“Casi todas las personas son tan felices como se deciden serlo.” ~Abraham Lincoln “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” ~Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln Quote – Frase de Abraham Lincoln
Tag: happy
My New Focus Statement – Mi nueva declaración
My New Focus Statement – Mi nueva declaración
About three weeks ago, I started taking private writing classes again. I don’t think I’ve written as much as I have in the past few weeks, but I’m enjoying it.
Some time last year, I shared with all of you my focus statement. A focus statement is what you will prove in the book. It serves to guide your writing. This is my old focus statement:
I am writing this book to prove that it is unnecessary to fear life after divorce.
As of last week, my new focus statement is the following:
I am writing this book to prove the old self dies with divorce.
Why the change of focus statement?
One-third of the book deals with the fear of a divorce, and the fear of a new life- without my ex-husband. The majority of my book, however, deals with me (the protagonist) shedding layers of doubt and insecurity for the perfect unfolding.
It’s amazing how your intentions manifest when you have an unyielding determination and faith. I couldn’t be happier or more grateful as I finish writing this book We all have a story. If you’ve always wanted to write a book, I encourage you to just do it.
Have you wanted to write a book? Are you writing book now? Do you have a focus statement?
Y llegó el día en que el riesgo que corría por quedarse firme dentro del capullo era más doloroso que el riesgo que corría por no florecer.” ~Anais Nin .
Mi nueva declaración
Hace tres semanas, empecé a tomar clases particulares de escritura de nuevo. Creo que nunca he escrito tanto como lo he hecho en las últimas semanas, pero lo estoy disfrutando.
Compartí con ustedes mi declaración hace unos meses. Una declaración es lo que se va a comprabar en un libro.Sirve para guiar tu manuscrito. Esta era mi primera declaración:
Estoy escribiendo este libro para comprobar que es innecesario temer la vida después de un divorcio.
Ahora, mi nueva declaración es-
Estoy escribiendo este libro para comprobar que muere el viejo “yo” con el divorcio.
¿Por qué el cambio de declaración?
Una tercera parte del libro es sobre el miedo de un divorcio y el temor de una nueva vida sin mi ex-marido. La mayoría del libro, sin embargo, la protagonista (de mi) se deshace de capas de inseguridad y duda hasta llegar al desdoblamiento perfecto. Es increíble cómo se manifiestan tus intenciones cuando tienes una determinación inquebrantable y fe. No podría estar más feliz o más agradecida de poder escribir este libro. Todos tenemos una historia. Si has querido escribir un libro, te animo que lo hagas.
¿Quieres escribir un libro? ¿Estás escribiéndolo? ¿Tienes una declaración?
Samuel Butler Quote – Frase de Samuel Butler
“Most people have never learned that one of the main aims in life is to enjoy it.” ~Samuel Butler
“La mayoría de las personas nunca han aprendido que uno de los principales objetivos en la vida es para disfrutarla.” ~Samuel Butler
John Lennon Quote – Frase de John Lennon
“Cuando fui a la escuela, me preguntaron qué quería ser cuando fuera grande, escribí feliz. Me dijeron que yo no entendía la pregunta. Les dije que no entendían la vida.” ~ John Lennon
“When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” ~ John Lennon
A Writing and Reading Kind of Weekend – Un fin de semana de escritura y lectura
A Writing and Reading Kind of Weekend
This weekend, I am indulging in two passions of mine: reading and writing.
On Thursday, I had my second private writing class, and the lesson focused on my opening scene for my book. We talked about a good lead line, which according to Nora is a “powerful opening sentence is the hook that captures interest and compels a reader to enter the story.” She told me that my ultimate job as a writer is to “affect what a reader thinks and how a reader feels. My job is to manipulate these two things.”
Okay. Easy enough, right?
Not really. I’ve been writing for about two hours, and I have come up with about three sentences that seem okay to me. I’ll be emailing my first draft to Nora this weekend. I’m anxious about what she’ll say.
And now, a bit of writing advice from a writing amateur.
Prior to taking these writing class, I wrote my memoir as perhaps any amateur writer would do it. I put some thoughts into what I wanted to write, and I wrote. I’ve written approximately 230 pages for my book, and I’ve come to the realization that I am not using that writing for my memoir. I’ll definitely use the ideas, and there could be hidden treasures in it, but I’m starting anew. My advice would be if you are serious about becoming a professional writer take classes from a professional. I couldn’t be happier or more pleased with Nora’s wealth of knowledge and experience, her care and patience towards making me successful in honing the craft that I love and in helping me become a professional writer.
Reading is also on my to do list this weekend.
I’m currently reading two books: Piense y Hágase Rico (Think and Grow Rich) by Napoleon Hill and Ask and It is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Esther and Jerry Hicks. They’re both great!
I’d love to hear if you are taking any writing classes? Or, what are you plans for this weekend?
Un fin de semana de escritura y lectura
Este fin de semana, estoy disfrutando de dos de mis pasiones: escritura y lectura.
Este jueves, tuve mi segunda clase de escritura y la lección fue sobre la primera escena de mi libro. Hablamos de lo que una buena primera línea de un libro. Según Nora, la primera línea es “poderosa y es el gancho que capta el interés y obliga al lector a entrar en la historia.” Me dijo que el trabajo de un escritor es de “afectar lo que piensa y siente el lector. Mi trabajo es de manipular estas dos cosas.”
Está bien. ¿Fácil, verdad?
“No hay nada especial en escribir. Todo lo que haces es sentarte ante la máquina de escribir y sangrar.” ~Ernest Hemingway
No, no es tan fácil. Tengo dos horas escribiendo y solamente he escrito tres frases. Este fin de semana, le mandaré a Nora por email mi primer borrador de la primera escena del libro. Estoy ansiosa por lo que me va a decir.
Y ahora, un consejo de escritura de una escritora aficionada.
Antes de tomar las clases de escritura, escribí mi memoria como quizás un escritor aficionada lo haría. Pensé sobre lo que quería compartir y lo escribí. He escrito aproximadamente 230 páginas para mi libro y hace unos días me di cuenta que no usaré esa escritura en mi libro. Usaré las ideas y quizás hallaré uno que otro tesoro, pero empiezo de nuevo. Mi consejo sería que si quisieran ser escritores profesionales, hablen con profesionales y tomen clases de un profesional. No podría estar más feliz o más contenta con el conocimiento y la experiencia de Nora y con su paciencia para hacer que sea exítosa en perfeccionar el oficio que amo y en ayudarme a ser una escritora profesional.
También voy a leer este fin de semana.
Actualmente estoy leyendo dos libros: Piense y Hágase Rico (Think and Grow Rich) por Napoleon Hill y Ask and It is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires (Pide y se te dará: Aprende a manifestar tus deseos) por Esther y Jerry Hicks. ¡Me encantan ambos!
Me encantaría saber si están tomando alguna clase de escritura o ¿qué van a hacer este fin de semana?
My First Private Writing Class – Mi primera clase particular de escritura
My First Private Writing Class
This past Thursday, I had my first private writing class at The Writing Loft.
Last week, I shared that I gave myself a 6 month deadline to finish writing my memoir. Initially, I thought I’d be doing some writing during the first session. I have to say that we did about ninety-nine percent thinking and one percent writing. It’s not what I expected at all, but as my writing teacher, Nora Profit, said, “People think that writing is about writing words on paper. It’s actually about thinking.” We laid what she called “The Basic Foundation” of my book, and we came up with the statement that I will prove in my book. She calls it the focus statement, and I’d like to share my focus statement with you.
I am writing this book to prove that it is unnecessary to fear life after divorce.
And like this quote, only treasures have resulted from this experience. Where it once felt as a demise, I now see it as a gift. Had it not been for my divorce, I probably wouldn’t be the happy and peaceful person that I am now. Nevertheless, it wasn’t always like this.
As long as I can remember, my life has been riddled with fear.
It was only with the divorce that I began to overcome it. Still, I was afraid to get a divorce, of selling my home, of studying and traveling abroad, of resigning from teaching the first time, of getting into another relationship, of moving to Northern California, of writing my book, of resigning from teaching a second time, of starting a business, of getting a bridge job.
In reality, there is nothing to be afraid of if you come from a place of love. I have been fine, and I always will be.
