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

“As one goes through life, one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move.” – Katharine Hepburn.

For more inspiration and motivation, click on This is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down by Deborah Collins Stephens, Jackie Speier, Michealene Crisini Risley, and Jan Yanehiro. And, read on for five steps to being a successful woman, inspired by quotations from Anita Roddick, Barbara Walters, Dorothea Brande, and Linda Ronstadt. See Jane Soar!

5 Ways to be a Successful Woman – Katherine Hepburn

You may be interested in reading The Definition of a Successful Woman – Eleanor Roosevelt.

1. Take back your power. You give away your power when you say or think things like, “Oh, I couldn’t do that!” and “I don’t deserve this,” and “How could anyone find me attractive, or hire me, or pay me that much money?” The first step to being a successful woman is to take back your power. Find the support and guidance you need; overcome your habit of being your own worst critic. Listen to Katherine Hepburn’s advice, and learn to paddle your own canoe.

2. Identify what’s holding you back.  “It’s not who you are that holds you back; it’s who you think you’re not,” said Barbara Walters. Do you think you’re not smart enough, not skinny enough, not pretty enough, or not strong enough? The second step to being a successful woman is to identify how you’re holding yourself back. Be aware of what you’re afraid of.

3. Tune in to your talents. “Have you let other people talk out you of pursuing something you’re good at?” ask the authors in This is Not the Life I Ordered. ”Have you bowed to pressure and abandoned a project that was meaningful to you?” Don’t let other people’s criticism or indifference quell your dreams. And remember — you are meaningful and valuable just the way you are.  “If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito,” said Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop.

4. Clean up your “to-do” list. The fourth step to being a successful woman is to get rid of your emotional and physical clutter! Get rid of the things you don’t need to do, that don’t matter, that don’t create value, that don’t make a difference. Figure out if you’re taking responsibility for stuff that isn’t yours. Make sure everything takes you toward the your goals and dreams – not away.

5. Create an upward spiral. Successful women turn “woe is me” into action - and proceed confidently. Poet Dorothea Brande said, ”All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail.” No matter what you’re struggling with or how defeated you feel, take one step forward. Maybe that means calling for a college course guide or searching for grief support groups on the internet.

Maybe creating an upward spiral means that you have to accept change and take risks:

“So life changes and you have to change too. I don’t like change, but I’ve learned you just put your hands over your eyes and step off the edge.” – Linda Ronstadt.

What do you think about these steps to being a successful woman? I welcome your comments below…

Related posts:

1. 5 Signs of a Fearless Woman – Judge Marilyn Milian
2. The Definition of a Successful Woman – Eleanor Roosevelt
3. 6 Steps to Solving Almost Any Work Problem – Helen Gurley Brown

The life lesson: to succeed at anything, you need to know how to motivate yourself! The successful woman in history: Amelia Earhart. The unexpected twist: even when you’re pursuing your dreams and goals, you still need to find ways to motivate yourself to keep going!

First, a word from our sponsor:

“When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others,” said Earhart.

Other people’s failures could motivate you to succeed where no woman has succeeded before – and no doubt that’s partly what spurred Earhart to achieve her goals. Here’s how to motivate yourself, with life lessons from the most famous female pilot in history…and, click on 20 Hours, 40 Min: Our Flight in the Friendship by Earhart for more info about her record-breaking flight.

How to Motivate Yourself – Amelia Earhart

Thrive on the success of others. Amelia Earhart had her own version of See Jane Soar: a scrapbook of newspaper clippings describing the achievements of successful women in law, engineering, advertising, business, and the film industry. Amelia knew how difficult it was (and is) to forge ahead, especially in male-dominated fields. Those articles improved her confidence, motivation, and passion. They represented the victories of women Amelia didn’t even know – women who nevertheless inspired her to soar.

Don’t compare yourself to others! There will always be successful women who are smarter, stronger, more confident, and even luckier than you. And, there will always be less successful women who aren’t as smart, strong, confident, or lucky as you. To motivate yourself, don’t compare yourself to anyone. You have your life to live, and other women have theirs. Read The Definition of a Successful Woman – Eleanor Roosevelt to learn what success means to different women.

Find – and push – your own buttons. If you really want to motivate yourself, pay attention to what drives you. Me, I like earning money for writing – so I’m motivated to keep writing and keep pitching articles no matter how many rejections I get. The life lesson here is that you can’t rely on others to motivate you…you have to find your own triggers, and you need to keep pulling them.

Do what comes naturally. Amelia Earhart broke records in altitude, speed, distance, and solo flying – partly because she was doing what came naturally to her. She was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and received countless other honors. Do you think she needed to find ways to motivate herself? No. She was a successful woman in history because she did what came naturally to her.

How do you motivate yourself? I welcome your comments below…

Related posts:

1. Earning Money to Pursue Your Passions – Amelia Earhart
2. Succeeding by Taking Risks – Amelia Earhart
3. How to Succeed Despite Criticism – Amelia Earhart

The life lesson: your chances of success increase exponentially when you do what comes naturally! The successful woman: America’s beloved Rachael Ray.

“To me, success has always been being able to come home and make myself dinner, to know the bills are paid, that my family’s OK today, to have my dog and to eat good food,” says Ray. “That’s a successful day for me.”

Ray found a way (several ways, actually – her TV show, cookbooks, and magazine!) to do what comes naturally for her. That not only makes her a successful woman, it ensures that she’ll keep enjoying what she does. Here’s how Rachael Ray became so successful, and how you can apply her lessons and wisdom to your own life….and, click on Rachael Ray’s Big Orang Book for her ultimate collection of recipes!

Doing What Comes Naturally – Rachael Ray

“I think that’s probably the key to anyone’s happiness in life — just doing what comes naturally,” says Ray. “I don’t think you can choose whether you are successful in life when you’re talking about money or status, but I do think that you can choose if you’re successful in life if you define it by simply being happy.”

Even “naturals” need practice! Remember that no matter how natural you are at something – cooking, writing, throwing dinner parties, leading meetings, or running marathons – you still need practice. Rachael Ray didn’t become a gourmet chef and cookbook author overnight. She grew up working in restaurants, which gave her basic cooking and baking knowledge. Her mom worked as a restaurant manager, which taught Ray about the long hours and dedication a food career can demand.

Just because you’re a natural doesn’t mean you don’t need practice. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes that truly successful people practice their craft for 10,000 hours. Read 10 Habits of Highly Successful Women for inspirational tips!

Keep trying different things – and work hard. How do you know if you’re a natural at something? Keep trying new things until you hit it! Rachael Ray’s life lesson involves trying different things until you find what works. Successful women don’t try one thing and give up if it doesn’t work.

“Keep trying different things that you can envision yourself doing,” says Ray. “If you really love clothes, there’s nothing wrong with working in clothes. “Take any job. Don’t be a snob when it comes to work.”  To be successful women- to soar - we have to work hard. This means showing up every day and giving it our best shot…even when we’re tired, bored, or scared.

To learn more about doing what comes naturally, read . And, feel free to share your thoughts on this life lesson – I’d love to hear from you!

My source of Rachael Ray’s info is Success for Women.com, Rachael Ray: Answering Opportunity’s Call.

Related posts:

1. 10 Ways to Save Money on Food – Rachael Ray
2. How to Motivate Yourself – Amelia Earhart
3. 5 Steps to Being a Successful Woman – Katherine Hepburn