Archive for August, 2008
Losing An Old Friend
Thursday, August 28th, 2008 
I was excited when my catalog from Writer’s Digest Book Club arrived. Then I saw the ominous red bulletin inside. The unthinkable was happening! After almost 30 years, the book club will be closing. They will still maintain a website where I can search for titles, but I will no longer be able to enjoy my ritual of sipping a cup of tea as I lovingly feel my way through the glossy pages filled with beautiful books.
I shop online. I go into bookstores, but I will miss my catalog. I always bought my writing books from Writer’s Digest. Declining membership and rising costs factored into their decision to close the club. I’m a fanatic when it comes to recycling and I support anything that saves trees. But I was a bona fide bibliophile before I became an environmentalist. I will still be able to go to their website to search for titles, but it won’t be the same. I love the Internet and the speed and convenience it provides. Spending time paging through the catalog was my time-out from technical overload.
Cicero said, "A room without books is like a body without a soul."
Books are my addiction. I’m like the woman in those T-shirts that say, "So many books, so little time." Every time an independent bookstore closes, a piece of me dies.
If you’re old enough to remember The Twilight Zone or if you catch the reruns on cable, you may recall an episode with Burgess Meredith. After a catastrophic event, the character finds himself the only man alive–alone with millions of his beloved books. Then he steps on his glasses and they shatter at his feet. I almost needed to be sedated when I saw that scene.
It somehow feels appropriate that the Writer’s Digest Book Club will officially close on October 31, 2008. With all the Halloween ghosts and goblins on parade, I find it really scary that brick and mortar bookstores and book catalogs are disappearing from the face of the earth. Like the canary in the coal mine, the vanishing bookstore feels like a harbinger of doom.
Goethe said, "The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation."
What do you have to say on the subject?
Aug 14 Newsletter
Thursday, August 28th, 2008If you missed our Aug 14 newsletter, you can read the archived version by clicking here.
Where Did the Time Go?
Thursday, August 21st, 2008 
No matter how many times I practice, I still hate giving my elevator speech. I understand the value in knowing my Unique Selling Proposition. I just wish I could hand people my flashcard so they could read it themselves. I am not the life of the party. At most social gatherings, you’ll find me scanning the bookshelves instead of mingling with the other guests.
As an introvert, I’m what others call a reluctant marketer. I have started to dip my toe into the sea of social marketing. I have made some valuable contacts and learned some useful information from event invitations and discussion groups. I expected that. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I do.
Like email, social networking has the potential to gobble up huge blocks of time. The email avalanche is already reducing productivity, raising anxiety and damaging family harmony. On July 31, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Leslie Brenner exposed the ways that out-of-control email is ruining our lives. Brenner shared tips from specialists about ways to tame the savage monster. Search for her story at latimes.com/archives.
I have found a happy unexpected benefit from my participation online. It’s somewhat counterintuitive. After spending time buried in email and doing my best to reach on online, I find that I need to step away from my computer. I pick up the phone and call people near and dear to me more often. I never was a Girl Scout, but I can credit them with the lyrics that go, "Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver but the other’s gold."
How about you? Have you set email limits and boundaries? Have you set up profiles on any of the social networks? How much time are you spending? Have you seen this translated into more contact with your "real friends?"
What Are You Leaving Behind?
Thursday, August 14th, 2008 
I recently had the sad task of writing comments to share at the memorial service for a loved one. During her celebration of life, we played some of her favorite music, recalled fond memories and gave thanks for the time she graced our lives.
When we enter midlife, these occasions happen all too frequently. Although sad, they present us with an opportunity to reflect upon our own lives. In the novel The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall, a wealthy patriarch leaves a legacy in the form of a special gift for his great-nephew. The young man is required to perform a series of tests in pursuit of his treasure. The tests and the life lessons that they bring resemble a fictionalized account of an ethical will.
An ethical will is not a legal document. It is a way to leave a legacy, share life’s lessons and pass on your values. A tradition in many cultures, ethical wills were originally passed down as part of an oral tradition. Later people wrote or videotaped them. You can probably find some on the social networking sites today. Preparing an ethical will can be a way to assess what’s important in your own life. It can help you find meaning in the days or years you have left on the planet.
At ethicalwill.com, you can purchase the book Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper. They also offer workshops, a facilitators’ network and other resources. Enter the search term ethical will in your browser to find many other sources available online.
To read my review of The Ultimate Gift, visit EzineArticals.com. In future blog posts, I will review other books relating to our search for meaning in this life and our desire to leave a legacy for generations to come.
How do you want to be remembered and what lessons do you want to impart?
July 31 Newsletter
Thursday, August 14th, 2008If you missed our July 31 newsletter, you can read the archived version by clicking here.
Glory Days
Thursday, August 7th, 2008"I forget your pieces when I’m reading them."
When the editor of the Denver Times (Alan Alda) attacked a story written by young reporter Erik Kernan (Josh Hartnett), I wanted to crawl under the news desk. Inspired by a true story, Resurrecting the Champ is a compelling film that packs a wallop. It stars Josh Hartnett in the role of Erik Kernan, a young sports writer who is living in the shadow of his father, a radio broadcast icon.
Kernan’s marriage and his career are both on the ropes. He’s down for the count when he discovers a homeless man living on the streets of Boston. Beaten down by life, "The Champ" (Samuel L. Jackson) tells Kernan he is the former Golden Globes Champion Bob Satterfield. The young reporter befriends the aging athlete and captures the heavyweight boxer’s heartbreaking descent in an article that captivates readers and transforms his own lackluster career.
Embedded in this journalistic tale, you’ll find universal themes relating to the search for love and respect between a father and a son, between a mentor and a student. Resurrecting the Champ exposes our addictive fascination with celebrity and our need to celebrate the glory days. It brings to mind the proverbial midlife man basking in the 15 minutes of fame that was his high school football career.
As we get older, it’s only natural to reminisce. Our memories can give us comfort and a context for our lives. It’s been said that, "Who you are now is where you were when." But dwelling in the past keeps us from living in the now. Instead of watching reruns of your own glory days, go out and make some great new memories. Follow your passion and make your second act the best part of "the movie of your life."