A Book – A Dream – A Reality?

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When I read this quote, I remembered all these people telling me about their plans and dreams to become an author ‘one day’.

When they find out I’m an author, I suddenly hear: “Oh, I ALWAYS wanted to write a book if I only had more time!” My reply usually is: “Well, it needs a bit more than only time to write a book… like a plan, a plot, an outline, character sheets, character voices, character development, knowing the craft, editing, an editor, a cover designer, a publisher, networking… AND TALENT!” The regular reaction to this bravery is generally a more or less polite excuse and the welcome departure of my conversation partner.

But there are a few people I met who dream of becoming an author and have the time but not the courage to write that book. and to them, I’d like to show this quote by Estee Lauder.

No book was ever written by dreaming about it!

Get up, plan, plot, outline – AND WRITE!!

Only by writing that story will be written, and only when you work on that book will the story be told to the world. Some dream forever about their hopes for success. Others, like Estee Lauder, wake up, roll their sleeves, and start working! Do the same; only then will your dream come true!

Don’t think about ‘becoming’ a writer. You have that story in your head – you already ARE a writer! But only by hard work and the guts to get that story out into the world will you become a successful published author!

What you need is the courage to start. Find it. It’s hidden within yourself. Dig it up, sit down, and write. It doesn’t matter HOW you write it. Take a pen and paper – or use your laptop, a desktop, a tablet… whatever rocks your boat. But without your investment and emotions, your story will be lost.

Get up, write that book, bring it into the world, and be proud of yourself!

Maybe nothing will ever last from me… nobody will write my biography, ever… but my books, my stories, are for eternity.

And that’s something to be proud of, isn’t it?


Estée Lauder (/ˈɛsteɪ ˈlɔːdər/EST-ay LAW-dər; néeJosephine Esther Mentzer; July 1, 1908 – April 24, 2004) was an American businesswoman. She co-founded her eponymous cosmetics company with her husband, Joseph Lauter (later Lauder). Lauder was the only woman on Time magazine’s 1998 list of the 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century.

Lauder graduated from Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens, New York, and much of her childhood was spent trying to make ends meet. Like most of her eight siblings, she worked at the family’s hardware store, where she got her first taste of business, entrepreneurship, and what it takes to be a successful retailer. Her childhood dream was to become an actress with her “name in lights, flowers and handsome men”.

When Lauder grew older, she agreed to help her uncle, Dr. John Schotz, with his business. Schotz was a chemist, and his company, New Way Laboratories, sold beauty products such as creams, lotions, rouge, and fragrances. She became more interested in his business than her father’s. She was fascinated watching her uncle create his products. He also taught her how to wash her face and do facial massages. After graduating from high school, she focused on her uncle’s business.

Lauder named one of her uncle’s blends Super Rich All-Purpose Cream, and began selling the preparation to her friends. She sold creams like Six-In-One cold cream and Dr. Schotz’s Viennese Cream to beauty shops, beach clubs and resorts. One day, as she was getting her hair done at the House of Ash Blondes, the salon’s owner Florence Morris asked Lauder about her perfect skin. Soon, Estée returned to the beauty parlor to hand out four of her uncle’s creams and demonstrate their use. Morris was so impressed that she asked Lauder to sell her products at Morris’s new salon.

In 1953, Lauder introduced her first fragrance, Youth-Dew, a bath oil that doubled as a perfume. Instead of using French perfumes by the drop behind each ear, women began using Youth-Dew by the bottle in their bath water. In the first year, it sold 50,000 bottles; by 1984, the figure had risen to 150 million.

Lauder was a subject of a 1985 TV documentary, Estée Lauder: The Sweet Smell of Success. She explained her success: “I have never worked a day in my life without selling. If I believe in something, I sell it, and I sell it hard.”

Lauder died of cardiopulmonary arrest on April 24, 2004, aged 95, at her home in Manhattan.

(Source: Wikipedia)

How People Make You Feel

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How many times have you met a person again, after a long time not seeing them, and you think by yourself: “I have no clue what we talked about, but I do remember this person making me feel really uncomfortable”, or “this person humiliated me”, or “I was very down that day for whatever reason, and this person really encouraged me…”

Very often we remember how we felt in a person’s presence, and how friendly (or rude) that person was.

