I was at a writers conference (the lovely San Francisco Writers Conference) this last weekend and learned a lot from the agents, editors, writers, and published authors in attendance. It was amazing to hear about all the different paths people have taken to become writers and to become published authors. So this quote by Eddie Cantor seems especially appropriate after listening to many authors talk about their long journeys to publication.

Sometimes in the thick of writing and rejection, when others seem to be having overnight success, it can be hard to remember that success usually comes after a lot of time and effort. It is comforting to know that there is rarely an overnight success and most likely there is a lot of hard work that we never see behind that “overnight” success.

It motivates me to keep writing and creating. These things I can control and the rest I try not to let bog me down. I hope you have a lovely week of creating things that give you joy in the process and that you find success sweet when you get there. 🙂

While it isn’t the time yet for lazy summer days spent daydreaming, the new year always brings out the dreamer in us all. If we don’t make resolutions, we make secret hopes and wishes that this year will be different, will be better, will be beautiful as well as new. So this week’s quote seems rather appropriate.

I love the reminder that everything starts out as someone’s daydream. Whether it is a flower arrangement, a poet, a book, a painting, a computer program, a recipe, or an app, that something new starts as someone’s dream. It is important for us to remember as we go forth into the world creating and sharing and caring. The quote is a reminder that we can’t take anything too seriously because it comes from daydreams, yet at the same time dreams are serious stuff that have the potential to change the world. This duality of daydreaming is what makes it so wonderful and powerful.

I hope you have time to step away from your daily chores and work to daydream. And, I hope, you share the creations of your daydreams with the world. 🙂

How’s everyone’s new year going? Still excited? Still refreshed? Or are you a bit frazzled and tired? Or perhaps you are somewhere in between the two extremes. Because a new year brings with it both excitement and anxiety, especially in regards to resolutions or goals for the new year, this quote seemed particularly apt to share.

It is good to remember that little steps and small changes do lead to big things. Little by little really does the trick. When we feel like we aren’t making progress or a project seems to big to ever finish, we must remember that nothing happens without starting. And sometimes starting is slow and we don’t see much change or feel like we are doing anything at all. Then we get discouraged and giving up can appear to be like the better option.

When that does, remember that little by little does the trick and we have Aesop to thank for remembering that. I hope that your year is full of fun projects that excite you and determination to see them through even when progress is slow. I hope you have a wonderful year. 🙂

As this will be most likely be the last quote in calligraphy that I share this year, I wanted to share the one that I thought came out the best this year and also has a lovely reminder on how to go through life.

“Speak little, do much.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

As we move from one year to the next, it is good to remember that we can do much and don’t need to talk a lot about it as actions really do speak louder than words. This reminds me that if I want to do a lot of writing and reading and calligraphy on top of my full-time job, then I need to do a lot and stay away from talking a lot about it.

These blog posts help me be accountable for practicing my calligraphy and for imagining at least a scene of a new story every week. They are great and I enjoy sharing and charting my progress, but they aren’t substitutes for the actual practice and work.

Also Franklin, even though years before social media, reminds me that if I want to get things done, probably not spending a bunch of time on Twitter, etc. is best for my work (as we all know, but can easily fall down the social media time sinkhole anyway).

So as we move into a new year, and wrap up the current year, let’s remember that we need to do what we say we will do and get on with it. Talking about it can happen later.  🙂

The month is halfway over and it is time to panic about how much we haven’t gotten done this year, right? Or, at least, how much we haven’t managed to get done in time for the holidays, or the end of the year reports, or that project that we swore we would get done this last month, right? Or should we perhaps instead be focusing on peace within our own lives? Since it is a stressful time of year for so many (in addition to being a merry time for so many), today I share with you this quote from Emerson.

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is good to remember that we are the only ones who can bring peace to ourselves. And, if we have peace within ourselves, we can often bring this peace to bear in our interactions with others and hopefully create a bit of calm in the world of hurry, stress, worry, and anxiety. That is good to remember this time of year, and really any time of year.

So my wish for you is that you can find some peace within yourself and remember that you are enough no matter what you’ve accomplished or not this year and always. And, if you can, use your gifts and talents and time to bring a little peace into the lives of those whose paths you cross. The world will be a better, brighter place for it.

