Craft Your Content - 5…4…3…2…1…

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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

“Don’t be surprised by your greatness. Be surprised that no one expected it.” ― Rebecca Maizel, Infinite Days

Elisa’s Thought for the Week

New Year, New You!

Barf.

I was talking to a friend who was going through a tough time, and she kept saying she needed to make huge changes. Essentially changing everything about herself. Hole up on an island for months to sweat it out at some ashram while eating far too much kale and reading way too many self-help books.

She had bought into the hype, touted by all the lifestyle bloggers and entrepreneur coaches online, that the only way to find happiness and success in what she wanted was to stop being herself and learn to be more like them.

With the end of one year transitioning into another, that is always the prime time for these folks to come out of the woodwork. To prey on your insecurities and doubts, making you believe that if you just do what they tell you (usually for a “nominal fee”), your life will be amazeballs and you will be the best “you” that you could ever possibly be.

Barf. Again. With dry heaving.

’Cause here’s the thing … Though it might sound a little too Pollyanna-head-in-the-clouds, I happen to believe that at our core, we are all pretty fantastic people.

So you, yes you, waking up today, pouring a cup of pouring a cup of coffee (or a dram of whisky) and settling in to catch up on news and emails from the week — I think you are a pretty fantastic person.

And I’m going to tell you what I told my friend that day.

You don’t need to change your core being. You don’t need to change yourself. You are good enough for everything and more.

What we need to change are our bad habits. Our routines and limiting beliefs.

Think of it like this.

You are a gorgeous gemstone (I like to go with pearl, don’t @ me) hidden in the darkest part of the woods.

Ever walked through the woods before? Gotten to that darkest part, where everything is mossy and dirty and enveloped by massive roots systems? Wanted to just get out of there as quickly as you could, to the pretty place where the sun shines on the colourful flowers and trees give way to perfect clearings where you can settle and relax and behold the beautiful vista that lies before you?

Who hasn’t? If Instagram has taught us anything, it’s that those are the places that people want to be.

But if you want to make changes in your life for whatever reason — even if that reason is simply because your life isn’t feeling all that great — you are probably living day-to-day in that dark dank mossy mess of a forest floor.

You’re still you, though. That gorgeous gemstone, whose sparkle has been dimmed by all the dirt and muck and grime that has collected over the years.

Some of it has been there so long, it’s built a tough-to-crack shell or knotty gnarled scab. Some of it could simply be washed away with a strong soap and luxuriously warm water bath.

Whatever has built up over your gorgeous gemstone, your truest self … that’s what you need to chip away.

Learn what caused it to grow there, so you can stay vigilant against letting it creep back again.

You don’t need to change yourself this New Year to find the life you want.

You might need to change some of the yuck you’ve built up along the way.

But unless you are daily struggling to legitimately not be a homicidal maniac, who substitutes salt for sugar in restaurant condiment shakers, and knows the difference between your and you’re but refuses to use them correctly because you are a maliciously deviant being who thrives on bringing chaos and sadness to the world — you’re probably ok.

Great, even.

Beneath it all, you are that gorgeous gemstone.

And you deserve the beautiful view from the vista, not to be ignored and forgotten in the darkness of the forest floor.

What You Missed on Craft Your Content …

Our articles have the same mission we do — to help you to make your own words even better!

• At the end of every year, our Director of Production Erika Rasso collects all the content the different members of our team here at CYC loved. Whether books, movies, TV series, music, or podcasts — if you are looking for something new to check out in 2023, we’ve got you covered!

In Other Reading This Week …

Need more insights and inspiration for your writing and mindset?​
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• At the end of the year so many writers will take time to wax poetic on their musings (see above.) But I love this list from Tom Whitehall about actual facts and information he learned in 2022.​
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• That said, there isn’t anything wrong with end-of-year wrap-ups and advice. Like this essay from Jeannine Ouellette on 11 urgent (and possibly helpful) things she learned from reading thousands of manuscripts.​
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• It’s a concept we can all grasp, but actually acting on it isn’t quite as easy. Let’s all roll into 2023 with this article from Maura Thomas in Harvard Business Review, that reminds us we can have better control over our lives when we control what we pay attention to.​
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• Struggling to get those sales pages and emails written for your 2023 projects? Use these 10 copywriting tips worth stealing from Cyndi Zaweski at Ascent Storycraft.
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• Short but sweet, and worth every character space it’s given, this piece from Hailley Griffis on MakeWorkWork on when you should put effort into an email reply is the energy we all need to take into 2023.

Weekly Writing Tip …

A quick chance to learn from the masters.

“No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.” ― Ansel Adams

Untranslatable …

Exquisite words from other languages.

Novaturient [no-vah-TUR-ee-ent] (adj.) – This Latin word means desiring or seeking powerful change in one’s life, behavior, or situation. The changes themselves do not need to be big (e.g. drinking more water, reading more, publishing twice a month), but the desire to make the changes should be something that drives you.

For the Upcoming Week …

Because we all need a good chuckle to start things off right!

We can’t all have all the smarts…we’d be too powerful!

Cheers ~

PS - I’ve shared this essay before, but as I’ve been working constantly at getting The Writers Journaling System ready for the world, things like “New Year, New You!” have been weighing heavily on my mind.