Let's Focus a Bit...

By Douglas Clark

Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.

~Tony Robbins

A very big challenge for me has always been focus. True at heart, I am a day dreamer. There have been and are multiple scenarios and situations where I find myself being whisked away to a dreamland conjured up from my imagination. It's just fun to get lost in a world of my own creation. 

From a young age, if I were staring out the window of my parents’ car, watching the rain come down, stuck at the dentist’s office, bored at school, etc., I would always find myself creating fantastical narratives for me and my imaginary characters to explore. Now I never got in trouble in school or work for distractions, but I realized a long time ago that even though daydreaming and imaginations are great fodder for creating art, lack of focus can wash away all relevance those daydreams brought.

You see, focus keeps us in line. Focusing on the job at hand, getting things done, and checking things off the ‘to do’ list help you keep an organized life, but if you don’t find time to daydream, that life becomes pretty sterile. I find that sometimes when I get focused on my day-to-day chores and responsibilities, I lose that head in the clouds type mindset that helps me create.  

It took me a long time to realize balancing my life between focused responsibility and daydreaming is vital. I love to daydream and just imagine, but when I apply my focus and determination to expression– that’s when real creativity begins. For a long time I wanted to write a full novel, but it wasn't until I focused my determination and married it with my creativity did I actually finish one. 

Being good at a few, or even just one thing can bring order and meaning into our lives. I’ve often thought about my education and what type of expertise and authority it brings to my opinion about literature and writing. From my experiences and studies I know I don’t know everything, but I know enough to comment and help others improve. It’s more than I could do in a physics class. I’d be totally lost. But the written and spoken word – well I’ve done pretty good for myself learning how to use them both. 

Now obviously I still have a lot to learn. With such a diverse and growing language as English, there’s always more to know. But language is the one thing I know I’m good at, even if sometimes I need a reminder about how much more I need to know about focus. I’m not myopic in the subject matter in which I’d like to learn more, but I narrowed it down considerably from when I was younger.

Learning who you are and what you like is a long process; you change as you grow up and gain experience. Staying focused on what you want and love helps to bring clarity to your actions and direction. If you suffer from a lack of direction or focus, look at the things that are distracting you. The answer to finding focus might be staring you right in the face. Oh, and no matter how many times you get side tracked and distracted, make sure you come back to focusing on your dreams and goals. Sooner or later, staying focused on your mission will become a habit.

Thanks for reading

Questions and comments welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

Need a place to publish your work?

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Every once in a while I find a cool website that really makes an impression. Recently I found one that I think will help budding young writers get their work out there. The website is called Every Writers Resource. It really has pretty much everything that you could ask for as a writer. There are articles, interviews, forums, writing courses, blogs, but my favorite part is the lists of literary magazines and book publishers. You can find valuable submission information and what to expect if you try to publish. I’ve used this valuable resource dozens of times during my attempts at getting published. Every Writers Resource has made it infinitely easier to find publications that fit my writing style. Granted, I haven’t been published by anyone yet, but half the battle is just finding the right publication to submit your work to.

If you are interested in publishing any of your work, give this website a try. I think you might find it a valuable addition to your publication ambitions. 

Thanks for reading.

Questions and Comments are welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

In an effort to expand the powers of motivation and creativity, the Inspiration Engine has expanded. Recently, the Engine provided a guest post to Studio 747. Check out all the great advice they have over there. I think you will find it very helpful. 

And if you want to give the Inspiration Engine's guest post a read, click here. 

Thanks for reading.

Questions and Comments are welcome. 

DouglasHClark.com

The Little Island That Could

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

So the forces that keep our planet in a perpetual state of rebirth did it again. Off the coast of Japan, a new island was born yesterday. Granted, it’s a tiny little thing, but the idea of land, reaching from below the ocean waves, cresting the water’s edge and  rising up toward the sky fascinates me. The concept is not new, one only needs to study the Hawaiian Islands to understand just how powerful island building can be. But for me, I like to get lost in the idea of the new island's growth. How big will it become? Will flora and fauna take hold and make it a lush paradise? Will it remain barren and lifeless because of continued volcanic activity? Will it get washed away from the relentless pounding waves against its tiny, fragile infant shores? I find myself wanting to visit that little speck of land, just to see it in person.

