Finding the motivation to do what you love — such as be creative or write a book– is a constant struggle. Even artists and writers who earn a living from their creativity struggle with the muse from time to time!

What roadblocks do you face when you’re trying to be creative? Fear, doubt, uncertainty, lack of time, rejection sensitivity, perfectionism, procrastination, self-criticism, impatience?

You’re not alone, my friend.

“Everyone has talent; what is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.” ~ Erica Jong.

Helping writers find “the dark place” is why I wrote 73 Ways to Fire Up (or Just Fire) the Muse: How to Write When You Don’t Wanna, or Think You Can’t. It offers solutions to most obstacles, with practical tips and inspirational wisdom from professional freelance writers, novelists, journalism professors, and other successful scribes. This ebook also offers “quick quips” from published authors (because quips and tips are what I’m all about!).

Here’s what one reader says:

“After reading your ebook I am totally charged! It’s motivational, easy to read, and speaks directly to me and every one of my writing angsts and blocks – your energy vibrates off the page. It’s like having you personally talking to me, telling it like it is and encouraging me on. It spoke to so many of my blocks – and I credit it with firing me up after being on simmer for so long.” ~ Maggie R.

I love it — that’s exactly what I was hoping would happen! If you’re struggling to find the motivation to do what you love, this book will help…

In this ebook, you’ll find:

• 15 obstacles – common to most writers – that block a productive writing life or career.
• 73 tips for overcoming obstacles from freelance writers, published authors, journalism professors, & other successful scribes.
• Dozens of thought-provoking quips from famous authors.

You’ll learn practical ways to bypass various roadblocks: no time to write, fear of rejection, reluctance to waste time on a project that may never get published, not feeling good enough, lack of self-discipline, procrastination, perfectionism, disorganization, work and life commitments, online distractions, offline distractions, internal distractions, external distractions, lions and tigers and bears – oh my!

You’ll learn what works, what doesn’t work, and why.

Each chapter in this ebook can stand alone; you don’t necessarily need to read it from top to bottom. You can choose the obstacle that plagues you from the Table of Contents and dive right in. You can save certain chapters until later in your career (such as Chapter 3.5: “5 Things to Do While You Wait for Publication”).

And the best part is, you can re-read it whenever you need a “booster shot” in one particular area (because obstacles come and go over time).

$9.95 US

If you have any thoughts or questions on ”firing up the muse” or finding the motivation to do what you love to do, please comment below…

Related posts:

1. Overcoming Shame and Guilt – Erica Jong
2. How to Use Your Instincts to Succeed at Work – Erica Jong
3. Overcoming Shame and Guilt – Erica Jong

“I’d rather be alone than unhappy,” says Houston.

Being in a relationship doesn’t guarantee happiness…or even love. Many women are lonely, frustrated, and sad in their relationships or marriages; it’s far better to be single than stuck in a bad relationship. If you’re struggling with your singleness, read Single: The Art of Being Satisfied, Fulfilled and Independent. And, here are several ways to be happily single…

5 Ways to be Blissfully Happy as a Single Woman – Whitney Houston

1. Figure out the source of your feelings. Do you feel depressed, sad, or lonely because you’re single? Figure out why you want to be in a relationship; is it because your sister is married with three children or you feel like an outsider at work or home? Maybe you feel worthless, and think a relationship will validate you as a woman. To be happily single, you need to figure out why you want to be married.

2. Refuse to dwell on the lack of love in your life. What you focus on expands, my friends. Instead of dwelling on what you don’t have (and causing your lack to grow), stay focused on what you bring to all your relationships. For instance, do you wish you were a more successful woman? Make a list of your wonderful qualities and personality traits. The more you love and appreciate yourself, the happier you’ll be – and the more attractive you’ll be to others. Don’t think about what you lack; instead, concentrate on what you want in your life.

3. Connect to your source of power and inspiration. “I had the money, I had the cars,” Houston told Oprah Winfrey in a recent interview. “I had the house. Had the husband. Had the kid. And none of it was really that fulfilling. For a time, I was happy…but I needed that joy. I needed my joy back. I needed that peace that passes all understanding.” No matter how wonderful a boyfriend or husband is, he can’t give you peace, self-acceptance, or happiness. You need to stay connected with your own source of inspiration and fulfillment; you need to protect your sense of self when you’re in love.

4. Stay emotionally, physically, and professionally healthy. What books, people, events, Web sites, or groups help you feel connected to yourself? For instance, I love Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort of Joy – just opening that book up to a random page makes me feel more focused and in touch with who I am as a woman. If you want to be blissfully happy and single – especially if you’re hoping for a new romantic relationship – make sure you’re taking care of all aspects of your health.

5. Don’t wait for a man before you pursue the life of your dreams. Do you want to take a month-long vacation in Bora Bora, start your own business, buy a condo, or move to New York City to be a Rockett at Radio City Music Hall? You don’t need to be in a relationship to pursue your dreams! In fact, being involved with a man can make it more difficult to achieve your goals; women in relationships have to consider their partners’ needs, lifestyle, plans, and family.

Whatever you want to do with your life, do it now.

