by Tish MacWebber | Dec 26, 2017 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Hello Treasure Seekers! Here we are for another meeting where I think, then I write; so you can read, and maybe then you think too! Not too hard, I hope. It is good to think about things, but if you are Always Thinking…like I am, it can be exhausting. Want to know a secret? It is also exhilarating.
I am building a website. You know that if you follow this blog. I am writing a book. You know that also for the same reason. I have more than one book in me to write, and that is something that I am happy about. In the music world, there are one hit wonders. I want to be a best selling author, and that means I have to write more than one book. I don’t expect to hit it out of the park with my first book, but a girl can dream.
So what holds people back from taking the leap of faith into the exhilarating world of chasing your dreams and chasing their passion? I have been thinking about that a lot, lately. I have been dragging my feet about my website launch. I am struggling with the importance of it. I want to change it, but not too much. There needs to be a bit of familiarity to make people want to take the leap with me, and that requires a foundation built on trust. I am working hard to put myself out there so that when I make the leap, there is a landing pad to aim for. Since I am writing about this in the Treasure Seekers category, I need a map and a big letter X to the destination.
I have been working on this website in my mind for months. I know what I want to do, and now that NaNoWriMo is over, it is time for me to take action on it. I do have time this weekend, but me, really, building my own website? I never learned how to do anything like this before? What if nobody ever goes to it? What if nobody ever buys any books from my website? What if it fails?
The fear of the what ifs can be paralyzing. If you are too scared to try, then you have already failed. What is the alternative, then?
To take action. To stop thinking and start doing. I don’t always have all of the answers, but I have never been too afraid to ask questions. More importantly, the end result is worth asking questions for. I am working on all of this with an end goal in mind. Although like a resume, a website is never going to be sufficient to be left alone when it is done. Inevitably there will need to be changes and updates. If it is left the same for too long, it runs the risk of losing its zest. That is one of the reasons that I have decided to move this blog to my own website.
It is a risk. It is scary. It involves a fair bit of work, which I am not scared of, itself. I am more worried about getting stuck in the middle and not being ready to launch on New Year’s Day. That is the goal I have set for myself, and with that in mind, I have time, if I get working on it right away.
The other thing I see people sharing online is the fear of being seen as an imposter. I am an author. I am writing constantly, several times a week if not every day. I had to build up my stamina as a writer. I needed to test the waters (make a splash) with the blog to see if it was something that I would keep working on, instead of something I just wanted to play with and drop when I got bored. I am still writing here, so I passed the first test I gave myself. I pushed to learn new things. I am taking courses online. I am not spending a lot of money on this passion, yet. I will need to work on a business plan. That means I have to take another course (YAY! #HAPPYWRITING has a course for me to learn how to do this) and I need to take the next step. I need to research what I need to know about publishing options. In the middle of everything I have going on right now, I also have to write my book. Then I will literally switch gears and write another book. The second book will be going in a completely different direction. I have a concept already. It is another one I NEED to write. I am hoping to get the first two books out of my system so that I can prove that I can write a book, and start preparing to make the fantasy trilogy a reality, not just a dream.
When I publish my first book, and sell just one copy, I will no longer be working towards the passion of becoming an author. Of course, I want to sell more than one copy of my book. One is a good place to start. Then we will see what happens. Until that day comes, I will keep working on writing and building my website. If I am doing instead of thinking about what to do, it takes the fear and the imposter syndrome right out of the equation. That is something to work for. When I am a best selling author, and I believe that I will be one, I can start tackling other dreams. Chocolate diamonds are a part of that dream…
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
Treasure Seeker Tuesday: Photo by Tish MacWebber; Photo Edited by Noa Price
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 19, 2017 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
We are on the verge of a new year, Treasure Seekers! I have alluded to picking a word to define my 2018 earlier in the week. I picked the word success. I want 2018 to be my most successful year ever.
What does that mean to me? Well, I sat down and wrote a list for my Facebook posts until New Year’s Day. I started this on December 17th, and that gives me a count of 15 days until January 1st.
Here is my list of what it would mean to have a year of Success in 2018:
15.Launching my Website on January 1st, 2018. (I have 14 more days to work on this)
14.Learning how to make a proper Launch and Landing page before the website launch on January 1st, 2018. Also setting up an email list and starting a newsletter.
13.Finish writing more than 1 book. At least 2 published and writing my Fantasy Trilogy Book 1 by a year from now.
12. Supplementing my income with sales from my website.
11.Plan a real vacation. 2 weeks. Need to fly to get there and back. 2 days before and after, 10 days at the destination.
10.Jewellery sales increasing after adding the jewellery to the website.
9.Using my 2 new 2018 planners to the fullest extent.
8.Purging things. Lots of things. More than last year.
