A Memorial Day Thank-You

Thank you to all of our armed servicemen and servicewomen who have given of their lives and of their limbs and of their health to keep our country free.

God bless you all. And may "peace on Earth" come to be true in our lifetime and from here on out.

Denise Barker

Every Day That I Work for Myself, I Am Rich

I wrote about this before. One post I found is here http://livingthedreampublishing.blogspot.com/2012/09/i-am-so-blessed.html although I thought I had been much more poetic than that. Maybe there is another post where I was (ha!).

But early this morning I read Barbara Conelli's "Today, I'm Rich" here: http://barbaraconelliblog.com/2012/11/27/travel-writers-diary-today-im-rich/ and she wrote it all so beautifully, said everything I wished I had said, and I so want you all to embrace this happy freedom, that I have to share her words.

Oh, here is another one of mine to check out at http://livingthedreampublishing.blogspot.com/2012/02/like-you-are-on-vacation.html. Still not as perfect and as succinct and as rhythmic as Barbara's, though.

Not that we all have to be freelancers and authors, like Barbara and me. But we all should be ecstatic about the work we do, day after day, hour by hour, second to second.

If you are already there, you are truly blessed, wealthy and happy.

I wish that for everyone.

Can you imagine our world if every single person on the planet was enthused about their work? Think how that would spill over into their home life, their dealings with strangers, their outlook on life in general, their hopes, their dreams, their goals.

I look forward to seeing that world in my lifetime.

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

http://bit.ly/DeniseBarkerBlog

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http://bit.ly/SMASHWORDSDeniseBarkerEBooks

http://bit.ly/KOBODeniseBarkerEBooks

I Am So Blessed

I got up today without an alarm, as is my usual practice. Dressed, cooked breakfast and brewed coffee. Ate while I caught up on my emails. Then made a grocery run. I like to go weekday mornings to avoid busy times. I remember, in yesteryears, driving home from downtown Dallas, reaching my neighborhood about 7:00 p.m., yet I was with a mob of other people at the market, just wanting to be home already. So I like to avoid those after-work hours to give the nine-to-fivers one less person in their way.

Now I'm home, groceries in their proper places, my hot Café Bustelo espresso at hand, my cats within petting distance and my windows open to enjoy the breeze and sounds of nature. Even though it may reach a tad over ninety degrees today, that is way better than the one-hundred-plus heat of not too many days ago. I'm seated at my computer and can see outside, which may or may not be a good thing. I happen to think it is okay, as long as I pay more attention to my screen than the goings-on in my yard.

I'm in black flip-flops, a taupe prairie skirt topped by a man's white cotton undershirt (love those!). I think I need red nails to match my outfit. So later I'll give myself a mani-pedi. Meanwhile, frozen chicken breasts are thawing, to be breaded and baked for dinner.

And I'm at work.

Yes, too glorious to be true, but it is nonetheless. I am my best boss ever--ha!

I'm an author. And when not creating, I'm a freelance copy editor for two large publishers. Either way, my computer and I are inseparable. I love my profession so much that I work holidays, weekends, my birthday, Christmas, New Year's.

I work probably eleven hours a day. Most days. Now I don't get paid for all that, as I love to research, to read, to learn more about my craft and then to blog about what I've found. I enjoy every bit of it. With no commute, I saved myself fifteen hours a week. And have put them to better use than by incurring a three-thousand-mile oil change every season.

Now there was one day I did copy edit for eleven hours. That was a brutal day. My mind is not set up for that. But I can weather six to eight hours, seven days a week. I happen to think I'm very productive in that mode.

I wish everyone had the freedom I do. To work those sleepless nights from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and then sleep to noon to be revived to resume work from noon to six that evening. To work around errands. To work outside once the weather gets comfortably into the seventies and hopefully the mosquitoes are gone.

For that matter, if money were no object, I could work at the beach, in a woodsy cabin or on a boat I suppose. As long as I have battery power and an occasional internet connection, I'm golden.