In reality, only time will tell what happens to this little island, but imagination brings a whole host of possibilities. That’s the beauty of taking reality as the basis for your ideas. Mother Nature gives us everything we need and all we will ever have. But it doesn’t have to end there. As a writer I use reality as a spring board, a starting point, and a frame of reference. From there I expand and explore the story, creating a new reality. Each story is different and takes on its own unique set of details, characteristics and flaws. Much like real life the unexpected arises, tragedies and triumphs unfold, and lives are lived, people are loved, lessons are learned, and remembered.

It’s impossible to rewrite the past. However, when writing, you can mold the characters, setting, plot, actions, and whatever else you wish to tell the story. Unbound by the limitations of reality, the only thing needed is to remain true to the reality you create in your new universe. You decide if that tiny infant island grows up to be a colossus like Kilauea or gets pummeled and washed away by relentless tides.

Thanks for reading.

Questions and comments are welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

Let's Be Positive

by Douglas Clark

You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. ~Epicurus

When things are their hardest, you really need people around you that are of high quality. Positive, honest, and genuinely caring relationships make life so much easier. Forging relationships with even just one person that sees the positive and virtuous elements in life will lift your spirits and change your perspective on life, your outlook, and your demeanor. I count myself fortunate to know several positive, virtuous people. And to be honest, I’m glad they are in my life for the simple fact that they help me to see things clearly. It is especially true when life and the negativity that sometimes clings to it seem to attack you.

There’s an old saying that goes something like “you know your real friends when things go wrong”, and that’s really true. Those that stick around and help you out when you are feeling low, downtrodden, beaten by life, and sad truly deserved respect and admiration. Not everyone you know will stick with you when life gets rough, even if it isn’t your fault. Drawing on their strength and support is invaluable. And those who have such wonderful people in their lives know what I’m talking about. These people are an inspiration in their own right, even if they don’t believe it or are unaware of just how supportive they are.

I’ve made mistakes in my life and said the wrong thing, but I’ve always tried to communicate as effectively as I could. To me, the ability to really listen to what the other person is saying, but also how they are feeling makes a true difference in understanding their perspective. Now, I have also experienced people that care for nothing but churning the hate and stirring up controversy. The key is avoiding that type of negativity and focusing on the positive. Obviously that is easier said than done, but if you continually steer yourself back toward the positive, you might just find that it becomes a habit.

Adversity is a fact of life. It cannot be avoided, but it can be mitigated. If others you know are more successful, more focused, more motivated, or just happier, look to them for inspiration. Ask them what keeps them so positive and try to emulate their style. At least attempting to change your ways is better than submitting to apathy.

Thanks for reading.
Questions and comments are welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

NaNo Update

By Douglas Clark

Hello everyone! I hope your week has gone well. Mine has been full of drama and excitement. I wish I could say all of it was contained in my novel, but alas real life must sometimes intrude on every writer's quest. I did however feel it necessary to give an update on my writing progress during the National Novel Writing Month Contest.

The contest started on November 1st and goes to November 30th. So here's a simple breakdown of how I've been doing.

November 1= 1672
November 2 = 0 (ouch, this really hurt me)
November 3 = 1420
November 4 = 1357
November 5 = 1440
November 6 = 905

Not even a week in and I've fallen almost two days behind. That is not insurmountable, but I need to be more diligent in getting to my quota each day. However, I've decided that I will not sacrifice quality for quantity. I look at this contest as an exercise to help build discipline and consistency, not just to spew word vomit on a page to reach a specific number. The way I see it, even if I reach the 50,000 mark or not at the end, I've already won, because hey, I'm writing another novel. 

I'll give updates every week until the end. Next Thursday's post will be back to my weekly attempt to inspire and motive with tales of everyday life and moments of brilliant inspiration. Until then, keep creating.

Thanks for reading.
Questions and Comments are welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

Let's Write a Novel!

By Douglas Clark

November 1 starts the National Novel writing month. Check it out here. I first heard about this when I was working on my master’s degree. I actually had a novel writing class where I had to write a 50,000 word novel by the end of the semester. The concept for that class was very similar to the National Novel Writing Month contest. After finishing my class, I promised myself at some point I would compete in the contest and see what would come of it.