What has your experience been with fear? How many times has fear held you back?
Mi primera clase particular de escritura
El jueves pasado, tuve mi primera clase particular de escritura en The Writing Loft.
La semana pasada, compartí con ustedes que me di un plazo determinado de seis meses para teminar mi libro. Al principio, pensé que iba a escribir durante esta primera clase. No escribí casi lo que fue nada. El noventa y nueve por ciento de esta clase fue de pensar sobre la escritura y el uno porciento era la escritura. Mi maestra de escritura , Nora Profit, me dijo, “Hay personas que piensan que la escritura es de poner palabras en un papel. Tiene que ver con el pensamiento.” Hablamos sobre lo que llama “The Basic Foundation”, o La Base Fundamental del libro y me ayud––ó a escribir mi declaración de lo que quiero comprabar con mi libro y me gustaría compartirlo con ustedes.
Estoy escribiendo este libro para comprobar que es innecesario temer la vida después de un divorcio.
Y como esta frase, solamente tesoros han resultado de esta experiencia. Donde hace tiempo me sentía muerta en vida, ahora lo veo como un regalo. Si no hubiera sido por mi divorcio, no sería la persona que soy ahora- feliz y tranquila. Sin embargo, no siempre fue así.
Hasta donde soy capaz de recordar, mi vida ha estado llena de temor.
Cuando empezó mi divorcio, poco a poco empecé a superarlo. Aún así, tenía miedo de divorciarme, de vender mi casa, de estudiar y viajar en el extrajenro, de renunciar como profesora, de mudarme al norte de California, de escribir mi libro, de renunciar como profesora por segunda vez, de montar mi negocio y de conseguir un trabajo.
En realidad, no hay nada que temer si vienes de un lugar de amor. He estado bien. Siempre lo ha sido y siempre lo seré.
¿Que ha sido tu experiencia con el temor? ¿Cuántas veces te ha detenido el temor?
The Optimist Creed – El Credo del Optimista
The Optimist Creed
Hello everyone! I feel like it has been weeks since I posted something , but it actually has been only like a week. I’m happy as always, but a little tired as I started teaching again this week. I hope all of you are well.
Today, I wanted to share little optimism with all of you.
Yesterday and today, I shared with my students The Optimist Creed. What is it? As the title suggests, it is a creed full of optimism and positive words. Our principal shared it with us at our first meeting, and I saw it fitting to share it with my students as a way to start out the school year with positivity. After reading it in class, my students were responsable for picking one line and sharing with the class as to how they would implement this in the school year. This is what they read-
The Optimist Creed
Promise Yourself…
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
I think any inspirational words that we read daily like quotes and the Reiki Principles are great way to start our days!
Is there anything else you read daily for inspiration?
El Credo del Optimista
¡Hola a todos! Me siento como si han pasado semanas desde que escribir la última entrada, pero solamente fue una semana. Estoy contenta como siempre, pero un poco cansada ya que empecé a dar clases esta semana. Espero que estén bien.
Hoy, quería compartir algo con ustedes sobre el optimismo.
* 50% aire, 50% agua – Técnicamente, el vaso está completamente lleno.
Ayer y hoy, compartí con mis alumnos El Credo del Optimista. ¿Qué es? Como sugiere el título, es un credo lleno de palabras de optimismo y positivismo. Mi director lo compartió en nuestra primera reunión y se me hizo apropiado para compartirlo con mis alumnos para iniciar nuestro año escolar de una manera positiva. Después leerlo, cada uno de mis alumnos escojieron una línea, se la leyeron a sus compañeros y hablaron un poco de cómo iban a implementarlo este año escolar. Esto fue lo que leyeron-
El Credo del Optimista
Prométete a ti mismo –
Ser tan fuerte que nada pueda perturbar tu paz interior
Hablar de salud, felicidad y prosperidad con cada persona con la que conozcas
Lograr que todos tus amigos sientan que hay algo valioso en ellos.
Mirar el lado luminoso de todas las cosas y hacer que tu optimismo se convierta en realidad.
Pensar sólo sobre lo mejor, trabajar sólo para lo mejor y esperar sólo lo mejor.
