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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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Want to Minimize Regrets?

Choose What's Closest to Your Heart

I was 35 years old the first time I made a major decision that I didn't then turn around and spend an inordinate amount of time second guessing.  I decided to go ahead and self-publish my first novel, Again and Again, instead of shopping it around to see if I could attract the attention of a major publisher. 

Three years later after publishing my work through iUniverse, I have no regrets or doubts whatsoever.  Let me tell you that being satisfied with a decision I made is a new experience for me as I've had trouble making decisions with everything.  When I was 19 my dilemma was whether or not I should change my major from journalism to something (anything!) else.  After college I worried about where I'd live-suburbs, college town or city?  Then there's the consternation over my writing. Should I focus on feature stories or romance novels?

You name it and I can pretty much guarantee you that I spent countless hours fretting and worrying over the decision-even after the decision was made.  I have to admit that it took me a while to research my self-publishing options however once I chose iUniverse, I never looked back.

If you want to decrease your chances of making a bad decision you might later regret, follow the advice of best selling author Mira Kirshenbaum and chose what's "closest to your heart." 

If you're in a confusing situation, you may not have the answers to all of your questions, "But you just might know what...is closest to your heart," writes Kirshenbaum.  While Kirshenbaum is referring to choosing between two relationships, I can see how knowing what's closest to your heart can help you clarify what to do when you're muddling through anything. 

"All my research and clinical experience show something really interesting," continued Kirshenbaum. "...if you get the one thing that's most important to you, if you focus on the one thing that's closest to your heart, then that's the way you will most likely find the happiness that's available to you."

What's closest to my heart right now is convenience. I'm taking care of children and writing so I want to do as much as I can from home without traveling. Also I live in a New York City apartment so I don't want a lot of "stuff." So print-on-demand was perfect for me.  I could control the entire project from beginning to end. No deadlines unless they were self-imposed.  As Kirshenbaum advises I made the decision based on what was most important to me and I'm satisfied with the results, completely. 

 

Leah Mullen, Author of AGAIN AND AGAIN
Please visit my site http://www.leahmullen.com/ blog: http://mylifeisapageturner.blogspot.com/ life coaching column: http://www.bellaonline.com/site/lifecoaching Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/leah_mullen Do we read the same books? check out my shelf http://www.shelfari.com/leah_mullen Visit my profile on http://www.amazon.com/ to see my latest book reviews and guides including "Be a Self-Actualized Black Woman!"