Longevity

I have learned that in the writing business, that after a year of creating books that I now have longevity. I am outliving my editors. I guess I should thank the writing Gods for their blessings.

 

I started writing full time August 2007. In that time I have had 5 books published and 2 on the way. I have written for three magazines on a regular basis and had more freelance work then I can handle. I don’t live in NY or LA or any other large metropolitan city you can recognize with two letters. (unless you can recognize WS)

 

I have a BS degree in psychology and a Phd in Natural Health. So what is my secret of relative success?

 

I can break it down to two points.

 

The first is hard work. Being self employed and working from home is some of the hardest, most constant work I have done in my life. Even as a musician I have breaks. As a writer my waking and sleeping mind are constantly working and churning. Don’t get me wrong, I totally love it. People ask me if I am near burning out and my response is that I wish their more hours in the day to write.

 

The second point is that I am always working on the next project. I do not allow lag time. I use time each day looking for new projects and bolstering marketing efforts. I do this through blogging, social networking and bidding on projects on sites such as Elance.

 

My word of advice NEVER EVER give up.

Cats In the Catwalk

 

We got this killer deal on a cat walk system that allows the cats to be outside in a giant habitrail. They have a tower, a clubhouse and other accessories. About $1000 worth of equipment for $50.00. Thanks Craigslist.

We are acclimating the cats to their new digs. Not sure how they feel about it yet. The kind remind me of tigers at a zoo.  I hope they like it- in the big city it is the safest way.

I am counting time as deadlines, 2 concerts, and packing all have to occur in less than a week. I can do it, yes I can!

Prada The Devil Drinks Coffee

I am casing my neighborhood in Winston-Salem. I have found this little cafe under a new set of uptown swanky condos. By the clientele, I can tell I am out of my pay range, but the family has taken over a table with our coffees and hot chocolate. 

 

Each of us with a laptop, we must be quite the site for this yuppie haven of the movers and shakers of the West End. Well we are here and we are here to stay.

 

This little cafe has coffee, gelato and Bellinis (a combination of peach nectar and champagne), and an assortment of beers and wine. It is quiet for the most part- a HDTV in the corner is playing “Moonstruck” from an Apple TV box.

It is an education for the girls as we are coming from the country. We even were lucky enough for a person on the street to ask us for a dollar. It was new for the girls, not so new to me- it heralds me back to reality and away from the land of the bigots. I recently read a quote that said something like “Big bigotry- small town.” I want to raise my girls differently!

If anyone wants to visit this new cafe visit www.caffeprada.com

Now I will finish my Americano.

Sitting In A Library

 

I guess this is the place where I am a “Super Star.” The public library. It is here that I can scan the shelves and find my name. Kind of cool.

Today school is out and there are children scampering around like mice. The librarians who are speaking loudly about where they are going to lunch are shushing the children.

It brings me back to my childhood. I was an odd child that would spend hours in a library. During the summer my parents worked, so I would ride my bike with sandwich in tow to spend the entire day at the library.

For me, it is a magical place. There are so many choices of places to go, it was like a literary train stop. At the library in my hometown they had these carpeted wooden tubes you could crawl into in the nooks and crannies of the children’s section. They had a hole in the top to allow light in.

I remember grabbing Tolkien, Herbert and other fantasy writers while I crawled in a tube and would be transported all day.

The library also had a room with type writers. All I had to bring was paper. I would type up science fiction stories about wars in space, and a reluctant retired space general. I guess I was already stamped and ready to ship to writer’s land.

Have a great day and visit a library soon.

Tip about followers on Twitter

You can increase your number of followers by simply following more people, as most people on Twitter will follow you back.

 

Did you know that Twitter has rules about this? I didn’t until recently. You can not follow more than 2000 people without having at least 2000 people following you. Once you do, you can follow more people. This is to prevent spammers and bots.

 

If it looks like you are following a bunch of people all at once, you could be banned. You need to pace yourself. You can go to TwitterKarma.com and see what your ratio of followers and following is. You can do a mass unfollow for those you do not wish to follow.

Another way to ensure that you are not banned or lose followers to make sure you are sending a sufficient number of “Social” posts rather than “sales” posts!

This works people! GO to my friends website http://stuart-turnbull.com/ to learn more.

Holy Twitter Explosion Batman!

I have been working on a book about Twitter for a client. In the spirit of research I actually tried the techniques I was writing about.

 

It worked- Better than I can describe!

I am under contract for this Ebook so I can not tell you what particular technique put over 500 new users in my Inbox this morning, but I will send a link to where to get the Ebook when I am done.

I have been writing about marketing techniques for awhile and I can honestly say what I did for a few minutes last night was amazing.

I am now on the lookout for life and executive coaches to help me with my new book, so if you are out there please contact me at drjohnnd@hotmail.com. You name will be in a published book plus you will receive a free copy of the book.

You will be the envy of all your friends.

The Ole Switcheroo

Did Coke think that we were stupid? Did they think we would not notice?

