Since I’ve actively begun rooting out fears and staring them down, I’ve learned I’m not alone in this endeavor. As much as we desire to be fearless, it seems many of us battle with some fear. Speaking in public, catching a deadly illness, or meeting new people are just a few. Those things that make…
Category: Being Courageous
Overcoming fear, adversity, what if?, setbacks and nay sayers; facing reality
One Tiny Brave Step
I had a lot of fun writing a short story that went in unexpected directions. With good feedback from my beta readers I made some of their suggested corrections, found a fitting publication, uploaded the piece and hit “send.” And then, I forgot about it. Life continued. I wrote books and networked over many mugs…
Shattering Fear #1
My palms were already sweating when the first lady began speaking in front of a group of men and women in sales. The speaker, an ever-smiling chatterbox who clearly loved the limelight, had asked four of us to speak. This really was beyond my comfort level and I don’t know why I said yes. The…
End Wilderness Wandering
Have you been wandering around in circles trying to figure out your next move? How great would it be for someone to lead you straight to the place you need to be? Last week kicked off with Passover followed by Feast of Matzo. This was a daily reminder of how Moshe led the Israelites to…
Are You on the Right Path?
In another lifetime, you would have found me meandering around art shows perusing paintings, admiring pottery and wishing I had enough money to buy the whole collection of metal wind sculptures. To say I was immersed in art was a vast understatement. For years I drew and painted and sculpted and threw pots. My passion…
A Life of Choice
The baseball game blared from a portable television and everything in my apartment reeked of cigarette smoke: courtesy of a roommate for whom I didn’t harbor good feelings. I woke up one day to an iteration of my life that wasn’t pretty. Not much food in the pantry, all of my socks had holes in them,…
Where Will Positivity Take You?
Last fall, my mentor had suggested that I attend networking meetings. The very idea made my heart race and sweat break out on my forehead. I’m a writer, after all. Prone to long and blissful days of solitude. But to my mentor that equaled living in a vacuum. Instead of imagining all that could go…
In-Between: The Importance of Middle Ground
There always seems to be a long gap between the last thing we want to do and the next thing we want to do. A gap that many of us (myself especially) would choose to close in a hurry. Getting from high school to college; from college to that first career-starting job; from being single…
Grateful to be Free
There’s a lot about my country that isn’t perfect. Being American doesn’t mean I agree with those bad things that happen here, or to the people who don’t look like me. But, I was born here and I want to make a difference. I appreciate the sacrifices that were made so I could be free…
Shining My Light
Today is a big day. This is my official 100th post. I want to shout a special thank you to you, one of my awesome readers. Thank you for following me, and encouraging me by swinging by to read, offering your comments, follows and shares. It means so much to hear from you. Some of…
If Someone Saved A Life Tonight
I’d be remiss in talking about being upbeat and positive if I didn’t touch on the subject caused by recent celebrities who have taken their lives. One late night a few years ago, an acquaintance seemed perilously close to taking her life. I thought about that night a lot afterward. Here’s what came out of it….
Are You On the Road to Success?
While driving back from an appointment, I got trapped in a pocket of cars going slightly under the speed limit. If I stayed with it, I would not be able to move over and would miss my exit. If I missed my turn off, it would be two more exits before I could turn around,…
Juli Ocean 