Not Simon and Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence #JusJoJan

I’m participating in Just Jot It January, a fun word prompt exercise organized by blogger Linda G. Hill. It happens all month during January. And it’s not too late to join in the fun. Check the details out here. The word prompt for today is ‘silence.’

When I think of silence, I think of how my life has changed over the past forty years. When I was younger, I couldn’t have silence in my life. The radio was on – all the time. I slept with the radio on. I drove with the radio on. I remember one car I had for a few years. The radio was broken, so I carried a little portable cassette player with me, sitting in the front seat, blaring away my favorite tunes. I had a little plastic shoebox with all my favorite cassettes – mostly Led Zeppelin, KISS, Neil Young, some Bee Gees, and even a new fun group called the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Now, I’m…not-so-young…and I appreciate silence. I rarely have the radio on in the car. If I turn music on at home, it’s soft, meditative music in the background while I work – maybe once a week, if that often. And most mornings I try to take five to ten minutes a day to simply sit in silence and connect with myself.

Life changes through the years, including the number of decibels that occupy our existence.

FREE OFFER – FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS. Do you like reading tidbits about what’s going on in a writer’s life? Like reading story snippets of upcoming books? Like getting free book offers and hearing about free book giveaways? Sign up here for Trisha’s Tidbits, my weekly newsletter, and get a free copy of FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS.

Such a Strong Word #JusJoJan

I’m participating in Just Jot It January, a fun word prompt exercise organized by blogger Linda G. Hill. It happens all month during January. And it’s not too late to join in the fun. Check out the details for Just Jot It January here. The word prompt for today is Ultimatum.

It’s such a strong word – ultimatum – one that I don’t typically use.

Merriam-Webster defines ultimatum as “a final proposition, condition, or demand; especially: one whose rejection will end negotiations and cause a resort to force or other direct action.”

There are certainly situations that call for this type of final demand. Ex-husbands that have no desire to stop drinking. Teenagers that have no intention of following the family rules. Friends and neighbors that like to encroach on your time, energy, and resources. There are endless examples of when an ultimatum is necessary.

But, you’d better have the arsenal to follow through with what you’re prepared to do if the other party does not comply with the conditions or demands.

I rarely try to issue an ultimatum. But in light of the recent New Year we’ve entered, and all the plans I’ve outlined for 2018, I wonder if maybe I need to give myself a few ultimatums.

Young lady (okay, maybe not so young), you WILL get this submission finished or no dessert for you.

Trisha Faye, you WILL get that essay completed, revised, and submitted by the end of the month or no yoga for you next month.

Listen up girl, you WILL follow through and complete two short stories every month for the year, or no visit to the grandchildren. (Now that one will work. Don’t even try to keep me from my grandkids!)

How do you feel about ultimatums? Have you used them before? Did they work?

FREE OFFER – FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS. Do you like reading tidbits about what’s going on in a writer’s life? Like reading story snippets of upcoming books? Like getting free book offers and hearing about free book giveaways? Sign up here for Trisha’s Tidbits, my weekly newsletter, and get a free copy of FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS.

Free Books! Join the VIP Launch Team

Free Books!

Join Trisha’s VIP Launch Team and receive free books in exchange for honest reviews.

Your name will be in the acknowledgements of each book you help with. For the launch of each book, there will be drawings and goodies for each team member that participated in that launch. You’ll receive sneak peeks and excerpts from upcoming books. You’ll have news and cover reviews first. You’ll be part of a private Facebook group that will include launch team members only.

What’s involved in being a team member?

You’ll receive a digital copy of the book 3-4 weeks prior to publication. When the book is published and available, leave a review on Amazon, and Goodreads if you’re a member there. If you have a blog, hosting a guest post around the time of the release would be greatly appreciated. (It’s not necessary that you have a blog to be a member of the team.) At release time, share on social media. (Just once is okay. I don’t like flooding my page with numerous buy-my-book posts and I wouldn’t ask you to do it either.)

You don’t need to participate in every book that’s released. You can pick and choose which ones you’d like to be involved with. Here’s a list of some of the books scheduled for future release. There may be one or two short stories a month also – again, each is totally voluntary.

Grandma Jones’ Kitchen – October 2017

In Celebration of Sisters – November 2017

Every Day’s a Good Day: Remaining Positive in a Retail or Service Based Profession – January 2018

Mothers of Angels – March 2018

Embracing 60 – June 2018

A Spoonful of Sugar: A Daily Dose of Inspiration and Encouragement – October 2018

How do you get to be a Launch Team Member?

It’s easy. Send me a private message on Facebook, or email me at texastrishafaye@yahoo.com with a request to join the team.

FREE BOOK: Following Your Dreams

Are you following your dreams?

Are you chasing the life you desire with every fiber of your being?

Do you know what your dreams are?

Get a FREE COPY of Following Your Dreams.  Reflections, Affirmations, and Workbook Exercises help you focus on achieving a life you dream of.

Here’s one of the reflections and affirmations that’s included.

Commitment leads to action.
Action brings your dream closer.
Marcia Wieder

Dreams are destined to remain mere wishes, briefly flitting through our consciousness, until we take action to make them a reality. That’s why so many unwritten novels remain unwritten tomes, living forever in the minds of the author, but never making it to the page.

Ask anyone what their dreams are. Ask your friends, your family, or your co-workers. Almost everyone will have an answer for you. And then…ask them what they’re doing to make their dreams a real part of their lives. That’s where you’ll see the gap. Many won’t have an answer for that question.

Until we commit to our dreams, until we vow to take action, they will stay in the nebulous netherlands of ‘Someday’.

Make the first step towards an unrealized dream. Take the step of commitment.

Affirmation: Today, I commit to following my dream of _____________.

(Fill in the blank with one of your dreams.)

Get your FREE COPY of Following Your Dreams here!