“I know from whence my help cometh,” says Houston. “I do know that. And I know that it’s strong within me. If ever I get low, I get weak, I know where I can turn to. I love the spirit of God so much that I’m not willing to trade that for anything. Because I feel joy that I can’t even speak about. And peace that passes all understanding.”

If you have any thoughts or questions on being blissfully happy as a single woman, please comment below…

Related posts:

1. 4 Ways to Stop Self-Sabotage and Self-Defeat – Erma Bombeck
2. 5 Steps to Being a Successful Woman – Katherine Hepburn
3. 10 Ways for Women to Get Ahead at Work – Reba McEntire

About success, McEntire says, “Be different, stand out, and work your butt off.”

Allowing yourself to be different and stand out is more difficult than working hard, but authenticity offers rewards that hard work doesn’t. To learn how to work smarter and reveal your authentic self, read Lois Frankel’s Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers – she’s written several fantastic books in the “Nice Girls” series. And, read on for ten ways to succeed at work for women…

10 Ways for Women to Get Ahead at Work – Reba McEntire

1. Give yourself permission to move from girlhood to womanhood. Do you sometimes feel like a young girl even though you’re a grown woman? Frankel says, “Tell yourself that you are not only allowed, but entitled to act in ways that move you toward goal attainment.” To get ahead at work, take control of your education, professional development, and career choices. Own your age!

2. Ask for professional feedback. If you’re concerned about your job performance, ask a trusted colleague for feedback. In Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, Frankel suggests asking an open-ended question, such as: “Tell me what I did in that meeting that helped me or hindered me from achieving my goals.” Negative feedback can make you a healthier, more well-rounded woman — so don’t be afraid of it.

3. Know the rules of the game at your workplace. Workplaces have spoken and unspoken rules, and women need to know what they are. For instance, is it taboo to go home before 4 pm? Can budgets be flexed, or must they be strictly adhered to? The more you know which rules can be bent, the farther you’ll go at work.

4. Don’t take slights, criticisms, or mistakes personally. If you’re taken to task because of a mistake at work (real or perceived), don’t take it personally. Imagine you’re protected by a Plexiglass shield; you can see out, but negativity and criticism can’t touch you. To succeed at work, don’t retreat after making a mistake.

5. Build solid professional relationships. “If you’re not spending 5% of your day building relationships, you’re doing something wrong,” says Frankel. Since women are generally very good at building relationships, this is an easy way for us to succeed! Unless, of course, we’re coping with negative or bossy coworkers.

6. Speak up when people delegate inappropriately to you. Learn how to say no and recognize inappropriate delegation at work. Practice saying “no” unapologetically: ”You know, I’d love to help you out with this but I’m just swamped.” Then, stop talking. Here’s how Reba McEntire puts it: “To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.”

7. Prepare requests in advance. If you’re asking for a new client project, a job promotion, a raise, etc., make sure you rehearse in advance. When you ask for anything at work, be direct, straightforward, and accompany each request with two or three legitimate reasons why you should be given it.

8. Embrace – don’t avoid – office politics. Office politics, according to Frankel, is simply about going out of your way to help someone and give them what they need. In return, they’ll do the same. Understand that professional relationships have a built-in quid pro quo. To take it a step further and learn to read nonverbal signals from your coworkers.

9. Ask for introductions. To get ahead at work, speak up when you want to meet a potential or current client, the president of the company, or the boss’s husband! The more you ask for referrals, phone numbers, and sources, the easier it’ll get.

10. Don’t let your emotions dictate your responses at work. “When people get annoyed or angry with us, it’s often for the purpose of getting us to do what they want. Don’t fall for the ploy,” writes Frankel. To succceed at work, let go of your need to be liked and your fear of confrontation. Let people be annoyed with — or even mad at – you.

One last inspiration from Reba McEntire:

“Growing up is not being so determined to make everybody happy.”

If you have any thoughts or questions on these ways for women to get ahead at work, please comment below…

Related posts:

1. 7 Ways to Overcome Procrastination at Work – Sarah Ban Breathnach
2. Reading Nonverbal Signals From Your Co-Workers or Boss – Esteé Lauder
3. 6 Steps to Solving Almost Any Work Problem – Helen Gurley Brown

“I lost boundaries as a child and I didn’t even realize it,” said Marie Osmond. “It wasn’t talked about back then. You know, it was something you just buried and dealt with, and moved forward. What could you do about it?”

If only “See Jane Soar” existed when she was a child – she could’ve learned how to protect her personal boundaries! If you’re struggling to stick to your boundaries, you might find Where to Draw the Line: How to Set Healthy Boundaries Every Dayhelpful (pictured). And, here are five ways to maintain your boundaries even when people don’t like them…

5 Ways to Protect Your Boundaries Despite Criticism – Marie Osmond

When you set your personal boundaries, you’re protecting your time and energy for the things in life that mean the most to you. Setting boundaries is a piece of cake…it’s defending them that requires courage, stamina, and dedication!

