You just never know… I mean I never imagined when I put a video on YouTube about this time last year that it would get so many views! So far over 2,400. Woohoo!!

I initially did it as a test – to see whether I could create a half decent video and get it up on YouTube. And I must confess it took me a couple of goes and the help of a friend, but I did it.

At first, I would login and look at the statistics and then over time I forgot about it. Like all things, life moves on and although I had good intentions to make another video – well you know what happens…

Then, the other week I was looking through my Google accounts and on impulse logged into YouTube to have a quick look. Imagine my surprise and absolute delight when I saw the numbers and the fact that people had bothered to rate and refer it.

I must admit it’s motivated me to do another one, I’m not sure about the topic but when I’ve done it I’ll let you know. I’m learning that if you don’t ‘toot your own horn’ then nobody will. Firstly because they don’t know about it, and secondly if you’re not interested in celebrating your achievements why would they?

What does all this mean? To me I’ve learnt three key lessons:

Be bold and give it a go

You never know unless you try. It’s an old adage and frequently cited and it is very true. We (take that as an I) worry about what people will think, what happens if no-one likes it, think to myself if only I didn’t stutter here or stumble there.

So what? What is the worse that could happen? And is that a bad thing? Doing anything creative always has an element of risk about it. It’s what you learn from it that counts. It’s the picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and moving on to the next creative endeavour that counts.

It’s not usually personal

None of us are the same. We think and feel differently. So how we interpret what’s before us is very much a personal thing.  It’s our life experiences and how we are feeling at that moment in time that colours our thoughts.

If I’m having a bad hair day or had a disagreement with someone, chances are I’m going to look at something with a more critical eye than if I was in a happy and generous mood. And so any comments, ratings or leaving before the finish is more about the person who is viewing than you.

I learnt this lesson from my video being used as a class exercise to comment on and give thoughts on the content. Once I realised it wasn’t personal (I mean get over yourself Jan), I was able to enjoy the fact someone thought enough of it to use it in a class lesson.

You just need to remind yourself of this when you start to tie yourself in knots about it.

It’s OK to be yourself

In fact it’s better than OK, it’s a must. Trying to be who you think others want you to be is hard work. And if you’re anything like me (basically lazy), it’s much easier to be yourself. It’s more fun and the rewards, I think, are greater.

Creativity is about you. Who you are, what you feel and think. How you see things. And that’s what brings colour into both our own and others lives.

What now? I don’t know about you but I’m going to continue to be bold and give whatever takes my fancy a go,  not worry about what other people think and most importantly of all, be myself.

If you’re interest and have a spare 9 or so minutes (lesson learnt – make the video shorter,  4-5 minutes seems to be best) click here to view the YouTube video. It’s called the ‘Seven Key Skills of Facilitation’ and I originally did it for my Team Coaching website www.simplesynergy.com.au

Successful writers and infopreneurs who acknowledge their skills and achievements will become even more successful in the future.

A big statement, I know. However, acknowledging achievements in any field tends to create a cycle of success, and writing is certainly no different.

Creative writing is a skill, and an art form, and should be acknowledged as such.

Although the majority of the population can string sentences and even paragraphs together, it is a rarer skill to be able to engage the reader’s attention, to allow the reader to delve into the world of imagination, and to imply tone of voice by the words used.

Whenever you find the exact phrase that has been haunting you, it is a real thrill. You get a sense of achievement when you see your work published, or when someone compliments your writing. However, much of the writing world does not have close contact with the people actually reading the work. Some writing in itself is boring, or unimaginative, like ghost writing, but it can pay the bills.

Whatever you write, you should spend some time reviewing, and acknowledging your achievements. This helps you in many ways to become a better writer, creative consultant and infopreneur and to remain motivated and focused for your next writing project.

Success breeds success, and that is why you should celebrate your successes and achievements.

Giving yourself a simple pat on the back, or a small treat for a job well done, can help you to enjoy what you are doing more. Each time you review your writing, and get excited by a turn of phrase, or the way the sentences just flowed, you not only celebrate the art and creativity of writing, you reinforce the skills required for first-rate writing practices.

Celebrating your achievements, no matter how small they are, can really motivate you to continue writing. If you are having a particularly difficult day, and are finding it tricky to concentrate, even writing one page can be an achievement. Give yourself a sign of approbation for the success of that one page, and you may suddenly find the motivation to write a second page.

Success is a wonderful feeling.

Cultivate a sensation of success by rejoicing when you achieve small things, as well as large goals. Enhance your enjoyment of the art of writing by learning how to acknowledge your own achievements. If you meet a client’s deadline, you should feel proud. It was hard work to achieve that, and you will be more likely to put in the hard work to meet deadlines in the future, if you can allow yourself to feel good about meeting this one.

I often find that as a writer and consultant, I move from one project to the next, with little break in between. However, when I do stop to congratulate myself on achieving a project, I find that the next project is easier and tends to flow faster and better. This is because I feel good in myself and confident in my writing ability, and am therefore able to concentrate better.

Create a cycle of success with your creative writing and make time to acknowledge and celebrate your achievements, both large and small. This is something many writers forget to do, waiting only for a publisher’s approval, or a sale to feel good about their work. However, you do have the choice to celebrate and acknowledge your achievements every day.

Try it, and see if it leads to greater success as an author.

In my next post, I’ll be tackling B in HABITS. B represents ‘Be persistent’ which can be hard to be at times. I look forward to chatting with you then.

