Move On Magazine Issue 4

Move On M A G A Z I N E

Make

MONEY ONLINE

WHEN ‘WE’ BECOMES ‘ME’

Beat

Loneliness

Maggie Beer

Join me for a FREE

28 DAY CHALLENGE to learn ways to overcome challenges and cope with change

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YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO: 99 Stop Overwhelm By Setting Smaller, Attainable Goals 99 Breaking It Down – From Challenge To Baby Steps 99 It Will Get Easier – Getting Used To Change 99 The Importance Of Taking Time To Grieve 99 Embracing Challenges And Creating New Routines 99 Sleep On It – How A Good Night Sleep Puts Everything Into Perspective 99 You’re Stronger Than You Think – A Look Back At What You’ve Overcome 99 Celebrate Your Victories And Successes 99 Reflect On How Far You’ve Come And Where To Go From Here I have been where you are now, feeling hopeless and alone. Not knowing how I was going to cope with everything, but here I am now, moving on and thriving. I didn’t make it this far by giving up when the going was tough and neither did you. Join me so we can figure this thing out together! We can leave a legacy for our daughters and all those wonderful women out there. Let’s give ageism the flick and live our lives with passion and purpose. Come on, become a member of my team and see if we can’t shock a few people.

Contents 10

MAGGIE BEER: THE SIMPLICITY IN FOOD

16

VICTORIA ROSE

19

INSPIRE AND SUCCEED

23

WHEN WE BECOMES ME

26

SUSAN HAMILTON: HOW TO GET PUBLISHED WITH CROWDFUNDING

30

LEARNING NEW THINGS

34

BEAT LONELINESS

18

30 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Contributors MAGGIE BE E R In 1973, Maggie Beer and husband Colin settled in the Barossa Valley, with the intention of breeding game birds. The establishment of their farm and vineyard led to the legendary Pheasant Farm Restaurant, long gone but part of the food history of South Australia. These days, her career spans farming, food production, as well as television presenting and food writing. maggiebeer.com.au

S U S A N H A M I LT O N Susan K. Hamilton is the award-winning author of epic, dark, and urban fantasy books including Shadow King, Darkstar Rising, and the forthcoming The Devil Inside. She’s also dipped her toe in the short story pond and had her work included in the ESCAPE! Anthology and the DECEPTION! Anthology from Writing Bloc. susanhamilton.com

VICTORIA ROSE In 2014 Victoria wrote her first book for smart single women over 60. Since then, her book has been read by all ages and both men and women.

It distills all the wisdom, all the mistakes and all the humour she has amassed over the last six decades. These days, Victoria shares that wisdom

by LiveStreaming on Facebook as well as offering FREE training on how you can do the same. www.facebook.com/over60stillfabulous

Maggie Beer:

The Simplicity In Food 10 www.moveonmagazine.com

Maggie Beer lights up our screens with her infections smile, passion in abundance and mouth-watering food inspiration. Her creative yet simple dishes, her down-to-earth approach and the excitement she portrays in every stir, blend, sauté, bake or fry excite the senses and inspire even the blandest of cooks amongst us to get into the kitchen and give it a go. Her name has become synonymous with family meals, nourishing plates and the sheer pleasure of food – and, at 75, that passion is as strong as ever.

However, last year Maggie felt the time was right to move on from her main business, Maggie Beer Products, after 40 years in the driver’s seat. It was not

my husband Colin, and more time for my Foundation and the overview of the farmshop business which will always remain within the family,” she said.

Maggie’s focus is now on the Maggie Beer Foundation, whose core mission is to improve food experiences for older Australians. One of the significant components of the Foundation is to work alongside aged care cooks and chefs to improve the quality of food available to patients, offering masterclasses, education programs, workshops and conferences across the country. By engaging with key stakeholders, including those on the kitchen frontline as well as CEOs and

“Every meal should be a pleasure and healthy, side by side, as it’salways been.” an easy decision, but after consistently working 70 hours a week with her combined responsibilities, something needed to change. It was time to slow down, just a little, and dedicate more time instead to her husband, family, and her community through the Maggie Beer Foundation.

“It had to happen one day because our children were not interested in the business as they have their own, which meant we had no succession plan. But, it so happened with my management team, who I trusted so much, to be the perfect opportunity and good timing to release me. The timing was right to step back and take more time for me and

managers, Maggie and her Foundation team aim to reignite the commitment to providing nourishing, pleasurable food to improve the wellbeing and the quality of life of aged care patrons.

