m sending a summary and sample of my work to agents who are looking for women’s fiction in hopes that they want to represent me. It’s a pins and needles process! I’ll let you know how it goes.
I also heard back from the audio department at CamCat publishing. They approved my narration of INFINITY DRIVE, a young adult galactic fantasy! Now the audiobook I produced will go through ACX and Audible quality assurance checks. Once it passes, it will be distributed to Amazon, Audible and iTunes. The whole process will be completed over the next 10 business days! I’ll let you know when it’s available! I hope there are no snags!
The bad news is, I’ve had Covid this week. I’ve had 3 vaccines and still managed to get the disease that is lately running rampant. It has not been fun. I’m getting better, but…not fun.
I’ve never been one to read non-fiction “self-help” books, but some of my favorite people seem to gain a lot of benefit from them. So I decided to check out a few. One of the reasons I started this newsletter was to motivate others to be their best selves as I attempted to be my best self and accomplish my goals.
Life is hard and sometimes we get discouraged, but surrounding ourselves with people who lift us up can help make the daily grind a little more tolerable. I also find that I can know something, but if I don’t get reminded of this thing I know, I might not receive its full benefit. So, for the next several weeks, as part of the motivate section of my newsletter, I’d like to explore concepts from one of the first non-fiction “self-help” books I’ve ever read: THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE.
Why this book? Well, the title is very intriguing. I WANT to be a highly effective person, don’t you? Also, the human mind fascinates me, and when someone is giving insights into the mind, I want to play. Next, this book is highly popular. Must be for a reason, right? Well, I want to find out. Join me? Let’s explore the 7 habits of highly effective people and see if we can gain something from this book.
I’m just about 20% in, and so far, I think Steve Covey, the author, is on the right track. I read a book with a group of ladies a couple of years ago on parenting. There were good concepts in the book, but the concepts were buried in fluff. I think there’s an art and talent to presenting help topics, and a lot of people with good ideas blabber on and on. The trick is boiling these ideas down to their essence. Get to the point!
Before the author of this book ever gets to the list of seven things, he talks about a lot more, a set-up if you will.
1. Think about the word habit. Essentially, it’s a repeated action that you don’t have to think about anymore. In order for something to become a habit, you have to do it a lot.
“Habits are like a cable. We weave a strand of it every day and soon it cannot be broken.”
– Horace Mann.
There are good habits and bad habits. They can be learned and unlearned. And they usually are a mix of knowledge, skill, and desire.
2. Steve Covey follows an “inside-out’ approach in his book – you start by working on yourself. Private victories precede public victories.
3. We probably all know what it means to be independent (self-reliant) or dependent (reliant on others), but what about interdependence, the idea that people are stronger when they work together.
I’ve always been a very independent person. I want to do things for myself. I don’t want to feel like I have to rely on anyone else. But to be really successful, we need other people. By working together, we can accomplish a lot more than we could accomplish on our own. I had a conversation recently with a friend of mine about this very thing, the ability to be happy for someone else when they succeed. It feels good to be excited for someone. The opposite of that is jealousy, which doesn’t get you anywhere.
When you get to a point where you’re genuinely happy for someone else, their successes become your own, you become a part of the success. You learn from their success and you also foster a security inside yourself that sets you up for your own success.
I like these concepts. They’re something to ponder, mull over, chew on.
Medical Moment:
Did you know that a microfiber cleaning cloth can remove more bacteria/germs from your surfaces than a Clorox wipe, and you can avoid unnecessary chemicals?
A couple years ago, I discovered microfiber cloths through a Norwex “party.” I’m super-skeptical of stuff like this, but I trust properly run experiments.
I searched for scientific data to back up company claims, and I found one: Dr. Annie Pryor . She has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and tests household products for their ability to kill or remove germs.
You can see her experiments showing how microfiber cleaning cloths clean better than Clorox wipes here.
Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.
I read all different kinds of books, but lately, I’ve been reading romance/women’s fiction as this is the genre for my current novel I’m trying to get published.
If you want to write, you must read.
Last week, I reviewed another of Colleen Hoover’s books (IT ENDS WITH US), and mentioned that if you liked that, you’d like the book I’ve written. UGLY LOVE is even more of a comparison title to mine, minus most of the steam.
I really enjoyed UGLY LOVE.
Summary of the book:
Tate Collins, a twenty-something woman in nursing school, meets airline pilot Miles Archer, and they have an immediate distaste for one another. It’s apparent that Miles has issues. He doesn’t want to fall in love, and Tate doesn’t have time to. But the pair have an undeniable attraction to each other, so they decide they can keep their relationship purely physical. Miles has two rules: 1. Never ask about his past. 2. Don’t expect a future. Simple. But love isn’t simple, and sometimes it’s ugly.
This book is layered with intrigue. It’s starts out as a simple story: boy meets girl. Boy and girl have an unconventional relationship, but the way this author handles feelings sucks you in to so much more.
If you don’t mind some intimate scenes, I definitely recommend this book!
Final thoughts:
So, what are your habits? What do you do on a daily basis? Are they good or bad? Do you want to change them or enhance them?
Think on this as we attempt to become our best selves together.
Also, are you happy when other people around you succeed? If it’s not at your expense, then you should be! Consider what you could do in your life to make things easier on yourself by working together. Some examples:
I want to lose weight → find someone else who wants to lose weight with you!
I want to eat healthier → work with someone else who also wants to eat healthier!
I want to be a highly effective person → work with someone who also has that goal!
The list goes on, but I think you get the picture.
Let’s work together (that lovely interdependence) to motivate and hold each other accountable.
Much glitter,
Melissa
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