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From time to time, I post a little inspiration on this blog. Today, in memory of my wonderful mother, whose light went out in this world nine years ago today, I would like to share this lovely little movie clip:

http://www.thedashmovie.com/

Wherever you are today, please take some time out to reflect on who or what matters to you most, be grateful for all the good things you have in your life, and make a pact to start living it with the passion it deserves.  :) 

This time of year is a particularly emotive time for me. On the positive side of the fence sits some wonderful memories and anniversaries, not least:

1. My ‘pseudo wedding’ (we’ve never gotten round to doing the big white wedding thing – I guess you could say I have an unnatural fear of marriage. But I’m not worried; we’ve been happily living together for many years now, so why not celebrate our pseudo-wedding anniversary each year?!).
2. The canine addition to our family (pictured here, five years ago).
3. The official launch of MediaMinister.co.uk – my copywriting, editorial and marketing consultancy.

And then, the other, darker side of the fence marks some especially poignant anniversaries:

1. The passing of my beloved mother.
2. Breaking my back. (Although it was a traumatic time, I’m OK now. Still feel some pain, but thankful to be able to walk and enjoy yoga and dancing, among other things!) 

Now, judging by the latter two, you’d be forgiven for thinking I’m a rather morbid soul at this time of year. Not so. (Well, I do allow myself to feel sad emotions whenever they spring up, else to ignore or suppress them would be just silly, not to mention unnatural.)

Of course, I can’t possibly keep all negative thoughts from cropping up. I am, after all, only human. Last time I checked.

But I do try my hardest not to look back in anger or with sadness, and instead focus on the positive or something that makes me smile, feel good or laugh.

And besides, as author Ida Scott Taylor wrote:

“Do not look back, and grieve over the past,
For it is gone; 

Do not be troubled about the future,

For it has not yet come.

Live in the present, and make it so beautiful,

That it will be worth remembering.”

The important thing is not to be bitter over life’s challenges and disappointments. And while every day won’t be a sunny one, if you look hard enough you can find your own ray of sunshine…

For me, that can be as simple as pulling on my trainers, rounding up my dog and heading for a lovely long walk on the beach, in the local park, through the woods — anywhere close to nature, where I can quite literally “ground” myself. In fact, that’s when I often come up with my best headlines or marketing ideas for my clients.

What about you? What’s your ‘sunshine’ button? When the going gets tough what helps you through? I’d love to hear your solutions… Go on, please share!

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Now that the holiday season is in full swing, your purse (or wallet) is almost certainly feeling a little bit lighter, what with all the festivities and shopping…

So, to help you out and give your purse/wallet some holiday relief — as well as to THANK YOU for all your business and support throughout 2008 — I have an early holiday gift for my newsletter and blog readers:

Save 20-50% on every digital download, from now until 19th December 2008…

While many game-boards last just for Christmas and this year’s toys are next year’s throwaways, the residual on a learning system or one of my products will last a lifetime. 

 The way it works is simple. Buy one PDF digital download (including all my ebooks and TeleMasterClass transcripts) and get a 20% discount. Buy two and get a 35% discount. Buy three or more and get a whopping 50% off the price. 

But here’s the catch:

So if you’ve thought about buying one of these informative, easy-to-follow-and-implement guides before, now is your chance! Start here (But do NOT order from there! You need to email the code “HOLIDAYS 08″ along with your choice of products and preferred method of payment to me first.)

BONUS #1: But that’s not all! For every order over £100, I’m going to include *complimentary*email support and mentoring (limited to four email consults per order) to help you get the most out of your new business assets.

What better time to re-commit yourself to making your dreams of taking your business to the next level a reality than now, with the New Year just around the corner?

I recommend: 

“I’d like to say what a refreshing change from all the hype out there it is. I found it to be very well written and accessible, with an easy to follow plan. I’ve already applied what I’ve learnt and its already transforming my business.”
– Aaron Beads, Homeopath

Fellow blogger randfish has published a great post entitled “Oh My God! Search is Changing Forever! SEO is Doomed! Run for the Hills!” which has caused quite a stir among search engine optimisation specialists and ‘newbies’ alike.

I won’t spoil the main point of his post, nor his conclusion, but what I will say is, if it ain’t broke… 

Besides, all my optimised sites are still ranking high, and clients are still commissioning me to manage theirs, too.   

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OK, I admit it: I’m a Twitterholic. Since taking up the twitterer reins, I have spent the past two weeks or so merrily tweeting away with fellow Twitters and I’m having a ball.

Yes, there is a little banality, but I’ve been greeted each day with inspiring quotes, wonderful insights and links to fantastic tools…

I confess that the first time I took a look at the service, I just didn’t get it. But after reading an informative article on the microblogging concept, I gave Twitter a second look. And I’m really glad I did.