For Maggie herself, the passion she holds for the Foundation is key to moving on from her life in business to a cause close to her heart. Through her experience, knowledge and skills gathered across her colourful career, not to mention the accolades and notoriety she has simultaneously attained, Maggie is perfectly placed to make positive change – and she loves the new challenge. www.moveonmagazine.com 11

“I think in moving from busy business life, you have to have something else that is your passion to follow, whether that’s giving back to the community or just keeping busy, but doing something that gives you equal satisfaction. Be connected to your family and community and things that matter.” “[The Foundation] will take me into the coming years, and I need to take some time to smell the roses. As I get older, I have much more I need to do, but I have to balance that with taking time out for myself and family.”

Not surprisingly, this connection to family, slowing things down and savouring each moment is a what makes Maggie’s food so popular. With such a full and busy life, meals need to be quite the opposite- pleasurable,

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simple and connecting. Despite how busy she has found herself over the years, slowing down to cook and enjoy a meal has always been a priority.

“Every day is important when it comes to food. I keep it simple, taking what’s ripe and ready in the garden. Having time to garden is also important. Every meal should be a pleasure and healthy, side by side, as it’s always been.”

Take a leaf out of Maggie’s book and slow down once each by reconnecting to your kitchen and becoming inspired by food once again. Even if you are on your own, creating nourishing fare to boost your wellbeing and make you feel amazing is not out of reach. Try one of these recipes from the Maggie Beer Foundation, or head to the website for more delicious inspiration; maggiebeerfoundation.org.au

Banana, Cocoa & Coconut Smoothie

Start the day with it, or serve as a nourishing snack, give this smoothie a try! SMOOTHIE BENEFITS: This smoothie packs a lot of protein and energy into a small serve which is a fabulous way of increasing intake of these vital nutrients for those with a reduced appetite.

This wholesome and tasty smoothie also contains calcium, potassium and both pre- and pro-biotics to aid gut health.

• 1 banana- extra ripe and medium sized • 1 teaspoon cocoa powder • 1 Tablespoon Skim milk powder • 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup • 150ml milk (your choice) • 100ml coconut milk or 60 ml coconut cream • 1 Tablespoon chia seeds • Pinch cinnamon

METHOD 1. Peel and cut bananas into 6 pieces and place into a high speed blender with remaining ingredients. Blend for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.

2. Divide between glasses. Tip: Freeze any browning or overripe bananasthey are perfect in smoothies.

Substitute the frozen banana for frozen berries

• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil • 100g ice www.moveonmagazine.com 13

Roasted Carrot, Turmeric & Coconut Soup

Many of life’s comforts can be found in a bowl of flavour packed warming soup, give this recipe a go!

• 1kg carrots • 800g pumpkin • 60g Extra Virgin Olive oil • Sea salt flakes • Cracked black pepper • 50g extra virgin coconut oil • 2 large onions- sliced • 2 garlic cloves • 35g fresh ginger- peeled and grated

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• 60g honey • 1 tsp ras el hanout • 1 tsp ground turmeric • 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar • 2L chicken or vegetable stock • 500ml coconut cream • Greek yoghurt and toasted pumpkin seeds to serve (optional)

METHOD 1. Preheat a fan forced oven to 220c, line 2 oven trays with parchment paper 2. Rinse the carrots, cut into inch pieces and spread over one oven tray.

3. Cut 2-3cm thick wedges of pumpkin and spread over the oven tray. Drizzle both the with olive oil, salt and pepper and place into the oven, bake for 40-60minutes or until golden and tender.

- Set aside two wedges of pumpkin.

4. Place a large pot on the stove over medium heat, add the coconut oil and onion, cook slowly for 10 minutes without colour, add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 5minutes.

5. Add in the honey and spices, mix well before deglazing the pan with vinegar.

6. Carefully add the roasted carrot and scooped pumpkin flesh from the skin.

7. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20minutes.

8. Stir in the coconut cream, simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before blending until smooth in a food processor or similar 9. Serve warm with Greek yoghurt and toasted pumpkin seeds or fresh bread.

This recipe makes a big batch but will keep over a few days. It is best fresh, but can be frozen in portions for later as well.

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Victoria Rose:

Over 60 Still Fabulous!

V

ictoria Rose was soldier for 23 years. For a large portion of her life, she trained officers in weapons and then eventually decided to take this into the corporate world.

Travelling had always been a passion for Victoria. Even as young as 18, she took off overseas to explore the world and the desire has never left her.

The unique and beautiful thing about Victoria Rose, is that now, in her eighth decade of life, she has mastered the art of living her best life.

“I turned seventy last year and I made a decision to live before I die,” Victoria said.

“It’s so easy to make the decision that you’re too old to and too invisible

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to try anything new, that no one cares about you. We all have these stories running through our mind, which ultimately stop us from really living,” she said.

It’s all too common to hear the inner critics of older women holding them back. The narration that constantly runs in our heads about being frail, useless, unimportant, unworthy, is stopping many older women from pursuing their dreams.

After writing her latest book, How To Make The Rest Of Your Life, The Best Of Your Life, Victoria embarked on an incredible 16 month backpacking solo through Europe, Turkey and Asia on an Age pension.