We might remember a face, and we might remember a feeling, but we might not remember words…

Sometimes we remember actions…

But not always are our experiences good with people, not always do we feel right about their words, their actions, and how they make us feel.

How do you think, bullied people feel when they see someone who has given them a horrible time when they were younger? In particular at a certain age, when we’re still ‘becoming’, we are particularly sensitive to outside influence…

The tragedy and drama that we can experience when we’re within a certain time frame of our lives can make us remember other people in a way that sours our entire young adulthood until the present day.

I belong to those people who seem to be bullying victims wherever I go. It started at a very young age in school, until I learned how to defend myself.

It re-started in high school, again, until I finally defended myself.

And again, during my adulthood in several jobs bullying was almost common for me…

But there were a few people who always had a good word for me, encouraging, empowering, helpful, supportive, and caring. And these are the people who are still in my memory, the ones who made me feel good, valuable, happy, and proud of myself.

The others arent’ important anymore… but the positive people are vivid, in my memory, and in my heart!

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Maya Angelou:

Maya Angelou (Marguerite Annie Johnson) April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.

She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. She was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.

With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou’s most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes including racism, identity, family and travel.

Angelou died on the morning of May 28, 2014, at the age 86. She was found by her nurse. Although Angelou had reportedly been in poor health and had canceled recent scheduled appearances, she was working on another book, an autobiography about her experiences with national and world leaders. During her memorial service at Wake Forest University, her son Guy Johnson stated that despite being in constant pain due to her dancing career and respiratory failure, she wrote four books during the last ten years of her life. He said, “She left this mortal plane with no loss of acuity and no loss in comprehension.” (Source: Wikipedia.com)

Changes In Life

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A few years ago I made a life changing decision, to move away from my known life and start somewhere else. I was called everything from ‘a little nuts’ to ‘completely insane’. Some people took the liberty to inform me that ‘at my age’ I better ‘enjoy the rest of my life’ instead of making drastic mistakes, and they had considered me to be wiser.

Well, guess what? I’m my own person, and this is my life. Sometimes I learn from my mistakes, and this wasn’t one of them. Who could have foreseen the pandemic? It started about half a year after my big move. This didn’t work out as planned, and life blew me forward, through the South to the East and then up North…

Since Mid January I have had a ‘temporary life on hold’, I was going through many changes, some expected, and some just heading my way to save my sorry butt from bad things happening.

I learned a few things:

  1. I’m still up for an adventure
  2. I’m still as resilient as I ever was
  3. I’m facing life and the world head on, no matter what
  4. You’re never too old for changes
  5. Without the most wonderful friends and a generous and caring sibiling, I wouldn’t be where I am now (And do you have the feeling too, that this should make the top of the list? Let me re-phrase then…)
  1. Without the most wonderful friends and a generous and caring sibiling, I wouldn’t be where I am now
  2. I’m still up for an adventure
  3. I’m still as resilient as I ever was
  4. I’m facing life and the world head on, no matter what
  5. You’re never too old for changes

I was looking for a quote about life changes, like this one, from Buddha:

Picture courtesy of therandomvibez.com

It is inspirational and eye opening, but it doesn’t ‘catch’ exactly what I want to say. Changes are coming your way, no matter what you planned. Sometimes they’re for the better, sometimes they’re not. But they all, each one of them, is an opportunity to learn and to grow – and also one to sound the depth within yourself. When I found Henry Stanley Haskins’ quote instead, I felt, that this one is much better suited for today’s blog post.

Tiny matters are what lies behind me, and tiny matters are what lies ahead of me? Not quite… after all, my past is what made me who I am now, and I still have a future ahead, no matter what my critics say… But figuratively speaking, I doubt very much this is what Henry Stanley Haskins meant. What he wanted to show is the ‘comparison’ between what’s behind, what’s ahead – and what’s within us… and that ‘within me’ was definitely what I was re-introduced to, in the past, almost 9 months.

I found ‘things’ that I had missed without knowing that I missed them, ‘things’, that were missing in action and presumed dead, things I haven’t heard very often lately… And I found a few things I had thought I’d lost somewhere…

Of course, we’re talking about my emotional state, feelings… long buried emotions… I might have re-found my inner soothing voice, my believing in the good that will happen, my believing in life and how to enjoy it again… I might have found more resilience deep inside of me, and a patience I never believed I had. Also, I might have discovered a strength that I had believed buried below everything that blocked myself…

But most of all I found two things I had believed to be dead inside of me… love and hope…

And that’s why I picked this particular quote. What’s inside of you is far stronger, bigger, and more important than most of us can grasp.

