Reflection - Why I Write

Since the month began (in truth probably since the middle of April), I have been plagued by several questions not the least has been what to do with my writing. I mean throwing blog article out there is great from time to time and it has its moments where people seem genuinely touched, but what is it all for?

Last week I read a reviewed Robert A. Heinlein's Grumbles from the Grave and to be very honest it was challenging book to read from the standpoint of it challenged my motivation for writing. Heinlein in the book answers a letter from a reader answering several questions. One of those questions is 'why do I write?" Heinlein's response is lengthy to explain three simple statements: 1) To support myself and my family, 2) To entertain my readers and 3) To make people think. I believe he is dead on.

I think my problem is related to these answers; in that, I have the last one but not necessarily the first two. Ultimately, it is the first two though that mark the success of any writing venture. Writing takes time and it is time I could be doing something else that actually did number one. So far the grand total made in my writing career is $50 but it was enough that I had the same sort of reaction that Heinlein did when he got his first check for writing his first short story: 'Life-Line'. "How long has this racket been going on?" was his response. Mine was: "Holy crap, it took me ten minutes to write that letter to Musclemag International and it netted me 50 bucks. Talk about easy money!" To be honest, if I could sit an write stuff and net a few hundred a week, I would. If I could make more, even better.

Artistic purists always whine about money ruining art, but the fact is without cash any pursuit will eventually die out on planet earth. More money means more time and freedom to enjoy and pursue what you want. It is not money itself that pulls me but the things I could do with it and if writing were my second career, and it could generate a significant enough paycheck, I would love doing it even more.

The real thing though is number 2 - entertainment. If it is not entertaining, no one will read your stuff. No one has to read your stuff; they have choice. On the Internet there are a google of choices to read out there why should they read mine? The only reason anyone would is that they like it enough ot bypass the others and read mine. Books are about as bad, but the same principle applies.

So, for the last week I have been just thinking positively about the whole thing and doing the one thing I know works - praying and then shutting up and waiting for God to answer. You know this Law of Attraction thing works! Suddenly I was hit with an idea and instructions. The idea was to take the themes of the non-fiction book I have been stuck on and turn it into a work of fiction. What was turning me off about the book is it was basically a series of lecture type essays. The only thing entertaining about them was my sarcastic sense of irony. Taking those same themes (and my sarcastic sense of irony)and weaving them into an entertaining novel would definitely make it better. The only question is backdrop, characters and plot. Story tellers are always far better received than lecturers anyway.

I got instructions as well. Wait till I go on the trip to Romania to start. Why? There are some things I need to see and learn from the trip that will help the book. I have always heard that world travel is as educational and life changing as university or college; I guess this will put this to the test.

My blog is an entirely different matter. The real questions is learning how to connect in the right ways. There are a ton of blogs out there on how to make money blogging, why not read them and see what they suggest? There are a lot of questions here but I know what gets hits: magazine reviews. One post shot up simply because the title made it perfect for Google when you typed in a search that read "scientific method". Learning what does this and how to do it better are essentials here. I need to be the thing people are searching for.

Making people think is what I try to do naturally in all my communication but what they feel, see and hear is important too. Communicating on all levels to get mind, heart and spirit change is the real challenge, but that's what I love about writing and preaching for that matter.

For the first time in a while I have sense of real purpose about this writing thing and it feels great. I can see what I am trying to achieve, I can hear the sound of change falling into my bank and I feel the winds of success. This is great stuff.

Law of Connection by Michael J. Losier - Book Review

Title: Law of Connection
Author: Michael J. Losier
Pages: 145
Publisher: Wellness Central (New York) 2009

After reading and writing a review of Law of Attraction by Michael J. Losier, I decided based on that good experience to give his second book a try. Law of Connection did not disappoint. As a pastor and communicator in many forms I am always looking for ways to improve my communication skills and so this book promised a simple yet foolproof way to do just that by using Neuro-Linguistic Programing (NLP).

