Calling All Avid Readers!

I've been cooking up a challenge for myself to stay occupied and keep me from counting down the months remaining until January (all systems a go for a much needed move to another state). It would go something like this, you the reader, would suggest to me a book to read. I will read anything once but I don't promise to read it until the end. I, the readee' (If thats even a word), will read said book and then post a review about it on my blog. I enjoy tasty horror noevels, suspense and thrillers, anything twisted, nothing particulary racy, toss in a good self help book here and there, maybe a YA. I'm wide open and willing to accept this challenge. I am not limited to just what I listed here. So readers, if you are out there, what do you think?
To suggest a book, just comment on this post.

Out Of Pocket

Yesterday while riding home on the train, I observed a mother and daughter. The mother was clearly upset, and had probably had a long day. The fact that her young daughter, who was sitting beside her, was ignoring her probably wasn't helping the poor woman. Finally she turns to the child and she says and not to gently either, "You have been out of pocket all day." The girl is clearly confused. She looks at her mother and says, "But I was never in my pocket." The harried mother laughed and hugged her daughter. The story would have had a Cinderellish ending had the girl not tried her luck later during the ride. In short, the mother ended up dragging the poor little girl, kicking and screaming, from the train.

Stop Hitting The Snooze Button

We all do it. Pound our fists against the top of the alarm clock, roll over in bed and slither deeper under a mountain of blankets.
That's the physical snooze button.
The one I'm speaking of is your mental snooze button. Nearly ever person has hit the snooze button on their lives before. Its the I'll do it tomorrow, in a few days, next week. As we all know a few days turns into a few weeks. Next week turns into next month. And before you know it, 5 years has passed and you're still hitting the snooze button.
In her book, Stop Saying You're Fine, Mel Robbins urges you to stop hitting your snooze button, identify your self defeating behaviors, beat your brain at its own game, draw out a map and move your ass.
As Robbins says, you've hit the snooze button on your life for the last time. So move your ass to your local bookstore and pick up this book. Its a must read for anybody who is stuck or who has ever felt stuck before.

OverAnalyzing

I recently shared with a friend that my goal was to one day own a small city. Immediately she launched into a textbook discussion about the intricacies of owning a small city; the costs, the legal hoops one would have to jump through, the people one might have to hire. Then she took my hand and lead me to a bench, sat me down, and said, If you really want to make it in this life, stick with the 9 to 5.
Surprised I asked, how do you think the company I currently work for came into fruition. To which she replied, well somebody started it. Of course they did.
Most of us are stuck in the ruts of our daily lives and to afraid to move from our comfort zone and pursue the life we truly want because we spend to much time overanalyzing. The longer you mull over it, the least likely you are to do it. Overanalyzing sets you up for failure.
So I don't let myself get to that point. I don't think about it. I just do one thing every single day that gets me closer to my goal, even if that one thing is stuffing an envelope and dropping it in the mail.

Take Action

You can let your past define you or be defined by your past.
My mother raised my brother and I on a monthly income of just 800 dollars a month yet there was always food on the table, presents under the tree whenever Christmas reared its head and new shoes in August when the school year started.
I wasn't aware then what my mother's financial problems were. All I saw was what was right in front of me. I didn't think to deeply and that's the beauty of being a kid.  You don't have to.
Still though, my childhood was less than ideal and I was troubled well into my teens. I was depressed, suicidal, and anorexic with seemingly no escape. Then in 2004 I was diagnosed with cancer (I've been cancer free since 2005).
I used to think that I was simply entitled to a better life and that the life I wanted would simply fall into my lap as long as I remained positive and spoke to my reflection in the mirror each morning.
Truth is, there are a million other people out there who have gone through what I've gone through and one million more who had it worse than I did. In their own way each and every one of them probably thinks they are simply entitled to a better life just because or that the life they want will fall into their laps.
But the life you want is not going to fall into your lap or mine either. To create the life you feel you are entitled to you have to take action. Not tomorrow, right now today.

Finding Your Niche

I have to be constantly doing something creative; reading, writing, photography, even cooking. I find that I get anxious if my brain is not being stimulated. I don't own a television, just a portable DVD player on which I watch old movies, anything even remotely Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogerish.
I could not imagine my life with the writing aspect removed. If I wasn't a writer, I simply would not exist. You brush your teeth every morning. I write. You listen to music on your IPOD. I write.
Its as natural to me as eating and sleeping. I can write on autopilot.
When you are this passionate about something, anything, then you know you have found your niche.

Niche- A place, employment or activity for which a person is best suited ( Merriam Webster Dictionary)

My First Post

Yesterday I posted a discussion on my Crime Place page inquiring about how to develop topics to blog about.
Last night, as I was sitting at home deep in thought about this very thing, I realized two things. First blog about something you are passionate about. Secondly don't worry about whether or not you are an expert on the topic you may be blogging about. Chances are if you are passionate about what you blog about, then you have spent untold amounts of time doing reasearch. For me my passions are health and wellness and physical fitness and of course writing. I draw from my own life experiences when discussing these topics with others or even when offering advice. Being a cancer survivor doesn't qualify me as a medical doctor. Neither does having been anorexic. But these are things I can draw on because they are things I have been through and things I have researched extensively because I have been through them. That's what i want this blog to be about. I want it to be full of practical advice for different types of people because at the end of the day Dana really does have a lot to say.
So to my first post and many more to follow.