1. Expect to be criticized for drawing the line. When I first started working from home – I’m a full-time freelance writer and blogger – I told my friends and family that I wouldn’t take personal phone calls during the day. It’s too disruptive, I love my job, and I don’t even talking on the phone! Most everybody was fine with it, except for a couple of friends who bristled (“Well, if you’re too busy to take ten minutes to catch up with an old friend who can’t talk in the evenings…”) and who are still irked, even after two years. Now when I set a personal boundary, I simply prepare myself for criticism or negative responses.

2. Let your loved ones be angry, disappointed, or frustrated. It’s okay if people are mad at you, disappointed in you, or frustrated by your behavior! No matter what you do or how nice you are, you won’t be liked by everyone all the time…so get used to getting under people’s skin. They’ll get over it. And, trust me, the more you let go of other people’s expecations, the easier it gets. It’s not your responsibility to make everyone happy all the time; your job is to figure out who your authentic self is, and be that woman. And don’t forget to look for the humor in the situation, because as Marie Osmond says, “If you’re going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now.”

3. Stay in touch with who you are and what you need. As an introvert, I need to be alone a lot of the time. As a woman who likes to stay thin (and who gains weight just by thinking about chocolate), I need to eat less meat and potatoes – which my husband loves to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (he’s one of those lucky ectomorphs who can eat whatever wants whenever he wants, and not gain an ounce). These are examples of two types of personal boundaries I’ve set at home, and they’re easy to protect because I am connected to who I am. It’s difficult  to stand up against criticism when you don’t really know what you want or need!

4. Learn how to handle difficult people – especially at work. If you work full-time, you may spend more time at work than home…and who wants to be miserable for eight or nine hours a day? There are several ways to protect your boundaries even if you have critical coworkers, such as choosing the right time to talk to them, starting the conversation on a positive note, being specific, communicating directly, and figuring out your role in the problem. In How to Handle Bossy Coworkers – Sophia Loren, I describe those steps in more detail.

5. Detach from critical people a little…or a lot. Sometimes physical space is necessary – actually spending less time with people who don’t uplift or support you. If your mother or best friend from high school refuses to treat you the way you want to be treated (or if they’re toxic people), then it’s appropriate and healthy to spend less time with them, limit the lengths of your visits, or even let them go altogether.

“Life can be real tough,” said Marie Osmond. “You can either learn from your problems, or keep repeating them over and over.”

What about you – have you set healthy personal boundaries, and are you protecting them despite criticism from friends, family, or coworkers? I’d love to hear from you below!

Related posts:

1. 6 Ways to Find the Courage to End a Relationship – Nicole Kidman
2. 10 Ways to Build Self-Confidence – Queen Latifah
3. 10 Ways for Women to Get Ahead at Work – Reba McEntire

Here’s what Marianne Williamson says about being all that we can be:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.’  We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I don’t know if Mozart’s mother and sister were playing small or if they couldn’t overcome the expectations of their culture…but they weren’t liberated. And yet, their presence liberates us! This inspiration for successful women is based on what Mozart’s mother and sister didn’t do. And for more info about Marianne Williamson, click on The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife.

Inspiration for Successful Women – Mozart’s Mother and Sister

I’m exploring Salzburg, Austria, where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born and lived. He was accepted as a master composer when he was 14, and was lauded not only in his own time – he’s still worshipped today.

But few people knew the sacrifices Mozart’s mother made. Anna Maria Pertl Mozart had seven children in ten years – only two of whom lived longer than seven months. In those days, only every second child lived. Anna Maria mediated between her authoritarian and stubborn husband, Leopold, and her genius son, Wolfgang.

And, few people know about Mozart’s sister Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart (Nannerl). She also had incredible musical talent, and father Leopold took her and Wolfgang through Europe to play duets together. But by age 16, she was no longer the “wonder child” – she was just a marriageable woman. Leopold ignored her musical compositions.

And this was because she was female. If she was male, she and Wolfgang may have toured together as adults, composed operas together, and been accepted to the royal courts together.

Instead, Nannerl married a 50 year old judge with five young children (his first wife passed). She gave birth to three children, and was responsible for all the kids, the laundry, the cooking, and the cleaning. After her husband died, Nannerl taught piano…but she never lived up to her musical potential.

How can women not be inspired by Nannerl’s story? She may have sacrificed her life, but we don’t have to! We need to honor the women who have gone before us, who couldn’t live up to their potential, by living up to our own potential. We have the opportunity, resources, and cultural support to do what we want with our lives.

Do you want to be a successful woman? Don’t hold yourself back. Don’t get in your own way. Don’t let your failures, struggles, or weaknesses overcome your hopes and goals for the future.

Do what comes naturally to you – which is what Nannerl would have done if she could have.

And, remember that successful women fail regularly! Failure, frustration, and despair is part of succeeding – and so is bouncing back from failure. We’re lucky we have the chance to face failure and succeed.

My friends, we’re blessed that we have the freedom to fail.

What do you think? I welcome your comments on this inspiration for successful women below!

Related posts:

1. Secrets of Successful Women – 6 Life Lessons From Maria Shriver
2. 10 Habits of Highly Successful Women
3. 5 Steps to Being a Successful Woman – Katherine Hepburn