Like Law of Attraction this is work through book; that is, you are going to be doing something not just reading it. The basic outline is Rapport, Calibrating and Understanding Communication Styles. It is the third part that he spends the most time. He breaks down communication styles into four groups: Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic (Feel), and Digital (Mental). The basic idea is to identify the style of the person you are talking to and then adjust your language and listening skills to that style to build rapport. It talks about both the strengths and challenges of each style and how to relate better to people who are not your style.

The real strength of the book is the test that allows you to identify you dominate style and more importantly your weakest. This way you can know what you need to work on to communicate better. The test, if you let others take it, will also help you identify their style so you can know the challenges of how to communicate with them and build better communication because of it.

Probably the best way to illustrate this is using myself. When I took the test, I scored a 33 Digital, 25 Auditory, 22 Visual and 20 Kinesthetic. That means my dominate way of communicating is by sharing ideas and thoughts. My weakest being Kinesthetic means I have a hard time with people who use feeling language of touch or heart. It means when I talk I use words like "think, understand, I know ..." but it would be rare for me to use words like "How does that feel? etc." For me to improve my communication I need to work on this and start balancing my language between all four styles.

Another great feature is the many ways Michael shows how to use the Law of Connection in real life situations. Groups, Business, Dating, Marriage, Parenting, etc. are all covered. One that caught my attention was website issues and it gave me some real tools to evaluate my blog to see who it appeals to and how to make it appeal to more people. I have something for everyone but there are some areas that are more strong than others. Thanks Michael, I am going to put this to use.

Stylistically, the book is written to appeal to all styles of communication so it practices what it preaches. It also is another book that is a quick and easy read so it has a mass appeal and wont kill your time to read it.

Rating: 4 and a half stars: Law of a Attraction was a good book, Law of Connection I liked even better. This book was extremely helpful and I plan on putting it into practice. It is one of those rare books that breaks things down simply and gets its point across: I see it, I hear it, I feel it and I know it.

Law of Attraction by Michael J. Losier - Book Review

Title: Law of Attraction
Author: Michael J. Losier
Pages: 152
Publisher: Wellness Central (New York) 2006

Books like this used to make me laugh a little, but now that I look at human behavior a little more, I can see that people do tend to attract more of what they think about and speak about than they realize. My idea of reading this book was to see what value this approach has in modifying my goal setting and other issues. As it turns out, there is some value to the ideas in this book and how significant they are depends on how much you take its message to heart.

I have to remark on style to start because this is one of the simplest books you will read, which is a good lesson if want to write a book with mass appeal. It also has several illustrative cartoons that help as well. At 152 pages it is quick read as well. In addition to all this, it is a work through book where you have to work though your own desires and wants into a workable plan of using the Law of Attraction.

The book starts out with the basic science of the law of attraction and the idea of positive and negative vibrations that influence each persons life. The idea is that we attract the same things as the vibrations we are putting out. If we are negative we attract the negative, if positive we attract positive. If mixed we get mixed. The book then goes on to help the reader come up with a plan to take deliberate action to move them from negative to positive vibrations in our life.

If one can have faith in the 'science' of attraction, I guess this would work. I have come to see this same idea from a spiritual perspective of faith but the principles are much the same. But the book does bring out that being positive is a far better way to live than the alternatives. It is not some unrealistic book either as Losier brings out that some negativity is from others in our lives that we cannot help but be there (family, coworkers). The idea is to control your own sphere of attraction and work on the rest. The book also give tips for teaching and dealing with others who are negative.

Rating: Four stars: If I (and this is me being the scholar) have a complaint, it is lack of depth. It also loses half a point for being somewhat incomplete but then again it assumes that you are going to buy Losier's other book the Law of Connection. That said, this is a good book if you want some basic information on the Law of Attaction. It also is a good help book if you want to apply that law to your life.