Monday, August 23, 2010

Motivational Monday

This summer, my fabu crit partner, Sara, spent a bunch of time in London researching Winston Churchill. (Yeah, your summer just got worse, didn't it? Don't worry, mine too.) She brought us (the crit groupies) a bunch of stuff from England that we totally don't deserve. This postcard was one such gift, and one of the most inspiring things I've read in a long time.

I think I'll let it speak for itself.


But go check out what my CP's have to say about this motto.
Jenn Wilks
Ali Cross
Stacy Henrie

And you knew it was coming... What's a motto?

I don't know. What's the motto with you?

Haha! But seriously, do you have a motto that inspires you? It's Motivational Monday - lay it on me!

Oh!! And don't forget that we WriteOnCon organizers are doing a live chat tonight to get your feedback about the conference so we can make next year's event beltacular (don't know what that means? It'll blow your mind). So join us on the WriteOnCon site at 9 PM EDT.

38 comments:

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Always carry a smile; it's contagious. Yeah, I'm not always successful at it.

Tez Miller said...

Don't Be a Tosser

An American visitor to Australia photographed this garbage bin in Sydney. I hadn't seen one of them here in Melbourne, so I quickly embraced this message, and love to spread the word.

The motto works on two levels, and I love it :-)

Matthew MacNish said...

Awesome. Checking out your CPs blogs now. Can't wait for the WOC follow up.

Christine Danek said...

Thanks for the motivation. I will check out your CPs blogs.
Thanks.
I can't think of any right now.Sorry.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Your motto seems good for a Monday.
See you tonight.

Misha Gerrick said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Misha Gerrick said...

My motto comes from Scaramouche by Sabatini (I might be paraphrasing):

"He was born with the gift of laughter and the knowledge that the world was mad."

It sums me up pretty much as well, which is why my fencing coach christened me Scaramouche despite my gender. That and... I have a flare for the dramatic when running around with a sword in my hand.

Point is that life makes a lot more sense when you realize that everyone - you included - has some form of insanity to them and that laughing at the circus that is life is the best way to make everything feel better.

Slamdunk said...

Cool.

I may have said this before, but mine is: "Bloom Where You Are Planted."

Liza said...

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Hannah said...

I'm not bitter, I'm better.

Works every time.

Zoe C. Courtman said...

Wayne Dyer's quote did it for me: “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice.”

Christine Fonseca said...

I LOVE that when I read it on Ali's blog. SO GREAT!

storyqueen said...

I have a notebook that says keep calm and carry on.....but I have no idea where I put it!!

I do love that saying, though.

Arlaina Tibensky said...

Just keep your head down and keep moving. A cousin to "keep calm and carry on" for sure.

That's from my Scottish mother in law. Maybe this motto thing is a British business...

Deni Krueger said...

“It's not that I'm so smart , it's just that I stay with problems longer.” -Albert Einstein

I remind myself of this every time I'm sick of working on something that isn't finished.

Anonymous said...

I've heard and said the phrase, "Write On." for so long. I love that as a motto. Because that's what we must do, just continue to write, no matter what.

I love the "carry on" part. My step-mother is from England and she often says, "Oh yes, carry on then." I love that. LOL

Happy Monday!!!

Unknown said...

This one came from the very talented Dan Wells and is now mine:

"Anyone can make a living as an artist(writer), you just have to put in the time and energy necessary to make it happen."

Books Dudes Will Read said...

Used to be: "Eternal vigilance."

These days: "If no one's bleeding or crying & nothing's broken, it's been a good day."

Parenthood changes things.

I'll miss the live chat (work, blast it all). So, here's my 2 bits: Q 1)What was good about Writeon? A 1) Every-fargin-thing. Q2) What would you wish could be different about Writeon? A2) I work nights & live on the west coast, so I missed a lot. I get Fridays off, so if it were a W-F thing, that'd be great for me. But I figure getting pros to do this on a weekend is asking too much.

Patti said...

Great motto. I think mine changes from week to week, or is that day to day.

Erica Mitchell said...