There are many ways you can acknowledge your writing achievements. This section of CREATIVE HABITS is all about being nice to yourself, and giving yourself encouragement and a  job well done.

It’s  really important as infopreneurs, creative consultants and writers to have ways of celebrating our achievements. It’s often a solitary process, and no-one else will really understand what you went through to create your writing.

Acknowledging your achievements gives you a chance to be grateful for your creative muse, your skills as a writer and creator, and your enjoyment in writing. It also gives you a chance to enjoy a mental break before moving on to the next project.

Depending on the size and length of time of the writing project, you will have different treats or ways of acknowledging your achievement.

photo credit: Life in LDN

Sometimes, it can be as simple as a rewarding cup of tea or coffee, as a break. I often will do this when I am on a deadline. I tell myself, “I’ll have that cuppa I’m craving, after I finish the first article of the day!” That way, it becomes a reward for hard work, rather than a way of procrastinating and putting off the work of writing.

If I have sold many articles or other infopreneurial products recently, I’ll buy myself a treat like a massage, pedicure, or a new item of clothing. If you put just 5 or ten per cent of your earnings aside for fun money, it won’t take long to earn a new shirt, or enough to pay for a lovely dinner out.  It’s a great idea to put a proportion of your writing earnings aside to give yourself treats and acknowledgement of your achievements.

After writing for several hours in a day, you may like to acknowledge your productivity by going for a refreshing walk outside. This is especially good on a lovely day, and will refresh your body and mind for more writing later.

Giving yourself mini treats and breaks along the way, will make it far easier to reach your goals. It is sometimes difficult to keep your attention focused on the task of writing, especially when you are writing for a large project, like a novel. Set yourself a mini-goal with a reasonable treat at the end of it. For example, you might write three pages in an hour. At the end of the hour, get up from the computer, stretch and get yourself a drink or a piece of fruit.

If you don’t want to eat or drink, at least tick off the work you have achieved and give yourself a five minute mental (and physical break) by walking around or doing another task around the house that is not related to writing. This way, you will come back to the writing project refreshed and will probably be even more productive.

My other favorite way of refreshing my mind and giving myself a treat is to read a bit of my current novel. I am a voracious reader, and love to lose myself in books, so what I do is whenever I finish a major task for the day, or have been writing productively for a while, I’ll give myself 10 to 20 minutes to lose myself in my book.

You will have to find ways of acknowledging your achievements that suit you.

Remember it can serve two purposes; it enables you to stay focused and motivated to continue to achieve your writing goals, and it gives you a well-deserved rest and mental break that refreshes your spirit and excites your creative muse.

Find ways of acknowledging your achievements that accomplishes these dual purposes, and you will continue to succeed as a writer and creative infopreneur!

A = Acknowledge Achievements

We are now up to A in HABITS in the CREATIVE HABITS series. I hope you are continuing to find the posts give you food for thought on how to keep the spark in your creativity as a writer and infopreneur.

Acknowledgement for achievements is what everyone wants. I know an aknowledging  ‘pat on the back’ spurs me on to be more creative and to put more into my writing.

A victory won though, is nothing without someone to share it with or some kind of celebration for the victory.  Infopreneurs and writers, especially those who work from home, will not always have someone around to celebrate milestones with. That’s why we should rejoice in our own achievements as authors.

Giving yourself a simple treat, or a pat on the back, can give you even more encouragement to continue the writing.  Recognizing achievements does two things. It gives you further enjoyment to reach more goals, and it gives you a chance to celebrate and recognie how far you have come.

Especially if you are working on a large project, such as a novel, you should break the task up into smaller sections, so that you can have some celebratory milestones along the way. Reaching a milestone, such as the end of a chapter, is an achievement, and should be acknowledged. Obviously, the publisher is only going to want to celebrate when the entire book is finished, but there is no reason why you can’t go and have a piece of your favorite cake at your local café to celebrate finishing the chapter.

Acknowledging achievements, even the small ones, can give you the energy and renewed enthusiasm for the whole project. It is worthwhile setting small goals for each day, and giving yourself the treat of acknowledging what you have achieved. Personally, I love to do lists. On days when I have a lot of writing to achieve, I’ll break it up into smaller tasks, each article, group of pages, chapter, or research section goes on my to do list, usually on my whiteboard.

Then, as I achieve each item, I either cross it off or rub the task off the whiteboard. I might tell myself that at the end of two tasks, I’ll treat myself to a coffee, a piece of fruit, or a break for a short time. This not only helps keep me focused and motivated to achieve each task, but helps me to remember to celebrate my achievements.

When you finish a large project, such as a novel, make sure your achievement is acknowledged by your whole family. Take the time out to go out for a special dinner, or even a large treat like a night in a hotel or a holiday, depending on the size of the project. If the project has taken you 18 months to achieve, a little piece of cake won’t feel like a celebration.

Celebrating achievements, even throughout the working day, gives you a mental break.  Often we don’t take time to celebrate because we are so focused on the next task, the next page, the next chapter. But taking just a couple of minutes to acknowledge an achievement can help you focus better on the next task, giving you time to breath and not rush from task to task.

Be nice to yourself as an author, and acknowledge your own achievements. Celebrate your creative art, your work, and your life to be happier and content with what you are doing. Acknowledging your achievements is important, and gives you many mental benefits. So what are you waiting for? Achieve a goal today and celebrate it accordingly!