Her goal was to prove that you really can travel and live overseas on a pension. She now continues her journey, here, in Australia, where she is comparing the same day to day lifestyle.

“We are The Elders of our time. So many of us have given up that position and become victims of ageing.”

“In Europe, for example, I was paying $1 -$1.50 for a coffee. Here, I’m paying up to $5,” she said.

“There is no used by date, unless you think there is,” Victoria sais.

“You see, there is so much in our world that we can get excited about if you just open your view and look around!

There are infinite possibilities if we put ourselves forward and take the first the step and be open to opportunity.”

Victoria says that when you believe in something, you create it for yourself.

“Compare two women, side by side.

One of them has a high altitude attitude, who believes that she has a choice of viewing a current challenging event as

“You have the power to create your own reality.” either bitter or better. Better is accepting what has happened and saying, ‘OK, what can we do about this?’ The other woman is saying ‘woe is me, doomsdays has come, I’m hopeless, I’m helpless.’ Which, in our ‘day’ that was an accepted thing to do.”

The woman choosing a better approach can move forward and feel empowered that she has choices, whereas the other woman will be stuck.

Victoria’s life began to change when she was 50 years od, working in the real estate industry and on the verge of a breakdown.

“I realised that I was a fraud. I was NOT making the rest of my life the best of my life. I took a good look at what I was doing. Is it going to lead to me into the best of my life? I took a hard look at myself.”

“What is it you want most?” I asked myself.

I took myself off into the Italy and the Greek Islands for 6 weeks. I travelled with just a backpack and only those posession in my life. I felt light. I had no worries. It was incredible feeling.

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And, so here Victoria was again, asking herself what makes her happy. It came back to those simplicities.

“All I own at this stage of my life is 6 medium cardboard boxes, a pushbike, I don’t own a fridge or washing machine, I don’t own a home.

“I had only one housesit organized from Australia for 3 months in turkey. I took the first step and for the rest of the time the possibilities presented themselves.”

“The thing is, We ARE old. I am an old woman, but I embrace being an Elder.

I don’t want to go back to being young.

I remember sitting around the table with my mum and hearing her saying “If only I could go back and know what I know now!” I’d never want to go back for even one year. What I now hold both in my head and my heart is so valuable.”

These are Victoria’s simple steps to changing the course of your life. To really make the best of the rest of your life, take these five steps: WHERE ARE YOU NOW? Look seriously. Take an honest reality check of your life. Look at your values? Are you living them? What story are you telling yourself? Be honest. Be brave.

HOW. How did you get to where you are now? The choices you’ve made to get this stage are yours and only yours.

Blaming others is fruitless. Our own choices lead us here. What thoughts did I create in my mind that helped get me here? What words did I use? Words are incredibly powerful. What words helped build your situation? You will need to change those things to get a different result moving forward.

WHAT. What is it that I truly want? If you don’t know what you want, you can’t achieve it! Many of us don’t realise we have a choice! “I can choose what I want? Not my husband, my kids, society?” Yes, you can!

WILL. Will you take action? Do you have the will to change how you’ve shown up in the world? Do you? You must find the will within yourself to make this change.

CELEBRATION. To get to the point where you have figured all of this out is worth celebrating. We need more celebrations in our lives. This really is something to celebrate.

Listen to the full interview here.

How To Make The Rest Of Your Life, The Best Of Your Life - Tough love for smart single women over 60 on Amazon.

Podcast at on anchor.fm.

Victoria Rose Tough Love oversixtystillfabulous

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d e e c c u S d n a e r nI spi f e i h C In r o t i d E

One of the strategies I use to keep me motivated is, when the opportunity presents itself, I attend conferences or seminars that will infuse me with motivation and where I am likely to meet like-minded people.

walk with Tony Robbins, seen Dr. John DeMartini, who I credit with helping me to come to terms with the death of my husband, Alan Pease, Robert Kiyosaki, the truly inspirational Nick Vujicic and Donald Trump, just to name just a few.

I choose the ones where I believe there will be plenty of learning and inspiration for me. In the past, I have done the fire

The latest seminar I attended was Inspire And Succeed 2019, where the stand out speakers, for me was Sir Richard Branson. He was interviewed www.moveonmagazine.com 19

by CEO of The Messenger Group, Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Collective Hub and Best-Selling Author, Lisa Messenger. One question Lisa asked was ‘What would you do if you ran the world?’

While he was considering his answer, she said. ‘Oh, actually you do!

Richard’s company, Virgin Unite tackle many causes and pressing issues, taking their resources and expertise wherever they can make the most difference. There are so many challenges facing the world today and Richard believes that by bringing the right people together and taking an entrepreneurial approach, we can create positive change. This is what sets really sets Virgin Unite apart, and enables them to tackle lots of issues – not just one.