What is it that you find in yourself, when you dig a bit deeper? You want to tell us? Leave a comment.


Henry Stanley Haskins

Haskins (1875–1957) was a stockbroker and man of letters. His aphorisms were edited and published anonymously with an introduction by Albert Jay Nock in 1940. Haskins was the author of “Mediations of Wall Street”. (Source: Wikiquote.org)

Wisdom About Creativity

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This quote is as much true as it is funny. Of course, when we’re on a deadline, most of us will ‘suddenly’ get more and more creative, the closer we get to the deadline. Of course, there are some of us whose nature is similar to the one of Douglas Adams who famously said: “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”

But I would say, most of us work hard to keep deadlines, and the shorter the time, the more the pressure grows. Some writers need that pressure, and some others won’t be able to write a word under it.

It started in school already, when we had to study for a test, didn’t it? Some students were the ones who studied every day, to internalize all the knowledge, while others, me included, allegedly studied ‘better’ the higher the pressure and tension. (You could also say, we just really didn’t want to waste any more time studying, as we had to and rather enjoyed doing whatever we found more enjoyable and interesting than working for the school.

Later on, in my professional life, there was no ‘flying by deadline’… If that would have happened more than once in my career, the very same would have been over faster than I could have apologized.

Now, setting my own deadlines when it comes to writing, I am very determined to keep them. It’s absolutely impossible to be successful in writing without keeping deadlines, be they set up by us or by the publisher, or literary agent, or, who else has the right to pressure us to move our pen for work.

Bill Watterson has it right… creativity cannot be turned on and off like a faucet. I cannot ‘decide’ to be creative on a Thursday, and not so creative on Saturday. Bill Watterson had his own deadlines, and being a phenomenal creative writer and famous comic illustrator, he knew what ‘last minute panic’ meant.

My creativity nudges me gently when it’s time to write books. But it’s not always there when I’m supposed to write blog posts. That means, I’m taking notes, wherever I am and have an idea for a new blog post. This one, actually, showed up while I was working on my newsletter!

I’m always anxious to keep my readers interested and therefore want to make sure that I’m publishing my posts on time and keeping them diversified and on time. Blogs are not followed if the posts are not showing up, and I have invested a lot to keep ‘Writer’s Treasure Chest’ up and running. Now I would like to build a stable fan base for my books and blog. So, no lack of deadlines for me.

How do you keep creative? What do you do if you have the feeling your creativity isn’t flowing? And what do you do to tickle your muse? Let us know in the comments, we’re curious!

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About Bill Watterson

William Boyd Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is a retired American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes at the end of 1995, with a short statement to newspaper editors and his readers that he felt he had achieved all he could in the medium. Watterson is known for his negative views on comic syndication and licensing, his efforts to expand and elevate the newspaper comic as an art form, and his move back into private life after he stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes. Watterson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Chagrin FallsOhio. The suburban Midwestern United States setting of Ohio was part of the inspiration for Calvin and Hobbes.

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Watterson)

On a Side Note:

Needless to say that I absolutely ADORE Calvin and Hobbes and am a fan of Bill Watterson’s work.

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Definition Of A ‘Writer’

When I read that quote, I felt not only ‘confirmed’, I felt encouraged. What a writer Junot Diaz has to be, to say so little and still manage to help a fellow writer who is losing hope sometimes and suffers from self-doubts more often than it’s good for her?

With these few words, Junot Diaz has empowered me, strengthened my will to write, my need to ban my stories on paper, and boosted my self-confidence.

I would say that is a gift on its own… no wonder the man got a Pulitzer prize for his work!

I wish, sometimes, I would be more robust, not tearing myself apart over things… writing is only one of them. I let the words of others still hurt me. Sometimes a simple phone call is discouraging me so much, that I completely lose the ability to encourage myself!

I wonder if that’s another side of the same ability: to empower with words, but also to destroy someone’s self-esteem with words?

I have been down for two days now, brooding over something I was told on the phone, and I’m internally bleeding, so to speak. My way of dealing with that would have been writing, under normal circumstances. But currently, I’m busy with a few other things, and writing is, unfortunately, not on the top of my list.