Ser tan entusiasta acerca del triunfo de otros como el del propio.
Olvidar los errores del pasado y concentrarte en los grandes logros del futuro.
Tener siempre un semblante alegre y dar una sonrisa a cada persona
con la que te encuentres.
Invertir tanto tiempo en tu mejoramiento que no tengas tiempo para criticar a los demás.
Ser muy grande para lamentarte, muy noble para enojarte y muy feliz para preocuparte
Creo que cualquier palabras inspiracionales que leamos todos los días, como lo que son las frases célebres y los Principios del Reiki, son una buena manera de empezar nuestros diás. Aparte de que uno se siente mejor inmendiatemente, también nos beneficiamos de tal palabras al empezar a atraer todo lo bueno en nuestras vidas.
¿Hay otra cosa que lees diariamente para inspirarte?
On Being Happy…
Ever since I can remember I have always been curious about many things in life and I am constantly questioning everything. This has included happiness. In this post, I include what I believe happiness to be and what friends and family have told me what happiness means to them. This is an excerpt from one of my chapters from the memoir: A Happy Heart of my Own.
“In general, I knew certain pleasurable experiences not only made me joyful, but others, as well. I asked friends and family what they considered happiness to be and their answers ranged from playing their favorite sport, to helping others, or simply being in nature. Marcos, a friend of mine, began his response with telling me that happiness to him meant ‘not being stressed.’ And I couldn’t agree with him more. Since when does stress and happiness occur simultaneously? It doesn’t. One of my family members, Karina, answered by saying, ‘For me it’s when I run and feel the presence of the Lord and I have this immense feeling of gratefulness for everything in my life.’ Another family member of mine, Gloria, very humble began with, ‘I can’t explain true happiness” and added, “all I can say is that I know it when I feel it. Family, friends, humanity, humility, gratefulness, waking to another day, thunder, lighting, the sunshine, a smile, a hug, even nothing can make me feel happiness! But, I can truly say that I experienced true happiness when I learned self-love, when I leaned in to clear my mind and let peace take over. So, happiness to me turns out to be LIFE itself.’
This same harmony, joy, and peace are seen in my friend Carlos’ definition on happiness. He says, ‘For me, happiness is akin to knowing that I am alive. There is something so special going on this planet of ours, something that we’ve yet to discover anywhere else in the universe and most of us (again, particularly in industrialized nations) act as if we couldn’t care less. We have to stop every now and then and take a step back in wonder and amazement. Put things in perspective and take life, with all its glitches, and treat it like what it is: the best, most unique gift in the world.’
What a beautiful combination of different interpretations on happiness. As each expressed what happiness meant to them, I understood and felt it as a rejoicing in all that proved to be of profound delight in their hearts. What was salient in their takes on happiness was a feeling, a connection, and an alignment with spirit: a complete and selfless, unconditional love of life and love for oneself.
After my family and friends expressed what happiness meant to them, I was left with an unwavering desire to define happiness for myself. I questioned whether mere instances in our lives would be the only defining moments that made us achieve this state or could we live happily all the time?
Here is my take on happiness:
“In many ways, the result of this search for my own happiness led me to believe that it is as simple and as sweet as one’s own joie de vivre. I can’t recall the exact date when all this started to happen, but I clearly remember a consistency that came with waking up day after day and being content and filled with gratitude for the light of another day. Not to mention, how truly blessed I was for seeing my life as beautiful and, even more, living it as such. The great and late pianist of the twentieth century, Arthur Rubinstein, once said, ‘I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.’ Pure and simple. I can think of no better way of expressing this sentiment of a constant state of happiness other than to see life as beautiful and to love it. For me, this has translated as living life to the fullest with joy and peace in our hearts because this is what we feel and have within us; it’s who we are. And when we radiate this love, it follows that we not only see our environment and others in a different light, but we also take pleasure and delight through the benefit of receiving love in return. And, for the first time, I wasn’t seeing my life through rose-colored glasses. Happiness wasn’t the result of luck as I had once thought, but it was the result of my unyielding pursuit of it. I had come into harmony on my own accord and I was truly happy.”
What makes you happy? What do you define as happiness?
Elizabeth Cardenas. Writer 