7.Finishing the Housecleaning challenge. A Bowl Full of Lemons runs it, check it out online here. There is a Facebook Group, but it is a closed group. You will need to ask to join it if you are interested in that.
6.Having a job related to the field of writing.
5.Collaborating with musicians to get at least one of my songs recorded and playable for other people to hear. Writing more lyrics.
4.Getting a new pet (or a duo).
3.Becoming more active.
2.Lose weight the right way
1.Become a Best Selling Author.
I know. That list is ambitious. It reflects my current mindset and goals. I am writing it here and now (and all the rest of December on my Facebook page) because I am not making New Years Resolutions this year. I am just going to set the bar high and do my best to make my way over the top.
I challenge you all to do the same. Let’s make 2018 the best year ever. I am starting now. What about you?
As always, feel free to comment on what this post meant to you when you read it. If you pick a word or want to share a list of your own, I would be happy to see it.
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
Treasure Seeker Tuesday: Photo by Tish MacWebber; Photo Edited by Noa Price
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 17, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
Well, another weekend is coming to a close, and I have hibernated for as much of it as I could. Winter is here, and it has been cold outside. Sleeping in was on my list, and I can say that it happened indeed. I woke with no alarm clocks being set for 2 days in a row. It was glorious. My favourite thing about the weekend is sleeping in. Sometimes I have to get up and go do things, but not this weekend. I stayed home and did things here instead.
Friday night I didn’t even go get the car. I came home after a day of Christmas Cheer at work. I had to decorate my pod for Christmas, and I did it up right!
I don’t know why the pic is squished, and I had to add a little bit of graphics to hide the photo bomber. 😀 The wall on the left had a lot more Christmas balls hanging before I was done. My taller Santa is on the top right, and there were 2 gingerbread people behind where my head was by the time I had finished. I had fun, and I am hoping that my efforts earned me a prize.
I had to pack it all up at the end of the day and brought it all home. I have just encouraged Roy to clear a space for the Christmas tree and village in the living room. Since it is a small tree, I will set it all up in the little spot I had him clear. I will share pics of that next weekend after I have time to set it all up. There is just the two of us, so no need to make a big production. I do want to set it up, though. Tis the Christmas Season, and I am wanting to take a pic with it after it is all done.
Saturday was spent working on Social Media. I am working on building my author profile, as you know if you are reading my blog, and I came across a post by a friend asking about what word I would want to use to define my 2018. I thought about it, and 2017 was worthy of 2 words. Learning and Challenges. As I thought about it, really not that long at all, a word came right to the forefront of my mind that I wanted it to be. I then turned it into a graphic and made it my cover pic on my wall.
Also this weekend, I have set goals for working on my website, done 2 completely different profile pics in preparation for my Author Headshot, and also for my Blog. I am launching the monthly Makeup Monday category tomorrow. I will not be posting there every week, I have 3 weekly posts now, and if I add too much more I will not have any time to write my books! I can say that I am steeping the GGMS I wrote about making on Thursday, in Trust Your Gut and that I have 3 types of chicken cooking in my oven as I write this. Last week was more of a ground beef week, this week it is all about the chicken!
I will be sharing more about my word choice for 2018 in Treasure Seeker Tuesday this week. Which means the one I wrote for this week is now scheduled for Boxing day. What? I actually have a Tuesday already drafted for 2 weeks in the future AND I know what I want to write about this week? I think I might actually be getting a handle on this blogging thing. I would love to get ahead enough that I don’t sweat missing the deadlines anymore. But, as I have said before and will again, progress is progress.
I did not go out into the cold and snow this weekend, but my Ambivert Personality has to be balanced somehow. I found out this past week that when I do the personality type quizzes, that I am sometimes an Extrovert, and other times an Introvert. That tells me I am a little of both, which is called an Ambivert. I like being social, and outgoing, but not all of the time. Sometimes I need a weekend or two to just be at home relaxing. I can do either when I want to, but I also equally enjoy both activities.
Do you have a Defining Word picked out for 2018 yet? If you do, please share it below, and keep it in mind for Tuesday. If you are up for a challenge, I have an idea that you can participate in if you want to try an experiment with me.
#WeekendWarrior
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 12, 2017 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Double Digits. Do you remember when you turned 10 years old? I remember that it seemed like a big deal at the time. I had lived through my first decade. I never had any real big parties for my birthday, it was in the summer, and I lived outside of town. I remember the day I found out in grade one that my phone number was long distance and nobody wanted my phone number to call me. That broke my little six year old heart. I didn’t understand what it even meant at the time, except that none of my new friends wanted to call me because of my phone number.
