What should creative people do Heres the truth

What should creative people do Heres the truthWhat should creative people do Heres the truthI am 8 years old, looking at the stars through my bedroom window.They attracted my attention. No, not attracted - demanded.The top bunk is mine. I dont remember fighting over to get it. I was simply the oldest. I have the top bunk.This is ageism.(Or maybe it is my brothers habit of puking in the middle of the night. Perhaps my parents are trying to avoid the waterfall effect.)Our house is a log cabin 10 minutes from town. The field to my east - now unfettered by the highway which would demolish the grass 3 years later - waves serenely in the moonlight.The hardwood floors are silent. Mom and Dad have long gone to sleep. Ian has turned of the flashlight he uses to read.And I dream wide awake.- - - I am 16 years old, looking out at the stars through the back of a Ford Explorer.The girls asked that I go with them. No, not asked - demanded.It is a testament to either my mothers trust or naive t that she releases her barely pubescent son the care of two senior, giggly, developed young women.So, where do you want to go?The girls smile at me, glowing from the front seats. They are untouchable, godlike. How I ended up in their vehicle is a mystery. She is in control. Her fingernails choke my libido. Her pupils, chain my attention. Her perfume, arrests my consciousness.We drive to dinner.Later, they drop me off.And nothing happens.- - - I am 18 years old, looking at the stars through thick fumes of a campfireMy friends suggested I come to the overnight. No, not suggested - demanded.They are smoking. Smoking is bad. Very bad. This is what Ive been told. In the glow of the campfire they suck the stuff into their lungs. Aside from me, two others in the circle have never smoked before. One of them laughs and reaches for the pipe, eager or pressured to learn.The other friend looks at me, his eyebrow raised. I quietly shake my head.Nope. I think. bedrngnis for me.He moves his he ad a fraction of an inch as well. I hear his thoughtsNo, me neither.It is an unexpected bond of abstinence. In one shocking instant, I learn the power of unity.Ten years later, that friend suffers a massive cardiac event (read heart attack). The attack causes a traumatic brain injury. It takes him several months to learn how to speak again.And I am somehow unscathed.- - - I am 28 years old, looking at the stars through a smudged window.Death has taken her. No, not taken - demanded her.I have deleted the paragraph where I describe the last weeks. The hustling in of hospital equipment. The rigorous schedule of medications to manage pain. The anvil of realization she really is going to die.Further details of those 15 days are omitted in respect to her mother.Heres what you should know. We are glued to the tracks starting down a black train with no brakes.Deep night is the worst. She lies there, moaning in pain we are powerless to ease. We take shifts, sleeping for a few hours or min utes at a time. For months she refused our help as the disease spread. Now she needs us. 3 A.M. is reserved for screaming and crying. behauptung activities are not limited to our patient.Nightmares will follow me for weeks. Now those are gone.But the memories linger when I wake up.- - - Lately, my friends have gotten me into keyword research.If you do this, you can find a larger audience.Which sounds nice. I want a nicer audience. I want to reach more people. I want to be known. I want to be seen. I want to be heard.One popular keyword I found the topics I write onWhat should creative people do?I dont know what you should do.Heres what I do - tell the truth. I tell is as clearly as possible. I tell it when it hurts. I tell it when the raw memory makes me cry. I tell it through whatever medium I see fit.I tell it because there is a chance, however slim, of a person reading this and understanding life sometimes feels like a hell hole because sometimes life is a hell hole.My muse su ggests I do this. No, not suggests.Demands.Much love as always,- Todd BThis article first appeared on Medium.