This resulted in a depressed low I was sitting in for nearly two days now… add the next friend who tells me bluntly that I’m ‘expecting too much’… and I was barely sleeping anymore. This quote here, helped me a great deal!

I wish sometimes, loneliness wasn’t part of my life…

But now, read the quote, internalize it, and understand, what it really means, not only for your writing but for who you are! You are a writer, a STRONG writer! Stay one, live your life to be that writer… no matter what will happen, you are a writer! Be proud of it!

Thank you, Junot Diaz!


Who is Junot Diaz?

Junot Díaz was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey. He is the author of the critically acclaimed DrownThe Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and This Is How You Lose Her, a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist. He is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, PEN/Malamud Award, Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, and PEN/O. Henry Award.  A graduate of Rutgers College, Díaz is currently the fiction editor at Boston Review and the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He is the cofounder of Voices of Our Nation Workshop.

(Source: http://www.junotdiaz.com/)

A Famous Advice Not Only For Writing

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When I read that quote, I smiled. Walt Disney was famous – for creating a few of the most famous characters worldwide: Micky Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, Daisy, Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and so many more that we love today.

I’m absolutely convinced, that if Walt Disney hadn’t lived his own philosophy, we probably still would wait for the famous mice and ducks! In other words, if Walt Disney had continued talking about his idea and not taken action and turned them from an idea into true cartoons to be shown to people, we had no chance of loving them for all these decades. Cartoons don’t come alive just by thinking about them…

And here we go: Our stories are not going to turn into books just by thinking about our idea for a story. Of course, first, there is the idea! But from there it has to go somewhere! No story writes itself!

Take a pen and a piece of paper, start planning – or writing, whichever comes easier! Or do everything on the computer, laptop, tablet, or even phone – whatever works for you and makes you happy – but start working physically!

  • If Umberto Eco hadn’t started writing, his famous ‘The Name of The Rose’ would never have turned into a book.
  • If Tolkien had not been looking for some paper, we couldn’t be reading about the ‘Lord of The Rings’.
  • If J.K. Rowling had hesitated to pick up her pen, Harry Potter’s Hogwarts would still be in ‘the dark’.

There are so many more examples, but I think, you get my thought. – Stop ‘considering’ if the story is good enough, stop hesitating, start writing… word by word by word. It is your story! If it wants to be written, write it! Don’t talk to half the world about your idea… you know, it might be good – and someone else could pick it up and turn it into the book you never had the courage to write! Wouldn’t that be disappointing?

So, write! Stop talking – start doing!

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Walt Disney (1946) ((Wikipedia))

Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901. Disney became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. He is particularly noted for being a film producer and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design.

Disney is famous for his contributions in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. His first success was through the series, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit which was created by the Disney studio for Charles Mintz of Universal Studios. When Disney asked for a larger budget for his popular Oswald series, Mintz refused and Disney had to quit. Later, Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney started from scratch and co-founded Walt Disney Productions, now known as The Walt Disney Company. Today, this company has annual revenues of approximately U.S. $35 billion. This success is largely due to a number of the world’s most famous fictional characters he and his staff created including Mickey Mouse, a character for which Disney himself was the original voice.

Disney won 26 Academy Awards out of 59 nominations, including a record four in one year, giving him more awards and nominations than any other individual. He is also the namesake for Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the United States, as well as the international resorts in Japan, France, and China.

Disney died of lung cancer in Burbank, California, on December 15, 1966.

(Source: MyEnglishPage.com)

Creating A Story – Creating A Book – Creating A World

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When I read that quote I immediately felt ‘understood’… I know, that sounds presumptuous. That was never my intention, of course! I don’t want to say, I feel like being God, of course not! At this moment I felt like ‘an artist’… someone who ‘creates’ something… stories in my case, just like Sidney Sheldon. Needless to say, I admire him to no end. He has been a true artist, his unbelievable talent consisted of everything, from writing for Broadway, Musicals, TV, Film, and, of course, books.

I’m not even hinting, my modest talent gets anywhere close to Sidney Sheldon, but he has been an inspiration for me for a very long time. I think, reading this quote connects many artists, composers, writers, and also painters… some have an empty piece of paper or sheet of music, and others have a blank canvas. We all have something in common: we would like to fill it with a piece of us.