I am still feeling a bit out of the loop in the modern world. My household budget does not have room in it for a cell phone. I don’t NEED it to survive, I am getting along just fine without it. However, I work in the industry, and it is hard to not want to be connected in the land of text messaging as it happens, literally all around me every day.
I don’t want just a cell phone when I finally get the go-ahead from my hubby to get one. He manages our household budget, and I am eagerly awaiting the day when I can make plans for purchasing things like the next pet we bring home, 2 cell phones, attending an event that I really want to go to, my next bottle of wine, and a second car. For now, we make ends meet, and we work hard to get what we can within our budget.
One of the most important features for me when I finally do get a cell phone will be to get one with a really good camera. I use Pixabay and Canva as resources in most of my blog pictures. The picture above was actually taken by me with my Olympus 2.8 x Optical Zoom 5.0 Megapixel camera. I try to get good quality pictures with it, but sometimes they are a little out of focus because I am not a photographer. I will need a camera that is so advanced that it makes me appear to be a good photographer so that I can feel more confident about sharing my own pictures here and on my website. I am still working on that project in the midst of everything else, and I have a lot of the planning done in my head, just not executed on the internet. It will happen. I am going to plan a launch for it, and I hope that all of my current followers here will follow me and the blog to my website.
The other thing a cell phone is going to need for me to consider purchasing it is an ease of transferring the pictures for storage on my computer. I need the phone and computer to be able to work together. As I have a PC, I am guessing I may have to go with an android phone. I do know that there are many opinions out there about cell phones, and I would love to find out more information on which ones have the best cameras, work well for listening to music, and are easy to get to talk to my computer. It also needs to be reliable and wants to be easy to use. I have not yet owned a smartphone, and I am impatiently waiting for the day that I get to share my digits with my friends and family. It would be useful for blogging in my spare time, too, or checking out how the blog looks on a smaller screen.
With the recent change in Canadian Laws regarding unlocking cell phones, I am less restricted by what phone I can get, as I can use it with any Canadian carrier, including the company I work for; if I decide to go with that company. I am not as concerned with what provider I choose as I am about the camera. So I pose the question here: What cell phone would you be getting if this was your decision, with these requirements in mind? I know there are some people out there that are fiercely brand loyal, and that is OK, but if you only buy one type of phone, it may be harder for you to be objective in answering this question.
Double digits. Phone numbers. Megapixels. Optical Zoom. It all goes back to numbers. Which I am not all that crazy about. I am passionate about writing, and in the Blogging world, a good quality picture can mean the difference between someone choosing to stop and read your article or not. Blogging is something I am still fairly new at, but I know it is something that I enjoy. I will keep working with the tools I have until I can purchase something better. So, I ask you, Treasure Seekers, what would you be spending your gold on if you were in my shoes?
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 11, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
I am feeling a little stressed about getting my list of things done this weekend. I had Wednesday off, this past week, and I worked yesterday to make up the missed time. I usually have 2 days for a fun-filled weekend, and this week I was only able to work with one. Let’s review Friday and today, then.
Friday there was a potluck at work. I was up into the wee hours early Friday morning preparing for both the potluck at work and the TGIO (Thank Goodness It’s Over) NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month – November – An annual challenge.) So I made it through work, had a successful potluck, and rushed home to cut the cheese! I planned cheese and crackers for the party.
I was really surprised that one of my guests brought along a bottle of Writers Tears Irish Whiskey to try. I loved it. I will be buying some to put in my flask that friends brought me as a gift from Scotland. It is in a pink and purple and blue tartan holder. It is adorable, and a really good effort at matching the MacWebber Tartan I designed. 😉
The party was small, with only 2 guests. The other guest brought art supplies, and we all sampled the whiskey, listened to music (I introduced them to the Screaming Goats Christmas Album before going to my mixed tape list) and we got crafty.
I decided to make the characters of my book, the main 5 cats, for the sticky sticks. The end result of my artwork looks like this:
From left to right we have Dude, Lucy, Rascal, Missy, and Simba. These cats are the main characters in my book, From Where I Am Sitting A Collection of Cat Stories by Tish MacWebber. I am still writing it and will update when it is ready for publishing.
Yesterday I worked for 8 hours. Then I came home and worked on my #Momentum18 Challenge. I am getting things done, and other things are brewing in my mind. I had to creep the Facebook walls of my ideal customers, to find out what they are interested in, and to share it. Thankfully, most of them enjoy humour, sarcasm, and wit. I can keep working with that in mind, and know that they will laugh with me. 😀
Today I have spent at least another 8 hour day working on the social media platform. We ran out to the store for an hour, and have settled in for the night. I made a new Facebook Live video for my contest, and plan to film every evening this week. I have other projects on the go, but I am quite tired after a very busy and way too short weekend. What did you do this weekend?
#WeekendWarrior