I love watching hockey and one of the greatest players (aka The Great One) was Wayne Gretzky. So because it is finally getting colder where I live, I thought a quote by The Great One would be appropriate.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” ~Wayne Gretzky

I love this quote because you don’t have to be a hockey player to appreciate the advice. Whether you are an athlete, a writer, an artist, a student, or whatever identity you happen to be inhabiting at the time, it is important to remember that you have to show up and take a chance for anything to happen. Otherwise, you don’t do anything and have already failed. Starting is hard, trying and missing is hard, but it isn’t as hard as the regret of not trying. And, oh my goodness, when you make the goal or reach whatever milestone you have for yourself, you’ll be glad you risked the shot.

I hope you have a fantastic day and remember to be brave and take the shot. 🙂

Autumn is definitely in the air around the Bay Area, which always makes it feel like a good time for change. I think it is something about school season being in full swing combined with the days getting shorter that makes me feel like both a new year is beginning (I feel my life will always revolve around the school calendar in some way) and that the year is wrapping up (and there is so much left to do!). I felt like this quote from Karen Goldman was particularly good for this time of year. (I even saw at least one person take a photo of it while it was posted on my door.)

“Risk the fall in order to fly” ~Karen Goldman

It is a good reminder, especially when we are trying new things, that we have to risk falling if we are stretching ourselves and trying new things. We have to risk the scrapped knees, the rejection letters, the bruised egos, and the pain of failing and falling. It isn’t any fun, but it is a necessary risk. And it is only with that risk that we might be able to fly and doesn’t that feel good when we do? 🙂

So I’m going to continue to brave the fall so that I can fly and I hope you do, too.

It has been a tiring, hot, strange week here in the Bay Area. We are finally supposed to be on a cooling trend and hopefully this weekend (and the coming week) will be less tiring. This quote I wrote out for my door at work seems especially apt after this week.

“Success seems to be largely a matter of holding on after others have let go.” William Feather

Talk about success and grit seems to be all the rage now. How can we teach our students to be grittier? How can we train ourselves to exhibit more grit in the face of obstacles and challenges? What allows some to struggle and persevere when others give up? I don’t know the answers to those questions, although some people are looking into the answers to those questions.  I’m looking forward to reading more of their results in the future, but until then I find this quote inspiring when I don’t feel so “gritty.”

Sometimes it is hard to continue to work, day in and day out, without any outward sign of progress or validation, especially when it seems like some people seem to be overnight successes. But it does seem, as I continue on in life and work and writing and calligraphy that success is about keeping on keeping on when others have given up and let go. If we keep learning and growing and working, then success will probably come. It’s not a guarantee (but then few things are in life), but we have a better chance than if we give up our work we are passionate about, our dreams, our visions.

So I keep looking for inspiration in the everyday moments and keep learning and writing and challenging myself because it’s what I have control over. And, also, I’ll never have to wonder what might have been if I’d have just kept at it for a little while longer. (Also, who isn’t getting just a little excited for NaNoWriMo already? Or is it just me?)

I hope you have a lovely day full of whatever inspires you to keep working towards the goals in your life that keep you passionate, alive, and growing. 🙂

I hope your week is going well and you get some time to enjoy a bit of summer relaxation. It is hard to believe we are already over half-way through June and even if it isn’t technically summer yet, it is sure feeling like summer to me. Hot weather makes me want to nap and not do much, but the more relaxed state of mind in summer also allows me to think & plan what I want to accomplish, thus this week’s quote.

“You’ve got your whole life to do something, and that’s not very long.” Ani Difranco

This quote makes me take stock of what I’m doing and try to figure out if I’m moving forward in the right direction. (I know the spacing is a bit off between the first and second lines, but that’s what I get for freehanding it at work. I really need to bring in my T-Square and fountain calligraphy pens for when I do calligraphy on my break, but anyway…) Sometimes it seems like a year is so long and other times it seems like a year is hardly any time at all to create anything.

So I think about Ani Difranco’s thought that we don’t have a very long to do what we want on this planet, in this life. I hope that you are working towards what you feel is important with people who are important to you. Life’s about what we do and who we do it with, I think, and that’s true whether it is in the heat of summer or the cold of winter.

But remember, having a purpose and doing something don’t preclude us from having some summer fun and relaxation as well. Have a great one. 🙂