I have a secret. It’s embarrassing when I am caught, and I discover someone is listening. Talking to myself, in my head and aloud is a normal occurrence. I assure you, my conversations are rather mundane. Where is my phone? Did I pay the bill? Should I buy lemons at the grocery store? Who is knocking on my front door? Why did I come into this room? Those are typical topics I explore almost daily.

Late at night when the house is finally silent, questions fade and grow quiet. The voice changes and my evening adventure begins. I have heard it since I was a child. It has told me bedtime stories, created imaginary characters, and fantastic worlds. It is my trusted companion. Together we work through complex issues, solving the day’s problems. I write the tales I tell myself and share them with my friends.

What stories will you tell yourself today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Some weeks have an easy flow, everything goes as planned, events fall neatly into place and the world turns on its axis and the sun rises in the east. Then we experience periods which try our souls. We encounter roadblocks, red lights and unexpected problems in quick succession. Saying our plans are a disaster is an understatement. There is an answer to the challenges confronting you. We must work, pulling apart the snarls, creating unique solutions, and smoothing the road ahead.

The process is stressful, it requires long hours, and produces tension and anxiety. Music is a wonderful way to relax, unwind and gain the fortitude to move forward. You can’t hold stress while the music plays. Reading also works, especially as we watch our hero struggle, fight and succeed in the journey. In music and reading, we find the courage to continue.

How do you manage the tough periods?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

On countless evenings, I find I cannot sleep. My brain won’t stop, it races, obsessively testing ideas, possibilities and contemplating the question ‘what if?’ I have long since learned my lesson, there will be no rest. I relinquish my control, leave my bed and write. Other nights I am jolted from my dreams by some cosmic alarm clock, I clutch a brilliant idea like a lightsaber slashing through the dark. Once again, I stumble to my desk, power on the laptop to transcribe the dream. The stories refuse to be pushed aside.

Telling tales is in my blood, and I schedule writing sessions every day, but I give myself a break from my normal routine on the days when my brain did not register it was quitting time.

Do you write at unusual times?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The experts disagree on how many works Leonardo created. There are generally fifteen paintings everyone agrees were done by Leonardo and a handful of others that are in dispute. It is believed there are many more works which have been lost through the years or remain unidentified. Then there are his manuscripts. Volumes of notebooks filled with his writing that span the whole of his adult life.

Learning and understanding are important, but nothing exists without doing. It is a slow steady process, the work we do every day that adds up to a legacy. The doing keeps us alive.

What will you do today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

In business, there is a proven technique for attaining long-term improvements. Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy which focuses on continual improvement. We can apply the method to every aspect of life. It relies on small changes which snowball and over time, culminated in growth, advancement, and progress. There are six steps: Standardize, Measure, Compare, Innovate, Standardize, Repeat.

Standardize: What are you doing today? You have a process, you just might not realize it. Study what you are doing and commit it to paper.

Measure: Be objective and examine your current workflow to determine where you are efficient or inefficient.

Compare: Inspect your results and plot them against your goals to see if your present operation is moving you in the direction you wish to go.

Innovate:  Search for a better way to execute your plan. Your innovation can be big or small. Studies show that modest incremental changes get superior payback because they are easier for you to achieve and faster to integrate.

Standardize: Implement your innovative ideas and make them part of your daily practice.

Repeat: Once your modernized workflow is a habit you start the process over again. Until your baby steps lead you to your target.

How are you progressing toward your goal?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer