Catherine Lawson

Disappearing & Other Stuff

2009-06-30T02:58:55Z

Do you need to update your blog regularly, to survive online? Or is it ok to disappear for a while if you really need to? And what about social networks - will Twitter still be your friend when you return, or will all your followers fly away?

This year, I’ve been “partially disappeared” for a few months. I had some health issues to fix and a couple of projects to work on, so I’ve been updating my blog about once a month, instead of daily. And I’ve fluttered into Twitter now and again.

Yes, your blog traffic suffers if you’re away for a while. I’m grateful to folk who showed their support on the days I did turn up. But people can’t read stuff you haven’t written, so your traffic has to take a dive. And some people do unfollow you if you’re not active on Twitter. But if you check out Friend or Follow, you’ll see that most of those people use software to follow thousands, then dump them, to inflate their own perceived popularity.

It would be irresponsible of me to encourage you to take six months off from your blog. Only you can decide if it’s worthwhile for you.

Have you taken time off from blogging before? Would you stop reading a favourite blog if the writer went AWOL for a significant amount of time?

What Fib Do You Tell Yourself?

2009-06-23T14:43:33Z

I have this strange tingling in my fingertips. And if I pinch one of them, it hurts. It feels alien, but it shouldn’t.

A few weeks ago, my son asked me why my feet were a purply blue colour. I told him they’d always been that way. And it wasn’t a complete fib, I’d had poor circulation for years. But there was a reason - I just didn’t want to remind myself what that reason was.

Even if it was just a little cold outside, my fingers would be deathly numb and I was always freezing. But my poor circulation wasn’t due to some disease or disorder. I was like that because I smoked.

It’s 15 weeks since I quit smoking and my circulation is really beginning to improve now. It’s kind of weird feeling warm all the time.

It’s easy to tell ourselves fibs, if we want to avoid thinking about something. My reasons for doing so were simple:

1) If I was honest with myself, I’d need to admit I had a problem.
2) I’d have to do something about that problem.

Have you ever fibbed to yourself to avoid doing something?

Image Credit - John Morgan

What Did You Learn?

2009-06-23T14:51:02Z

Did you learn anything new over the last few days? One thing I really love about blogging is the unlimited learning potential. Often, I’ll read a post that inspires me to learn more about a particular subject. Or a discussion in the comments suggestion will point me in the direction of some great resources. And I spent a huge part of the weekend learning new stuff.

Here’s a few resources I’ve found useful recently and if you have some resources of your own - please share them in the comments section.

What Is Hypnosis? I’ve tried quite a few hypnosis CD’s and downloads in the past. Some have been ok and others have been excellent. But I’ve never really understood a lot about how hypnosis actually works. So I found Tim Brownson’s explanation of what hypnosis is and what it does and doesn’t do, really useful.

Near Death Experiences: In a discussion on life after death, Kelly Rigby of She Power, mentioned that she knew someone who had a near death experience and they felt as though they were burning in hell.

Although I’ve heard about near death experiences before, none of them had mentioned going to hell. But what Kelly said prompted me to do a bit more digging and I came across the fascinating story of Howard Storm, who was saved from hell, came back to earth and trained to be a minister of the United Church of Christ.

What’s a Frame?: J.D. Meier explains how to use frames to solve problems. And he shares some excellent frames he created, including The Change Frame, and The Life Frame.

Writing An Ebook: Have you ever thought about writing and publishing an E-book? Marelisa Febrega has put together an excellent free guide on how to get it done. You can download it here: Step By Step Tutorial: Write, Publish & Market Your Own E-Book.

Past Life Regression: I’m a bit skeptical when it comes to the idea of past life regression and reincarnation. So, Akemi Gaines told me to check out the amazing video about a 3 year old child who could remember a past life in detail. And I was so intrigued that I also watched these past life regression videos.

What new things have you learned lately? Please share in the comments section and provide links to resources if possible.

Would You Jump Off A Cliff To Find Out?

2009-06-17T16:52:18Z

Do you think we spend too much time wondering where we go to when we die? Some folk seem to spend half their lives thinking about the afterlife. For others it’s a hobby and some people turn the whole damn thing into a career. Me - I’m just curious.

Of course, I know I’m unlikely to know for sure while I’m still alive. And I’m definitely not curious enough to jump off a cliff to find out.

The cynic in me says there’s nothing for us after that final light goes out. Our egos just can’t accept that we’re insignificant enough to merely stop existing.

Of course it’s not just ego. Fear plays a huge part in our beliefs and I guess one of our biggest fears is the unknown. So instead of not knowing, it’s far easier to believe that we go to some amazing paradise with free beer. But where that is exactly and what we do when we get there, is a big mystery.

If heaven doesn’t have all the things we take for granted, like work, tv, McDonalds and the Internet, surely life would get a bit boring. And if they do have all those things, would it really be worth going to, or would it be sort of like a busman’s holiday?

Some people believe that we don’t exactly go to heaven. There’s all these different planes and we work our way up to higher ones, by coming down to earth now and then, to learn new lessons we’ve chosen.

Now I kind of like the idea of that. After all, we don’t really get the chance to learn everything in one lifetime. Trouble is, I can’t remember the stuff I learned last time, so that makes it seem a bit pointless.

Then there’s the reincarnation theory. They used to say that if you hadn’t been saintly enough, you’d probably come back as a pig, or an anteater or something. But lately, I’ve noticed a lot of the reincarnation folks are saying we only come back as humans. And that’s fine by me. I never really fancied winding up on somebody’s plate as a nice bit of sirloin steak or potted rabbit.

To be honest, I’m not really all that keen on the reincarnation theory as a whole. You might get lucky and wind up somewhere nice. But around 80% of the world’s population live in relative poverty. So I’m guessing that the chances of winding up in some shithole like Iraq, or Swaziland, are high.

The last option that comes to mind is the ghost theory. And I’ll admit - I’ve felt ghostly presences after folk have died. But those presences have been one off’s - none of them have been back to visit since. And I guess that makes sense. If you were a ghost, you wouldn’t want to haunt your nearest and dearest would you? It would be much more fun to scare the crap out of mean bastards, or people who’d pissed you off.

But being a ghost doesn’t really sound all that exciting. Walking through walls would be cool at first but the novelty would soon wear off.

I suppose it might be a good thing that we don’t know where we’re going to wind up when we die. If we found out that it wasn’t going to be so great after all, people would worry even more than they do already. And if we discovered we were going to some awesome place, there’d be too many people committing mass suicide and stuff to get there a bit faster.

When I weigh up the options - the idea of a long sleep is beginning to sound more and more appealing. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not ready to go yet and it would be great if there was something better. But it’s hard to imagine what. What do you think?

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Image Credit - Powderruns

Are Prescription Drugs Killing You?

2009-06-23T14:53:37Z

Are the drugs you’re taking to improve your health, slowly killing you off? Recently, I discovered that a prescribed drug I took several years ago has some really nasty side effects. For example, it is known to cause hepatitis in 1 in a thousand users. Had that information been available before, I would never have taken it.

And it’s not just prescription drugs that can harm you. A recent study has linked Vitamin A supplements to premature death.

I know some people say we worry too much about what we put in our mouths. But I have to wonder if we’re careful enough. It’s clear that some drugs cause worse health problems than we had to begin with.

What do you think? Would you happily take any drug that a doctor subscribes? Or do you do your own research first?

Your Business Or Your Life?

2009-06-23T14:56:19Z

Is the rest of your life suffering because of your business? Do you believe you’ll never be a success unless you put in at least 70 hours a week? That’s what I used to think. I’d read interviews with successful business owners who survived on four hours sleep a night and had no life outside of work and I figured I had to do the same.

Well, I thought those people were stars and I wanted to do what they did. But I’d missed something. Yes, the folk I’d read about were successful in terms of growing their business quickly and making a lot of cash. But they really didn’t have much else to brag about.

Cash and growth aren’t worth much if your health is suffering, you barely ever see your family and friends and you’ve put off doing anything remotely interesting for at least 5 years.

I’m not saying you don’t need to put in a lot of hard work when you start a business but it shouldn’t be at the expense of everything else. So here’s some resources I’ve found to help you balance your life and business:

Time isn’t important - it’s what you do in that time that counts. If you struggle with time management, check out: How To Get A Heap Of Stuff Done Each Day

Eating ready made crap and depriving yourself of sleep, to spend more time working is counter productive. Check out 100 great resources for preparing healthy meals quickly. And if you don’t sleep well, you can learn how to sort out your sleep patterns here.

Coming up with new ideas is essential, if you want your business to thrive. But most people don’t come up with their best ideas when they’re working. Check out 27 Ways to Fuel Your Imagination & Come Up With Great Ideas.

Are you working every waking hour, or do you have a good balance between work and the rest of your life?

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What Can You Do When Your Life Is Stuck?

2009-06-23T15:24:54Z

Is your life stuck? Do you find it difficult to move forward, because you’re too busy looking back?

I get quite a few messages from people who are going through bad times, like this one from Sid: (name changed to protect identity)

I feel pretty bad at the moment. In just a few weeks I’m going to be 37 and I’ve achieved nothing.

On leaving school I trained in one of the lowest paid trades around, also one I didn’t really want to do. Over the years I’ve tried to retrain but never seem to quite make it.

Now I still work in the trade I’ve never really wanted to do, due to depression I only work about 1 day a week and my girlfriend has to pay my way.

Yet another effort to move into a new profession has crashed and burnt along with all the money I put into the course.

Yes I do feel sorry for myself, but I clearly haven’t reached rock bottom yet as all I feel like doing is curling up in a dark corner.

I’ve read Robbins over self help gurus but it all just runs off of me.

Sad huh? But I’m betting Sid’s not the first person to feel this way. So how can he unstick his life?

He Needs To Get Over The “Too Late” Crap

Have you ever had the feeling that things have got so bad that it’s too late to change your life? I’ve definitely been there. Something really bad happened to me and I missed a huge part of my twenties due to illness. And a lot of the time, I thought it wasn’t even worth getting well again, as it was too late to achieve anything meaningful. But that’s stupid thinking, that gets you nowhere.

Now Sid is only 37 and he feels as though he’s achieved nothing. He might be right, it could be too late - but only if he plans to die before he hits 38. And he’s got to forget about those first 37 years, cos he can’t change them.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of looking into the past at bad times, missed opportunities, wasted time, or whatever, when you really should be looking at what you want to do right now.

Your life is only over if you start banging the nails into your own coffin. And your experiences, no matter how bad, will always come in useful later on.

As for age - if you manage to hang round until 2035, some scientists reckon you’ll probably live well into your eighties. And some are even saying that physical immortality is possible.

Whose Life Are You Living Anyway?

Sid mentions that he trained in a low paid trade and one that he didn’t even want to do. And that’s something he can change.

Too many people do jobs that suck, for silly reasons, such as pleasing other folk. And a few decades ago, many of them would have stayed in the same crappy job, until they dropped dead or retired. But the world is changing - there is no “job for life” anymore and even if there was, you wouldn’t look like a failure, if you didn’t stay in it.

So Sid needs to forget about what other folk want him to do, or what might seem like a safe, respectable trade and think about what he wants to do.

You Don’t Have To Live With Depression

Sid says he’s only working one day a week due to depression. And the depression is something he needs to fix, before he can achieve his other goals. Nobody needs to live with depression forever. Like any other illness it can be fixed, through prescribed drugs, counselling, or whatever it takes.

I’ve found light therapy wonderful for fixing depression and it doesn’t have the horrid side-effects of many antidepressants.

Maybe a lightbox would help Sid too - but the important thing is that he gets help, so he can unstick his life.

Have you ever felt like your life was stuck? What advice would you give Sid?

Are They Really Making Money For Nothing?

2009-06-23T15:20:17Z

Can you really make money for nothing? Recently, I’ve read a lot of articles that claim that some people are. But how true is it?

Folk like Jordan (glamour model) and reality tv stars, like the late Jade Goody often come under fire for making money for bugger all.

Half the population applauds the fact that these people came from disadvantaged backgrounds and used their new found fame to build multi-million pound business empires. But the other half turn up their noses at what they see as worthless crap, peddled by folk who appear to lack skill, talent and taste.

These women have all used their initial burst of fame, to make themselves a huge wad of cash. Jordan has been more successful at this than most and so far she’s made an estimated to £30 million to £50 million from perfume, ghost written books, horse accessories etc.

Is she really less worthy, because she used to be a topless model? After all, fashion models launch other businesses and they don’t seem to get the same kind of public slating. Are they more important, because they choose to model clothes that the average human being could never hope to fit into?

I’m not a huge fan of reality tv, or any tv for that matter, I prefer films. But reality tv is hugely popular on both sides of the pond. So who are we to suggest that reality tv stars deserve less success than film actors?

In any type of business, good marketing will almost always beat talent, or an excellent product. So I don’t see why so many folk insist on putting down the likes of Jordan.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

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The Idiot’s Way To Boost Creativity

2009-06-23T15:00:14Z

If there was a creativity boosting drug that could transform you into the new Stephen King overnight, would you take it? Stephen King did.

When I heard that King had been wasted whilst writing the Tommyknockers, I wasn’t surprised. I was a huge King fan back then but I thought the book sucked. So I was shocked to learn that Tommyknockers wasn’t the first book King wrote whilst he was high.

According to a new biography, Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King, Stephen spent over a decade writing on coke. And when he finally kicked his addiction, he had to learn to write again - without drugs.

King began suffering from depression, when he was struggling to get published. So, he self-medicated with alcohol. And although his first novel - “Carrie” earned King more money than he’d ever hoped to earn as a novelist, his success did nothing to lift his depression.

If anything, the money made things worse - instead of being a drunk who wrote a great book, he became a coke addict who wrote lots of great books.

And King was not alone in his reliance on drugs to create and perform. Years of drink and drugs flattened Aerosmith, in the early eighties. But they cleaned up and a few years later, they proved that you don’t have to be stoned off your face to achieve success.

Some of the dearly departed did not have such a great reversal in fortune. I cringe when I hear folk talk about Hemmingway’s alcohol fueled talent, or how the Beatles wrote the best songs when they were high. What kind of messages are they giving to the talented and creative children of tomorrow?

Some say that drugs enhance your creativity but do they? And is it really worth it, if you’re too miserable to reap the benefits?

Look at the band Oasis. Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I wouldn’t cross the street to watch them play, because I think Noel and Liam Gallagher come across as a pair of mouthy yobs.

But there’s no denying their musical talent - at least there wasn’t. They can thank drugs for ruining their disasterous album - “Be Here Now.” Even Noel Gallagher admits that it sucks:

“It’s the sound of … a bunch of guys, on coke, in the studio, not giving a fuck. There’s no bass to it at all; I don’t know what happened to that … And all the songs are really long and all the lyrics are shit and for every millisecond Liam is not saying a word, there’s a guitar riff in there in a Wayne’s World style.”

Have you ever used drugs or alcohol to boost your creativity? Do you think it could be harmful to young people to hear some of these stories about famous folk being more creative when they’re high?

Quitting Smoking Makes You Sick

2009-06-23T15:22:27Z

It’s nine weeks since I quit smoking. And I’d like to say that I’ve never felt better but that would be a huge lie.

At first it seemed easy but things just got worse and worse. I began to feel exhausted and depressed, my insomnia returned and my skin began to dry out and peel off.

And I can’t stop eating - I’ve never felt so hungry in my whole life. For the first few weeks, I was easily able to skip meals, much the same as I did when I smoked - so this is a huge shock to my system.

So Am I Saying That Quitting Smoking Is Bad For You?

No - that would be ridiculous. When you quit smoking, it’s easy to blame every single health problem on the fact you’ve given up. And while it’s true that you might not feel on top of the world for a while, you probably wouldn’t be feeling 100% if you were still smoking.

My circulation has definitely improved. And when I caught a cold for the first time since quitting - it meant I had a sore throat and sneezed quite a bit. Before stopping, I would have felt like I was on the verge of pneumonia.

Does It Take A Lot Of Willpower To Quit?

If you’re thinking about quitting yourself - here’s one thing you need to know: Quitting smoking requires no willpower at all.

I used to believe you needed a lot of willpower to give up smoking, which is why I failed so many times. But the truth is - willpower is probably the very worst way to stop smoking. Instead I used a technique that I learned about in the Silva Life System - I used my imagination. I’ve also been using nicotine patches to help deal with cravings.

My Biggest Tip

Cravings to smoke usually pass in seconds. But when you do get them, I’ve found that asking yourself this simple question, is the most effective way to deal with them: “What are the benefits of having a cigarette right now?” This always works, because there are no benefits.