How to Write a Great Sales Letter

How to Write a Great Sales LetterHow to Write a Great Sales LetterDespite predictions of its demise in our increasingly digital age, direct mail can still be an effective sales technique. And a well-written sales letter can be an excellent way to make prospects aware of and interested in your product. An Attention-Grabbing Headline Lets start with the headline. This is the fruchtwein critical part of your letter because its the first thing most prospects will read. And if it doesnt grab their attention, it will be the only thing theyll read. Put your most robust idea or product/service benefit in the headline. Dont try to cram every possible advantage in. Pick the best one and craft a headline around it. If youre not sure how to start, take a trip to your local grocery store and scan the magazine covers in the checkout aisles. The cover callouts are designed to grab your attention because they are often the only means the editors have to sell to you. Use them as your inspiration for your own sales headline. A Great Body With a Story Once your headline is done, you can move on to the body. Storytelling is an effective strategy people tend to be interested in stories about people just like them. We think of stories as entertainment, so were mora likely to read them than straight sales copy. Storytelling is also a great way to involve the prospects emotions. And if you dont do that, youre not likely to have a good response rate. There are two basic emotional selling strategies playing on hopes and playing on fears. If you choose to play on your prospects hopes, youll paint a picture of how great the persons life will be when they buy your product or service. The clearer and more detailed the image, the better. If you choose to play on their fears, describe something hideous that can happen to the prospect and then explain how your product or service can prevent it. Keep the paragraphs short, so theyre easier to read. Use plenty of benefit words- such as co nvenient, saves money, secure- and write in the active voice with action verbs. For example, if youre selling flood insurance and using a fear-based approach, you should say Flooding destroyed more than 6,000 homes in the Tri-State Area last year. instead of More than 6,000 homes in the Tri-State Area were destroyed by flooding last year. Your Contact Info and Call to Action Give a few different response options (phone, email, website, fax, salesroom visit). You dont have to include every single response option but try to have at least three. The idea is to make it as easy as possible for your prospects to get in touch with you. Always include a call to action. If you dont tell your prospects what they should do next, even the most exquisitely written sales letter will fail to deliver. It helps if you can make a limited-time offer for a certain amount of money off the regular price, or something similar, to motivate prospects to act quickly. The longer people take to respond aft er reading your letter, the less likely they are to follow through. Including a line like Call 1-888-XXX-XXXX now before this limited-time offer expires brings about the necessary sense of urgency. Review After youre done writing, read the letter out loud. Its a great way to spot places where your copy falters. The goal is a letter that flows smoothly and is clear and interesting throughout. You should also try to put yourself in the place of someone getting this letter in the mail rather than reading it like the salesperson you are. Would the appeal youve written work on you? Does it seem compelling to the Average Joe or Jane? Finally, you should review the letter carefully for grammar and spelling errors. Ask someone else to look over the letter if thats not a forte of yours.

Overcoming Negative Thoughts During Your Job Search

Overcoming Negative Thoughts During Your Job SearchOvercoming Negative Thoughts During Your Job Search4Confident candidates grab the attention of hiring managers. Unfortunately, job seeking often takes a toll on the mindset of even the most upbeat applicants, and overcoming negative thoughts can be a challenge. Negative feelings about the process can create a vibe of self-doubt, which repels employers and sabotages chances of landing a coveted position.What can a job seeker do when the stress of job hunting rears its ugly head and inadvertently jeopardizes success?Certified life coach Ora Nadrich, author of Says Who? How One Simple Question Can Change the Way You Think Forever, offers this four-step strategy for regaining control and overcoming negative thoughts1. Acknowledge the stress.Recognize its existence, even if its upsetting. Dont deny it or try to push it away. Admit youre feeling stress about looking for a job, and accept that youre having those negative thoughts.Doing so a llows you to focus on what is happening in the now, which is actual and real, instead of focusing on the emotions surrounding the thoughts.2. Shift into observer mode.Shift gears out of reactive mode into observer mode. In reactive mode, you have no distance from your own negative thoughts.But in observer mode, you turn into a witness that is separated and independent from those thoughts. Then youre in a position to ask yourself questions to help get calm and grounded.3. Ask that negative thought, Says who?You are demanding that thought reveal who is responsible for it. In other words, how did it get in your mind? Once you find out, you can decide what to do about it. Is it your original thought, or was it someone elses that you took as your own?You may even discover it is an old thought that has become parte of your core beliefs, and now its time to challenge it and let it go. Say youre always thinking,Im never going to find the right job. Asking, Says who?really means Why am I say ing that Im never going to find the right job?Then go one step further. Ask yourself, Isit me? If so, why would I think a thought that makes me feel insecure or doubt myself?4. Continue the questioning process.The next questions after Says who? further challenge those negative thoughts. Asking,Have I heard someone say this thought before? helps youfind out if the negative thought is your opinion or someone elses.Asking, Do I like this thought? gives you license to consider whether its a thought worth keeping. And questions such as Does this thought work for me? can help you transform that negative thought into something positive and life-affirming.Thats the kind of thought thatwill help you feel good about yourself so you can venture forth to find a job that is right for you and well deserved.Browse the Latest Job ListingsReaders, how do you get through overcoming negative thoughts in your job search? Share your tips below