Very cool and I love the motto! Mine is recent because of the research I've been doing for my super amped up chase/escape scenes.
"If you come to a wall and can't get over are you going to bang your head or find another wall." It actually makes more sense in the context of the research...
Enjoy the chat tonight!

Lydia Kang said...

Thanks for the nugget of motivation!

Lisa_Gibson said...

I <3 the card! The motto is awesome. I now have to come up with a motto. :) Not sure what mine is at this point. I'll get right on it though.
Lisa ~ YA Literature Lover

Southpaw said...

Push my foot forward if I have to, just get it moving forward.

Jemi Fraser said...

Yikes - I forgot the chat was tonight! I'll have to see if I can change up some stuff... Hope so.

At this point I think my motto would have to be Baby Steps :)

Taffy said...

"Where attention goes
Energy flows
And results show."

Bish Denham said...

I do believe my motto is a quote from Kahlil Gibran. Five words:

WORK IS LOVE MADE VISIBLE.

Shannon Messenger said...

How funny--one of my writer friends gave me a little purse notebook with that same slogan on it. I <3 it so much!

See you at the chat tonight!

Michelle McLean said...

awesome motto! I have a ton that I love, but I tend to go with "Just Suck It Up and Do It" a lot :)

Works if you are having a hard time (suck it up, then batten the hatches, strengthen the defences, gird your loins, and get back to it)and if things are going well (suck it up, every last drop of awesomeness till it dances in your soul...then get back to it) :D

Luna said...

Here's my motto:

My mind is wide open, my heart is full, my eyes are to the sky, and I am forever chasing the moon. ~JLB

Can't wait for the chat!!!

Angie said...

That's a great motto. Mine is "Success flourishes only in perseverance."

Unknown said...

I like one from Finding Nemo. "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming." It's easy to remember and easily adapted to any situation. "Just keep writing. Just keep writing, writing, writing." Or on some days: "Just keep breathing. Just keep breathing, breathing, breathing."

I also really like this one from Lance Armstrong, "Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever."

Krista said...

It's better to aim for the stars and miss, than aim for the manure pile and hit.

Ishta Mercurio said...

I read your post this morning, and thought I'd spend the day ruminating on which of my many mottoes is the most important to me before commenting. So I went on with my day, feeding the kids and running errands, one of which was a trip to Chapters (think Canadian Barnes and Noble) to pick up a couple of things for future contests, and lo and behold, what did I see before me on a display table not ten feet inside the door but a bunch of writing journals and pocket diaries and bookmarks and coasters with "Stay Calm and Carry On" emblazoned on them! So, of course, I bought one. When the Universe speaks, I listen.

My mottoes:

"Live until you die," from someone who had been diagnosed with Cancer. I think it applies to everyone.

"Don't sweat the small stuff," because I have kids and a spouse and there is lots and lots of small stuff.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world," from Ghandi, which I realize makes me a cliche, but it's true. We should all do it.

Ishta Mercurio said...

Whoops - I got the journal/diary/coaster/bookmark motto wrong. It's exactly the same as your card, background and all - "Keep calm and carry on." Like I said, serendipity.

Gail said...

Well, at least she had some fun in London. Apparently, I was there last week, mugged, and had to plead poverty to everyone in my web address book in order to pay off the hotel and get make to America!!! My email address was hijacked by &%#%%)*^ hackers and it was a royal pain to get straightened out!

As for motto, mine is "do the best you can with what you've got." It keeps me going when times get rough, when there seems to be no solution to a problem, and when I've dealt with health issues (like the journey oflosing my sight). It keeps me from giving in to despair or giving up. Just do the best you can with the tools you have at the moment. And some gratitude for those helps too :-)

Carolyn Abiad said...

That one Dory sings: Just keep swimming!

ali cross said...

Whatsa motto with me? Whatsa motto with you, EH?

Hahahahahahaha.

Ahem.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

"Never, never, never give up," Sir Winston Churchill. I've been researching him for a mg novel too...I love this phrase. It really defines the attitude of the English people during WWII.

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