In my case, it’s my fantasy, my idea, my plot, my characters, and sometimes even ‘my world’ that I’d like to create, write about, and would like to introduce my readers. I’d like to show a part of what’s in my head to my readers, take them on a trip inside my head and fantasy, and fill them with wonder, surprise, laughter, tears, anger, and many more emotions. I’d like them to love my world, feel at home within my stories, and love my characters (or hate them, when I write about the antagonist).

All that is part of a creating process, a very very tiny one, compared to the creation of the world, of course, and still, it’s not an easy process, no matter how small it is, compared to others. Even in the mini-version, it’s not easy to create. We need our God-given talent and abilities to deliver good work, a good story, and a good piece of art, no matter what it is! We want our work to be recognized, we want readers, we want them to love our characters and world. But it is still a difficult process. There are days things go a bit easier, but on other days, it’s hard work, and the ideas I had the day before just won’t return like someone buried them overnight.

I’m quite convinced I’m not the only one chewing on the pieces I bit off. But the fact that someone as talented and successful as Sidney Sheldon struggled with the very same creative process, makes me feel a bit better, and makes the hard days a bit less difficult. Thank you, Sidney Sheldon!


Picture courtesy of https://www.famousauthors.org/

Sidney Sheldon, an American writer, playwright and novelist, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 11th February 1917. His father Ascher “Otto” Schechtel, was a jewelry store manager and his mother was Natalie Marcus. When Sidney was ten, he sold his poem for ten dollars making it his very first sale. He went to the Denver East High School and for graduate studies he attended the Northwestern University. There he made contributions to the drama groups with his short plays.

In the beginning of 1937 Sheldon tried his fate in Hollywood by writing and reviewing various scripts. He finally managed to sell one of his screenplays ‘South of Panama’ to a studio for 250 dollars in 1941. During the World War I he was recruited as a pilot in the Army Air Corps. After the end of the War he returned to New York where his reputation as a creative writer started building up. He wrote musicals for the well known MGM Studios and Paramount Pictures. Once he had three of his musicals at once on Broadway. They were ‘The Merry Widow’, ‘Jackpot’ and ‘Dream with Music’. This success brought him back to Hollywood. The first film written by Sheldon was ‘The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer’ which got him the Academy Award in 1947.

With the rise of television as a popular medium, Sheldon decided to try out his luck in it. He wrote a series called ‘The Patty Duke Show’ and for the next seven years wrote every episode of it. He also made, produced and wrote the show ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ using three pseudonyms ‘Mark Rowane’, ‘Allan Devon’ and ‘Christopher Gollato’. These were also used when writing ‘Nancy’ and ‘Hart to Hart’.

His first novel was ‘The Naked Face’ which was published in 1969, earning him a nomination for ‘The Best First Writer’ category. The second novel ‘The Other side Of Midnight’ was published in 1973, topping ‘The New York Times Best Seller’ list. Sheldon was very particular about the writing and validity of his books. For this very reason before writing his novel ‘Windmills of the Mind’ which was a story about the CIA, he personally met Richard Helms who was a former CIA recruit. He also went to Argentina and Romania, and spent some time in ‘Junction City, Kansas’ where one of the lead characters of the book resided. He said during an interview in 1987:

‘If I write about a place, I have been there. If I write about a meal in Indonesia, I have eaten there in that restaurant. I don’t think you can fool the reader’.

His marriage to Jorja Curtright Sheldon, an actress and interior designer, lasted for thirty years. After her death in 1985, Sheldon married Alexandra Kostoff in 1989. His legacy includes 18 novels which have sold three hundred million copies, 200 TV scripts and 25 major films along with 6 Broadway plays. Sidney Sheldon died due to Pneumonia in California on 30th January, 2007. He was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

Life And Weather

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When I read that quote it didn’t go out of my head for quite some time. The quote made me realize that currently I am forced to dance in the rain. I could imagine to many people this quote means many things. To me, currently, it means to live one of my strengths: resilience. I have to adjust to the difficulties that life challenges us with at times.

What, if we were spoiled at all times, never challenged, nothing ever changes? Besides being bored, wouldn’t we forget how to be grateful for what we have; for the comfortability in our life? I think, sometimes we need a ‘rainy day’, or overcast, otherwise we couldn’t appreciate the sunshine anymore.

