Here’s what none of them taught me.
Last year I took three classes to learn how to make big bucks writing on Medium. I wanted to know what I was doing before starting to write on Medium. I figured if I were super-prepared and super-knowledgeable, I would be guaranteed to make at least $1,000 my first month on Medium.
From there on, the sky would be the limit.
I had read about plenty of people who support themselves solely by writing on Medium in the Partner Program, some earning more than $10,000 a month. With that type of money, my husband could quit his job on the…
Leave her alone.
I don’t really know who Chrissy Teigen is.
All I know is that she is a pretty lady, I think she used to be a model or something like that, and she is married to John Legend, an excellent singer. I think they have two little kids together.
Well, I started getting stories on my cellphone news feed about how she posted mean stuff about some people on Twitter — really mean stuff. And now Chrissy Teigen is going to be “brought down” for what she said. Chrissy has apologized, and I guess it’s not enough.
I wrote 26 stories in 23 days and quit. Here’s why.
Writing challenges aren’t for everyone.
About a month ago, I was invited to join a writing challenge by Ms. Berna Tural. She told me about the challenge in a comment to a story. It sounded like it would help get me to write and publish more consistently, so I accepted Berna’s invitation.
Overall, the challenge was a wonderful experience. It was a challenge, not a competition against other writers, so I found it a positive activity. I was writing to prove to myself that I could be consistent and committed in my writing.
I fell in love with the challenge…
How discomfort sets the stage for a better life
Feeling like a pile of dirt can be a blessing in disguise, especially if you take the time to decode the message that your bad mood is sending you.
As someone with a mood disorder, I’ve had the opportunity to receive a lot of instruction from doctors and therapists about managing bad moods and crappy attitudes. And I’ve read a ton about it, too. Knowledge is power, you know.
Here’s what helps me get through bad days without having to eat the whole bag of chocolate or binge buying on the shopping channels.
After graduating from college way back in…
Don’t waste your time trying to understand.
Medium is going through a truckload of changes, especially recently.
First, a thousand writers got $500 performance bonuses added to their April earnings. That was awesome, especially for those who got the extra money.
I didn’t get the bonus, but I got sucked into figuring out what message Medium was trying to send to its writers by being so generous with money.
I thought it meant that Medium was sending a message that it valued its writers. In hindsight, I was probably wrong. I was feeling hopeful at the time — shame on me for letting my guard down.
That…
This is why you keep writing.
In my 53 years on this planet, there are only a few things that I regret doing.
First, I wish I hadn’t gone to law school and become a lawyer. Second, I wish I hadn’t gotten married the first time.
These are things that I did that I wish I hadn’t done, and in hindsight, I view them as mistakes. But I’m not too hard on myself about it because everyone makes mistakes. And I came out of it all with an education (academic and real-world) and interesting stories to tell.
There is only one other regret that I have…
I was fired six months later. Here’s what I learned.
There are certain things in life that you have to experience in person to know what it’s really like. Being a lawyer is one of those things. Selling used cars is another.
I practiced law for more than 20 years when I finally realized that it was time to close up shop. Being a lawyer just wasn’t for me; I was stressed out and miserable. But I still needed to earn money doing something. I had bills to pay and no savings. I needed to find a J.O.B.
I knew a lot about cars, and I had always wondered if…
How silence is deadly to your relationship and what to do.
As a lawyer for more than 20 years, I represented people who were no longer in love with each other.
In those two decades, I noticed patterns in failed relationships.
One of the most common occurrences I saw among people who now disliked each other more than they had once loved each other was the silent treatment.
The silent treatment sounds like something so basic; it’s when one or both people refuse to speak to the other. But there is so much more to it.
It’s a way to convey a message without saying a single word. …
How to improve your odds.
Time moves quickly.
I spent more than 20 years practicing law. And I was employed doing other things before that. Plus, there were all the years getting my education.
Before you know it — you wake up one morning to find an invitation from AARP and a catalog for menopausal women in your mailbox. There’s nothing you can do to prepare mentally for that.
What do you do when time and money are running out, and you find yourself starting a new career in writing?
Some people find themselves in that situation much sooner than I did. Maybe they just…
What you can learn from my progress so far.
Fifteen days ago, Berna Tural left a comment on one of my stories. She indicated that, like me, she had difficulty publishing regularly, and she was also struggling with publishing consistently.
Berna invited me to join a 30-day writing challenge that she was in. She thought that participating in the challenge would help each of us improve our writing habits.
The challenge required publishing 30 stories in 30 days. I accepted Berna’s invitation.
This challenge is something that you do for yourself; it is not a way to compete with other writers. The writers act as a support system for…