I understand that we are headlong into a recession, but swiping 4 ounces from the already overpriced pop is just too much.

 

 

 

I went into a gas station to buy my wife a real coke- not diet, not zero, not cherry, not anything except a real sugary sweet, ice cold Coca Cola.  I reached into the case where they are always waiting.

The Coca Cola company rolled out its original plastic bottle Coke sometime in the 1980’s. It was a 16 oz bottle to replace the glass 16 ounce bottles. Personally, I think it was the greatest mistake for two reasons. First, there is no comparison of coke from a glass bottle compared to one in a plastic bottle. And, somewhere along the line High fructose Corn Syrup replaced plain cane sugar. Once in a blue moon I will find a $2.00 glass bottled coke with cane sugar….ahhhhhhh!!

Back to my rant. I take the bottle of Coke the the register and noticed it was light. Now I agree, that I have drank way too much pop to notice such a difference in density but stay with me. I look at the bottle on the counter and noticed it looked funny, and upon closer inspection I noticed it was 16 oz. Now I remember that Coke went to 20 oz. quite a few years ago, and so I went back to the case. There were NO 20 oz. Coke products. I went back to the register and the clerk rang up the purchase, and it was the same amount as if it were a 20 oz.

I spoke to this clerk and she said she had not noticed, but all of the other pop like Pepsi was still in the 20 oz size. The Coke bottles fit the same racks, look very similar , but that extra 4 oz. are gone!!! What is the deal Coke? The American public will not stand for it. Hike the gasoline prices back up, but leave our pop alone!

Snappy Opera Tunes

I am playing a whole lot of choral pieces today. Wagner, Verdi, Orff, and Puccini just to name a few. It is really a nice cross section of requiems and opera pieces.

 

We are going to be performing it at a Baptist Church during the season of Lent and so I am curious how “O Fortuna” or the “Habanera” from Carmen are going to be received. You can take the altar boy out of the church but you can’t take the church out of the altar boy. I could create a rather tasteless joke at this point but I will resist the temptation.

 

Tomorrow Mr. Teeny becomes Ms. Teeny and the meowing and writhing will finally abate for awhile. It is driving me mad. Give it up already cats.

 

Brief but important changes

We have a new cat- Stella Luna. She is female and our Teenie is male. It is amazing how two cats fall in love instantly. They are in lock down and Teeny has a special doctor’s appointment to make him more like Stella.

We signed the lease on the new house in Winston Salem. We are SO excited.

 

It is kind of romantic. My wife and I met in Winston 21 years ago and now we return.

Everyone is NOT a Star

Have you noticed with the invention of reality television shows like American Idol that suddenly everyone is a star? It seems even my hair dresser has a Christmas “CD” that she has produced and is selling on her website. I feel this is utter insanity.

 

The truth is that talent, true talent is rare. Not everyone who thinks they can sing or perform is Hollywood or Broadway bound. There are the few exceptions, but I am so tired of everyone thinking they are a “star.”

 

I guess I have Hannah Montana to blame. Good ole Miley Cyrus with her gravely teenage voice has convinced a whole generation that they are superstars. Uggg.

 

I know from where I speak. I was performing from an early age and played my first paid gig when I was eleven. I went to the top of where I could go in Clearwater, Florida and had to move on somewhere else when I got to high school.

 

The solution was that I went to North Carolina School of the Arts. In the 1980’s this was a totally different animal then it is today. It was a true conservatory. I ate, slept and worked everyday at music. I soon realized I was but a drop of talent in a vast ocean of even greater talent. I was humbled.

 

There are local arts schools run by people that had talent, had their fifteen minutes of fame and now make their money promising children stardom. These kids get starry eyed and slack brained. Many of these kids become homeschooled. What is that all about? Even if these kids have talent, do they want to be illiterate, socially retarded artists? Believe me there are plenty of those out there.

 

Who is to blame, the charlatans that are shoveling out these ridiculous promises or the parents that are squandering their child’s academic and collegiate future in the hopes of a bit part in a sitcom or a 30 second commercial spot. Maybe they truly believe in the term “starving artist.”

 

My solution? Following your dreams and have a back up plan. Get out of town and experience what is out in the rest of the world. NEVER EVER read your own press because family and friends will ALWAYS think you are a star. And for those home school kids- GO TO SCHOOL! Go to prom, try out for the football team or cheerleading squad and get a grip on reality. Turn off Idol and Dancing with the Stars and bury your head in a good novel.

Time to move ahead

Thanks for those who wished my daughter well. She still has a migraine after days of grueling medications, but she is moving onward past it. I am so proud of her and am in awe of her bravery.

I am excited that I am moving soon. The new house is 99 years old. I was wondering how people do centennial house birthday parties. Do I light 100 candles around the house? Do a decorate with balloons and invite those lived their in the past? It will be quite the experience.

It has a coal fireplace and I also wondering if people burn coal in their homes anymore?  If any of you out in internet land have any answers please post them.