Going through rough times doesn’t mean ‘giving up’, or being forced to give up. It means, fighting for what we had, what we want, what we desire to have, or have back. Sure, I could have sat there and hoped the ‘storm would pass’. But I didn’t know what would be after the storm: would the sunshine be back? Or would there be a flood, and I’d be forced to swim, after having lost everything?

After everything that floated into my direction, I found it made more sense to learn how to dance in the rain. And that’s when I decided to read the ‘signs’ life showed me… the bad weather forecast, so to speak, and start swimming into a new direction… I am going to dance in the rain for a while, and then I will see, where the sunshine is going to lead me, and what miracles and wonders it will show me in the future.

I look forward to meeting you by the one or other puddle, or, maybe, somewhere soon, when I will see the sunbeams.


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Vivian Greene is a visionary, artist, author and entrepreneur who spreads her messages of greater love and awareness to everyone on the planet.

Her intrinsic values are recognized by business moguls who seek her advice and major corporations who are encouraged to balance the highest good with the bottom line.

Vivian also enables artists, authors, photographers, speakers and visionaries to serve others and prosper by turning their works into inspiring products. This is your chance to dance in the rain with her and see this world be the best it can be: http://www.viviangreene.com

2021 Realization

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When I read that quote, I felt like this was the life anchor that held me grounded. It seemed I did a lot of that during my life…

I’m not going into details right now, otherwise, you’re still going to read tomorrow. (And no, just in case you’re asking me that, I won’t write an autobiography). I think, after all, my life was only interesting to me.

I consider myself someone who’s still searching. Searching for somewhere to belong… a place… a heart… a spot… something. At times I walk down a path and then seem to realize I walked in the wrong direction. So, what am I doing? I’m trying to correct that.

I might not have always made the best decisions in my life. But I was never bored. I try to learn from walking in the wrong direction and do better next time. It might work someday, who knows?

Am I asking myself, if that new path I’m about to walk down will be the right one? Yes, of course, I am. On the other hand, as one of my close friends says: “Everything happens for a reason”. Maybe this time I will see what’s at the end of the path… and maybe this time I will find the happiness – and the heart I was looking for…


Picture Goodreads.com

Gregory David Roberts (born Gregory John Peter Smith; 21 June 1952) is an Australian author best known for his novel Shantaram. He is a former heroin addict and convicted bank robber who escaped from Pentridge Prison in 1980 and fled to India, where he lived for ten years.

Roberts reportedly became addicted to heroin after his marriage ended and he lost custody of his young daughter. To finance his drug habit, Roberts turned to crime, becoming known as the “Building Society Bandit” and the “Gentleman Bandit”, because he only robbed institutions with adequate insurance. He wore a three-piece suit, and he always said “please” and “thank you” to the people he robbed.

At the time, Roberts believed that his manner lessened the brutality of his acts but, later in his life, he admitted that people only gave him money because he had made them afraid. He escaped from Pentridge Prison in 1980.

In 1990, Roberts was captured in Frankfurt, trying to smuggle himself into the country. He was extradited to Australia and served a further six years in prison, two of which were spent in solitary confinement. According to Roberts, he escaped prison again during that time, but thought better of it and smuggled himself back into jail. His intention was to serve the rest of his sentence to give himself the chance to be reunited with his family. During his second stay in an Australian prison, he began writing Shantaram. The manuscript was destroyed twice by prison staff while Roberts was writing it.


On my own account:

Just in case you’re asking yourself: Do I think it’s wise, or even ‘cool’, to quote Gregory David Roberts? My answer is no. To be frank, I’m not the biggest fan of the man – but this particular statement is worth quoting.

The Occasional Bad Day – And Taking It With Humor


I knew today wouldn’t be my best day ever. I had to face a few quite hard facts. I was behind everything, but in particular, I was delayed on a few things I had to do – and should have done quite a while ago.

After waking up with a hammering headache, the prospect of getting something done that I had secretly postponed day-by-day-by-week wasn’t compelling. However, I knew it was time to get it done and over with. I was still within ‘the deadline’, but I was definitely on the ‘late’ side, which I don’t like. But so far, everything else has seemed to be more intriguing than sitting down and getting that stuff done.

But a deadline is a deadline is a deadline. And yes, Douglas Adams has something to say about deadlines:

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” ~Douglas Adams

I knew I couldn’t wait until that deadline flew by and moved over to my office. On the way, I stumbled over Charlet, my black tabby cat, who decided to cross my path just as I surrounded the corner from the living room to the office.