Lots of people said Twitter was a flash in the pan, but it’s growing in popularity every day. Some purport its use as a business tool. It certainly helps as part of the all-important KLT (Know-Like-Trust) factor. So I’m sticking with it for now. Besides, I’m having too much fun!

What about you? What are your experiences with Twitter? Good or bad, I’d love to know. Join in the discussion below…

And if you’re a fellow twitterer and you fancy hooking up, you’ll find me here:http://twitter.com/TraceyDooley

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We all strive to find some kind of half-decent balance in our lives. And Fiona Parashar’s book The Balancing Act: Work-Life Solutions for Busy People aims to help you just do that in as little as seven days.

As well as helping you identify what’s sabotaging the ideal balance in your life, Parashar leads you through a series of intelligent, practical steps to redress the imbalance. It’s like having your own personal coach in a way.

What I like most about this book are the seven-day action plan, the inspirational case studies showing how people from all walks of life have managed to regain balance in their lives, and the fact that it is solutions driven.

Read this if you want to identify and understand the WHAT, WHY and HOW of getting more control of your life. 

Now, let’s see if I can at last make a significant dent in my ‘TO DO’ list!

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It’s already the end of October and, boy, is it cold (zero degrees as I type)! I’ve been researching ways to keep warm while keeping energy usage down as I work out of the, brrr, cold north-facing dining room (my office). So far, I have come up with wearing Thermals and layers — LOTS – of clothing. Jumpers, T-shirts, cardigans . . . you name it, I’m probably wearing it!

Any ideas to save my blue fingers most welcome! Do please share how you cope with the cold by clicking on the comments link below. 

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I was critiquing a client’s press release the other day. Nothing unusual in that. While it was in essence a good base for a successful PR campaign, the release itself was full of “This is why I am so good” details about the author of the piece. Nothing unusual in that, either . . . unfortunately.

You see, a news release should NEVER be used as an opportunity to toot your own horn or blatantly sell products. Rather, it should be about the reporter. Her audience and their needs, to be precise. And it should read like news, not an ad.

Your release should provide newsworthy fodder that is important or valuable in some way, so that it makes the publication’s editor think, “This looks exactly the sort of thing my readers should know about.”

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Wotz ron with the English langwage? Kwite alot, according to a leading academic expert.

Teaching correct spelling is a waste of time, and the apostrophe should be scrapped, says John Wells, an Emeritus Professor of Phonetics at University College London and president of the Spelling Society.

“Let’s stop worrying if people sometimes spell ‘you’ and ‘u’, ‘you’ and ‘you’re’ as ‘ur’, and ‘whose’ and ‘whose’ and ‘who’s’ as ‘whos’,” he adds. 

Well, yes, I agree — WHEN we’re talking about informal emails and ‘textmessage speak’ among friends and family. BUT in general I’m a stickler for correct use of the English language as it was intended.

Sure, add words as we and the language we use evolves, but let’s not get complacent over what is often regarded as possibly THE greatest gift to the world.

The trouble with completely altering any language with each generation is — apart from the fact that different generations may well not be able to communicate with one another on paper — great literature works from hundreds of years ago will become unreadable and unintelligible.

Speaking and writing the English language as it has been thus far been taught allows us to communicate . . . to be understood . . . to be socially mobile.

Playing around too much with the English language — abandoning spelling and punctuation — will ultimately lead to a world full of conflicting messages and meanings, and a place where no one can really understand one another.

Let’s not dumb down too much, nor abandon the pursuit of excellence in attention to detail. English is universally too precious a language. 

As for John Wells, all I can say is, careful; you don’t want to do yourself out of a job.  :)

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I read a fun post on freelancing and holidays by blogger Joanne Mallon this morning. She points out that the word holiday is often a misnomer for sole traders. There they sit on the beach, hugging their Blackberry to their left ear while trying to pick up important work emails (and pick off not-so-important granules of sand).

That’s IF they’re lucky enough to unchain themselves from their desk and actually take a break, that is. As freelancers know only too painfully, no work = no pay.

Well, do you want to hear something shocking? I haven’t been on holiday for more than two years! Well, I did go to Cornwall for a week in September 2006, but I don’t count that as I became seriously ill on day two. Oh, and yes, I did go to see my dad in Devon for a few days back in February this year, but I don’t count that one as a holiday, either. As much as I love my father, he can be hard work!

The point I’m making is that I’m long overdue for a holiday, and if I’m not careful I’ll be fully booked with client commitments before the end of summer.

That’s one of the perils of self-employment: Unless you schedule in some ‘getaway’ time well in advance, the days can easily fly by without you having so much as dipped your toe in the garden, let alone those much-missed sunnier shores. So make time for that holiday! Hmmm, best take heed of my own advice, then…

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