Now I love writing obviously, but this contest is a challenge. According to the rules, you have 30 days to write 50,000 words. That averages out to 1,667 words a day. Doesn’t seem too daunting until you realize that’s EVERY day, no break, no rest or writing vacation; 1,667 words a day. The whole point of the exercise is to prove to yourself it can be done. I mean, you are allowed to make revisions, do rewrites, add, subtract, etc., but if you want to be counted as a winner on day 30, your word count must be 50,000 or higher.

I’m using this contest as a way of forcing myself to excel in daily word count. You see for me, I can pound out 500 words a day without even realizing it, but imagine tripling that. I’ve often wondered what it would be like to be a prolific writer, but wondering only gets you so far. I’m actually going to have to write if I want a huge library of work by the time I kick the bucket. So off I go to write another novel, but this time I only have 30 days to do it.

If you’re interested and want a challenge, sign up. There’s no time like the present. I’ll give you updates during the month on how I’m doing. Wish me luck!!!

Thanks for reading.
Questions and comments are welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

Can We Do Without the Trouble and Toil?

Sometimes I wonder what all this trouble and toil is for. I mean we all do it; trudge to work, struggle with responsibilities, stress over things that cause us grief. But why? Why do we do these things when we know they hold no value for us? I know that struggling against adversity and persevering through hardship builds character and prepares you for life’s ever harder challenges, but there does seem to be part of that struggle that produces nothing but negative. Take for example the problem people have with debt. I know there are a few people out there who are just pain irresponsible and don’t really care. However, I know a lot of people who are responsible, diligent, and reasonable when it comes to their money and they are still buried under a mountain of debt. Unfortunately, yours truly being one of them. Sometimes, it feels like an oppressive weight that just won’t go away, no matter what you do, and every effort you take to move forward and take a step ahead is just slammed with the reality of yet another bill, more bad news, another crisis that needs to be settled now, only to push you back even further.

I heard an old story once about a rich man who went on a South American tour. He was on a river boat excursion and talked to the old man manning the boat. The old man told him he had sailed up and down the river for decades, giving tours, catching fish, going home to his wife, children, and their little hut, and felt content with life. To the rich man, this concept seemed ridiculous, wherein he told the old man he might just invest a lot of money to create a huge tourist industry of river tours and fishing trips so when he earned enough money he could retire and live in a secluded home in the woods. The old man looked at him and just simply asked ‘wouldn’t that be the same thing I have then?’

At times I have interpreted this story differently. Sometimes the meaning of it to me is that no matter what you do, peace and security is a driving factor for all people. Other times, I’ve seen it illustrate the difference between men who desire power, and men who desire tranquility, sometimes it’s capitalism versus communism, other times it’s about the perceived inequities of life, and still others it’s a story about the foolishness of youth and the wisdom of age.

There are good times and there are bad times and as clichéd as that might sound it is true. I’d like to think that my bad times may come to an end and it would be smooth sailing afterwards. But the truth is, good and bad ebb and flow much like the river in the old man’s story. The trick is to not let the bad times drag you down too much, so much so that you drowned in your own misery. As dire as things may seem, circumstances can get better. Sometimes it takes a new perspective, and sometimes it takes sacrifice, even of things you care about or really want, if only to preserve an even greater love. I know life is not fair, but it’s your life and letting yourself get too mired in the muck and sludge that drudgery and despair bring certainly isn’t fair to you. So be good to yourself.

Thanks for reading.

Questions and Comments are welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

The 15 Minute Daydream

By Douglas Clark

Okay, so finding 10-15 minutes out of my day to just daydream turned out to be a little harder than I thought. But then I realized, I go for a 2 mile run at least twice a week, so I’d do it then. Usually, I listen to my ipod while I run and just zone out. Most of the time I don’t really even pay attention to anything; it makes the run go by faster. This time however, I paid attention to my mind’s wandering. So, in no particular order here are the top five things I found myself being drawn to:

          1. Character development and further plot twists for a  novel I’m about to start

          2. Oddly enough, bagels

          3. Sex (yup, I’m a guy)

          4. The condos being constructed near my apartment (I want one)

          5. Possibly running a marathon, or a half marathon, or just starting with a 5k.

If there were others I didn’t pay enough attention to them for them to register in my memory. What’s funny is that when I started out, I thought allowing myself to daydream would bring me to a fantasy land of magical or sci fi type wonders. Turns out, my mind is currently entrenched in more realistic things. Now that’s not to say if I took more time my thoughts might become more outlandish. Who knows? I’m pretty sure that because I’m older now and required to carry more responsibilities, it weighs me down just a bit when it comes to letting my mind release from all of those things I need to control. Kids seem to possess an infinite reservoir of imagination and creative thinking, mostly because they aren’t encumbered by the pragmatic, somewhat cynical, and harsh realities of life.