Thank God I could catch myself and didn’t fall, but in my haste to see myself, I hit two fingers on my desk, and one of my fingernails folded over – backward. Now, if you have nails as hard as mine, that hurts! I howled like a hungry wolf on a full moon. But that was no reason to delay. However, it was a reason to go back to the kitchen, get me a glass of buttermilk and wait until the pain had lessened a bit. Unfortunately, from yesterday to today, the buttermilk in question has gone sour.

Well, I got myself apple juice and shuffled back to the office.

Then I sat down and worked intensely for five hours to get my task done. That worked fine… until I found out that this wasn’t the only task I had. I promised to record something and send it out – which I did too. Two jobs are done. And I had to write a blog post for tomorrow, which I am doing right now, three tasks done.

I had to go to the bathroom in between, which I didn’t bother to slip into my house shoes, and stepped with my bare feet into a cat hairball… what a mess!

When I returned, I found out I had not finished the September Newsletter yet, which means, instead of getting ready for bed, I’ll get ready to get that done as well.

After all, it wasn’t a perfect day for me today. When I surfed through some quotes for this post, I found that quote from English author Douglas Adams and laughed loudly.

I know precisely, my day could have been much worse! There are people with horrible problems! (Even though I do have a few things that cause me stress and anxiety…)  But this quote made me laugh, and only the laughter made me feel better!

And I remember that very often, laughter can help. Look for something to giggle, for something to laugh about, look for a movie, a quote, a memory, or a couple of kitties, that tickly your humor center – and you will survive!

And with that, I’ll let you read a few more giggles from Douglas Adams. Giggle – and feel good about it!


Douglas Noel Adams was born on the 11th of March 1952 in Cambridge. He was an English writer and dramatist. Adams went to Brentwood School in Essex from 1959 to 1970. Until then his interest lied more towards Science rather than Arts. It was not until the age of ten when after achieving a full score in an essay, his teacher Frank Halford, encouraged him to follow a career in writing. While Adams was studying in Cambridge he hitchhiked from Europe to Istanbul, working various jobs to generate funds for it. After he left school in 1970 to follow his career as a writer, Adams was certain that success was eminent. However, the truth was far from this. After being discovered by Graham Chapman and John Lloyd he also made brief experiences in the series ‘Monty Pythons Flying Circus’. But Adams writings were not aligned with the style of radio or television of that time which proved to be a great hindrance in his success.

To make a living Adams tried several jobs including hospital porter, barn builder, bodyguard and chicken shed cleaner. Nevertheless Adams continued his efforts, though few of his works were accepted. In 1976, however, his career escalated a little when he wrote and performed ‘Unpleasantness at Brodie’s Close’ in a festival. But by the end of the year, he was in strife again. This left Adams with great depression and low self esteem. Slowly he learned to cope with his situation and decided to keep working hard for success.

His early works include ‘The Burkiss Way’ (1977) and ‘The News Huddlines’. In the same year later he worked once again with Graham Chappal to write an episode of ‘Doctor on the Go’. Adams most notable work is ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ which reached immense heights of success with the book being the number one seller in UK. He also became the youngest author to have received the Golden Pen Award for his book. ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ moved on to become a television series, a record album, a computer game and also theatrical plays. In 1980 he wrote another successful book ‘The Restaurant at the End of the Universe’ followed by ‘The Universe and Everything’ in 1982 and ‘So Long and Thanks for All the Fish’ in 1984 and ‘Mostly Harmless’ in 2002. Douglas Adams sold more than fifteen million books in United Kingdom, The United States and Australia and was a best seller in many languages including German and Swedish.

His works received many awards some of which are the ‘Imperial Tobacco Award’ (1978), Sony Award (1979) and ‘Best Program for Young People’ Society of Authors/Pye Awards for Radio (1980). In 1982, three of Adams books made it to the New York Times bestseller list and the Publishers’ Weekly bestseller list making him the first British author to achieve this target after Ian Fleming. His phenomenal book ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy’ was at the 24th number in the Waterstone’s Books and Channel list of the 100 greatest books of the century.

Douglas Adams died in Santa Barbara, California in May 2001.


All pictures in this post are courtesy of Google.com