 

John

Good News- The Executive Coaching Book is Back

After speaking with editors of my publisher, they have allowed me to redo my book-

How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Personal and Executive Coaching Business: With Companion CD-ROM

 

Here is the book copy. It will be bigger better and even more awesome this time around. If you are interested in preordering  go to

http://tinyurl.com/dap3af

In the U.S., the average professional coach makes roughly $150-$200 per hour. It is not uncommon for a seasoned coach to make well over $100,000 per year. If you are good at motivating and inspiring people, a coaching business may be a great choice for you. People seek out coaches to help them in matters of life, business, career, and even parenting. And they are paid very well with few startup costs.

 

As a professional coach, you will recognize and define your clients’ goals; construct a realistic strategy for achieving your goals; establish a detailed program of actions and activities; identify, manage, and change business improvements; get effective and timely results; monitor your progress and build on your successes; achieve what may have seemed impossible; and get the rewards and recognition you deserve. If you are investigating opportunities in this type of business, you should begin by reading this book.

 

If you enjoy working with people, this may be the perfect business for you. Keep in mind that this business looks easy but, as with any business, looks can be deceiving. This complete manual will arm you with everything you need, including sample business forms; contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, opening, and running day-to-day operations; setting up your office; plans and layouts; and dozens of other valuable, timesaving tools of the trade that no business should be without.

 

While providing detailed instruction and examples, the author leads you through every detail that will bring success. You will learn how to draw up a winning business plan (the companion CD-ROM has the actual business plan you can use in Microsoft Word™) and about basic cost control systems, market research, getting new clients, tax laws, pricing, leads, legal concerns, sales and marketing techniques, and pricing formulas.

 

 

You will learn how to set up computer systems to save time and money, how to meet IRS requirements, how to generate high profile public relations and publicity, and how to implement low cost internal marketing ideas. You will learn how to build your business by using low and no cost ways to satisfy customers, as well as ways to increase sales and have customers refer others to you.

 

 

Successful coaches will appreciate this valuable resource and reference it in their daily activities as a source of ready-to-use forms, Web sites, and mathematical formulas that can easily be applied to their operations. The companion CD-ROM contains all the forms found in the book, as well as a sample business plan you can adapt for your own use.

 

Again to preorder go to

http://tinyurl.com/dap3af

Tonight, Tonight It all gets played tonight

Tonight is the big concert- Rossini and Tchaik, I play in your general direction (This is for Monty Python Fans). Rehearsal, food, concert, after party, sleep about 1 Am. Whew!!!

I am also finishing 20k in the wild Wine book. It is shaping up quite nicely! I am quite excited about it. I still need contributors. So if you have made wine, or drink a lot of wine, send me an email!!!! Drjohnnd@hotmail.com.

I hope to chapter 3 of Erl King up next week. It is also shaping up quite nicely. Let me go practice on my twig. (ok you dirty minded people- I play a wooden piccolo…..never mind!)

 

John

Bang on!

I am sitting through a rehearsal thinking about the universe of energy, as drums are tapped and cymbals are pummeled, while gongs are shook out of their slumber. It is quite backdrop for creating Law of Attraction Flash Cards. It is quite surreal. It reminds of the feeling that I had watching Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline”. There is definitely layers of reality and I believe music and sound vibrate seamlessly through all of them.

I am excited to play the piccolo solos in Rossini’s Overture to La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) and to finish the evening with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony #5 in e minor, Op. 64 which is a devil of a piece on flute and piccolo. I have my work cut out for me. I will try to post sound bites of the concert next week.

You know I may have to treat myself to a late night snack after all of that. I really want some Thai!

If anyone reading this does home winemaking please look at my site,

http://tinyurl.com/dap3af, about participating as a case study.

gone

removed by me

Snowy Mind Drifts

March started with a snowy blanket, which is fine but my oldest Sarah is sick. See when they finally get around to making it a law requiring couples to have a license to have children, which I feel confident there should be, there will be a class called body fluids 101. I am convinced that unless you have cleaned after a child is sick, at least once, they should revoke your parent card. You just can not truly understand the joys of it all, without experiencing it. So without going into gory detail I will leave it at that!

I am constantly shocked that we live in a generation of folks that have such a high level of self importance mixed with an expectation of entitlement, that it makes me want to choke at times. I am often hired to find musicians and hire them for various gigs in the area. I am befuddled by the number of people that feel like they are slighted in some way if I don’t call them “first” for a gig. Now I have a large pool of musicians that I hire from and make a decisions based upon musicianship, attendance and reliability. If they do a good job and I don’t have any trouble with them, I would be more likely to hire them in the future. This is not a guarantee, and I am not required to do so.

I receive the calls and emails of grown adults whining that they did not get picked. Is this some left over issues from kickball games during recess?  This is business, and I treat it that way. There are no favorites, only the best musicians for the job. I think that there is some illusion that if I get pestered enough or am threatened with “ I will talk to you boss,” that I will in someway cave in. Actually the opposite is true.

Well enough of my bellyaching. I am off to write about WILD WINES!!

 

John