I’ve always strived to hold on to that youthful wonder. I think far too often, people let go of dreams and desires and replace them with chores and menial tasks and call it being responsible. I actually think that is kind of depressing. Don’t you? Well, that’s why I let myself daydream. The kid in me has more to say, and I need to listen to him every once in a while. What do you think?

Thanks for reading.
Questions and Comments are welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

Let Your Mind Wander

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Do you daydream? How about just letting your mind wander to where ever it may go? I’ve often heard the old saying “you’re either a dreamer or a doer.” However, that seems rather restrictive doesn’t it? Daydreaming lets your brain explore possibilities that we all know pragmatism and reality would squash in a second. I find that some of my best ideas come to me when I just let go of all the mental baggage, all the stresses, all my cares and responsibilities and just simply think.

Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? But it’s not. So I’m going to pose a simple challenge. In the next few days, find time to carve out about 10 minutes of free, daydreaming time to just let your mind wander. Take note of what comes to mind, write them down even, and see what inspiration you can come up with. I’d say take about five minutes before hand to really relax and unwind first, just to make sure you’re still not pestering yourself about doing the dishes or folding the laundry.

I’ll post up a list of the things my wandering mind comes up with. I hope you try it. Good luck.

Thanks for reading.

Questions and Comments are welcome

DouglasHClark.com

What Shapes Your Desire?

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

“If you greatly desire something, have the guts to stake everything on obtaining it.”

-Brendan Francis

What is want? I’m not talking about the basic wants humans all need, like water, food, shelter, and companionship. I’m asking about the want for something not needed, but truly desired. Desire can be a funny thing. It can give you direction by helping you to discard the superfluous, keep you focused, determined and motivated. But desire can also hinder your life by making you close minded to new things, ridged in your attitude and perspective, and in the worst cases, lead to obsession. Once desire becomes an obsession, there’s a whole new world of problems to deal with.

There are things I have wanted for a long time. I’ve desired them. Specifically, being a published author for one, finding true love (as cliché as it sounds), a life of leisure, and a youthfulness throughout my days. Now I’d say on a certain level, all of those things are possible, at least to one degree or another. But why do I want them? Why are my wants and desires in line with some people and wildly out of synch with others? Our life experiences and relationships help mold and create an ideal that helps to drive our life’s activities. 

I’ve often wondered about when I was 10, if we didn’t move from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, how different my life would be. It was a profound life event for me, obviously at 10 years old something like that would affect just about anyone. But how much of that contributed to who I am now? I can tell you that for the first two years after we moved, I became reclusive, much more introspective and hid inside my own imagination. I found solace in Science Fiction and Fantasy. TV, movies and stories dealing with space, time travel, other worlds, dimensions, and the like spoke to me in a way sports, hobbies, or other things could not. Eventually the want to create those things on my own took hold and there you have it. This was the nucleus of my desire to begin writing. My life altering event of moving helped spur my creative life as a dreamer and writer.

So where do you go after you’ve identified where and why you have a want? I would say judging just how powerful that want is must happen. If you truly want something, I would say a feeling of almost uncontrollable action should take place. Not so much that you are possessed, but that you feel the value of committing to that want. When you know the superfluous and extraneous minutiae of life can be done away with and you still feel fulfilled driving toward you desire, that is when that want becomes a passion. And there’s nothing wrong with passion, as long as it’s tempered with reason, otherwise you fall into the trap of obsession.  

Do you know what your wants are? Are you controlled by them? Even worse, are you so beaten down that you’ve forgotten what it is you truly want? I believe self-examination is important from time to time to make sure I am not wasting my life away. There have been times when I came to the realization that I Was completely off course. What a wonderful yet sobering feeling. Remember, as long as you are alive, there’s still time to change course. Give it a try.

Thanks for reading.

Questions and comments are welcome.

DouglasHClark.com