It took me several years to reach this glorious pinnacle, but it was worth every bump. In this my new career, worry is such a waste of energy. It stifles the creativity. And things usually work out. Granted I had to get a McJob in two really lean times, but I'm fully at home now. With steady work and expected earnings that exceed my monthly bills. That, along with my health, is my definition of wealth.

I've never been more broke nor as happy--except at the birth of my son. That remains the ultimate high. But these days, they are right on up there. And now that I've done without for a period, I'm ever-so-grateful for the plenty on its way. And will be a better steward of it because of my new heightened insight.

So, Happy Friday, all! I wish you manifold blessings.

Denise Barker, author, blogger, copy editor

The Intrinsic Value

Here's a short composition of mine from January 2009 which could not find a publishing home.  Enjoy!

* * *

I canceled cable to save money and yet gained TIME.

I exchanged one career to begin another, willingly giving up more than two-thirds of my highest earnings, and gained HAPPINESS.

I surround myself with happy motivated people that I want to be like in one or more ways and gained INSPIRATION.

I work at home, saving twelve to fifteen hours of weekly commute time, and gained MORE WORKABLE (hence payable) HOURS.

I freelance and gained FREEDOM.

I wake to a fuzzy paw of a hungry cat on my nose or cheek instead of a harsh buzzing interruption and gained PURE JOY.

I work outside, weather permitting, which gives me PLEASURE.

I rarely need to drive, which allows me to GO GREEN!

I joined writing groups and gained CONFIDENCE.

I read and gained both ENJOYMENT and KNOWLEDGE.

I act, ignoring any perceived fears or notions of failure, and gained COURAGE.

I ask and gained ANSWERS.

I pray and gained WISDOM.

I am thankful for everything in my life and gained AWE.

I learn daily and gained HUMILITY.

I have made it completely through trials, tests and tribulations and gained the SECURITY of knowing I could endure to the end again.

I have dared the devil and WON.

I am successful and SMILE.

I am living my dream and LAUGH.

I am blessed and SHARE.

I risk and have thus LIVED.

Denise Barker ©January 2009 -  All Rights Reserved.

Oh, The Freedoms Writing as a Career Brings

Aside from the total creative free reign of being an Indie e-pubbed author, there are other elements to be grateful for.  Such as, all I need is a pen and a notebook to manifest my imaginings.  That was a supreme shock when I was doing a goal-setting projection many many years ago and thinking that I would have to invest in a desktop computer and a home version of word processing software and a printer and a mouse and a scanner and . . . then it hit me.  All I need is a plain old No. 2 pencil and some paper—even scrap paper would do.  Which I had both.  Plus I already owned an electric typewriter (that’s how long ago this was, and yet, not so long ago).  I could type up my handwritten notes.  After all, that’s what Jessica Fletcher does in Murder, She Wrote, right?

Major moment that was.  Money was not stopping me from living my dream of being an author.  Back then, I was blaming my lack of funds for not catapulting me into the career of my choice.  Of course, now, I have that desktop and various bells and whistles of a small home office.  But if the electricity goes out, I can still create.  I can even edit if I have a hard copy of my latest work to review.

And locations.  I am not locked into my home office.  Which does not just mean I can take my laptop and work in the kitchen too.  No, it means I could be anywhere in the world and writing a new novel with paper and pen—on a beach, on a mountain, in a cave with torchlight as my only illumination, in a tent, in a villa, in a shack, in Africa, in a limo (as long as I’m not the one driving—ha!), camping along the Nile, in Egypt staring at the pyramids . . . you get my point.

Aside from the immense freedom of just being my own boss, there is freedom of movement, of locale.  If I want to work outside in the sunshine on my patio, I can.  If I am meeting my author group, I can work in a café, sipping coffee and inspired by the collective energy of such a creative eclectic group of folks I am proud to call friends.

Everything I need to create is within me.  Another light-bulb moment for me, as well.  To document those quickly evaporating ideas into words, I can use old-fashioned means or newfangled trends.  I can grab my purse and go, writing-ready, or add my laptop carrier and use voice-recognition software to type in my own words for me.  It’s my choice.

And I am SO loving the freedom.