English business tycoon and philanthropist who owns the Virgin Group. Starting with Virgin Records, the Virgin group has had more than 400 companies under its umbrella to date. A serial entrepreneur, Branson has led an extraordinary life full of ups and down. He has embraced his moments of success and struggle, and with his indefatigable spirit, he has turned his failures into steppingstones for success.

Today, at the age of 67, he is going strong and continues to expand his more than fifty-year-old legacy and inspire others with the valuable lessons he has learned along the way.

I have to say I have been an admirer of Branson for a long time and he didn’t disappoint at this seminar.

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RICHARD’S WORDS OF WISDOM: • Always enjoy what you do in life.

Live life to the fullest • Always keep a sense of humour • A quality of a good leader is being a good listener, you don’t need to hear your own voice.

• Your employees don’t need reminding when they have messed up, praise them for something else they’ve done.

• Mistakes need to be treated as lessons.

• Always carry a notebook. Pay close attention to the detail.

• If you are in business a good brand name is imperative, your brand is your reputation. Make sure you are front-page news, not an anecdote on the back page.

• Things that didn’t work out contributed to the things that did work out (This seems to me to be a good observation, too often we look at what went wrong as a singular event instead of looking at it as a stepping stone/learning on the road to success.

Sir Richard has causes he supports all over the world through Virgin Unite and his fee for the day was donated to one of his charities in Australia.

MICHAEL CROSSLAND The 33 year old was born with an aggressive tumour and his parents were told he had no chance of survival.

He has proved them all wrong and went on to, not only survive, but also thrive.

He now has a beautiful son of his own.

Michael has been a fighter since birth, defying the odds of surviving not only www.moveonmagazine.com 20

a rare form of life-threatening cancer, but being the sole survivor of a horrific cancer drug trial. His battle continues to this very day, having spent nearly a quarter of his life in hospital.

Despite only being told what he could not do, he continually shows the world absolutely everything that he can accomplish. A businessman and elite sportsman, Michael is at the forefront of today’s new generation of inspirational speakers and is one the most in demand and highly respected speakers in Australia.

After releasing his first ‘tell all’ autobiography in 2016, ‘Kids Don’t Get Cancer’ he is now a number 1 bestselling author across 6 different countries and has built a school and orphanage in Haiti.

MICHAEL’S WORDS OF WISDOM: • Love and Hope are the 2 most important words in the English language.

• Adversity doesn’t define you, how you deal with it does • If Plan A doesn’t work don’t go to Plan B, make a new Plan A. • Your value does not decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth • Give without remembering, receive without forgetting • This man was truly inspirational, typical Aussie sense of humour and not afraid to let a few choice words drop. michaelcrossland.com

LISA MESSENGER Since launching business and lifestyle magazine, Collective Hub in 2013, Lisa has grown it rapidly into a multi-media brand to more than 30 countries, has authored more than 17 books and is a 3 times finalist Telstra Business Woman of the Year. She is CEO of The Messenger Group, Founder and also a best-selling author.

Lisa is an international speaker, bestselling author, and an authority on disruption in both the corporate sector and the start-up scene. She well and truly traverses an array of industries, having been engaged to speak across the globe.

Her experience in publishing has seen her produce over 400 custom-published books for companies and individuals as well as having authored and coauthored 16 herself. Most notably, Lisa charted her ride to success with her best-selling book Daring & Disruptive, which saw her sign a global distribution deal with Simon & Schuster in New York.

Her passion is to challenge individuals and corporations to change the way they think, take them out of their comfort zone and prove that there is more than one way to do anything.

She encourages entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and innovation and lives life to the absolute max.

LISA’S WORDS OF WISDOM? • • • •

Comfortable is not a good place to be Cash is not the only currency Bigger isn’t better Think big, know your purpose

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When ‘We’ Becomes ‘Me’ www.moveonmagazine.com 23

Learning how to be on your own and how to make your new ‘norm’ work for you We all start off wanting the dream - the perfect partnership, a long life sharing dreams, adventures and achievements.

A retirement spent traveling and sipping vino watching the sunset – hopes and dreams for a future for two.

Sadly in so many cases this dream does not eventuate and life throws a curve ball. Divorce, sickness and death can disrupt even the most well thought out, best laid plan.

Learning to cope with these changes in circumstances and finding hope and meaning when your life has been turned upside down can be challenging to say the least but it is possible.

Here are 8 things that you can do to help you master going from ‘we’ to ‘me’…

GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO GRIEVE AND HEAL Whether it is the loss of a loved one or the end of a marriage it is essential to give yourself time to grieve. Learning to mourn the loss of a relationship is an important step in the recovery process. It is vital that you give yourself permission to grieve and to heal. Joining a support group or seeing a counsellor can be very helpful in aiding this process.

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FIND YOUR VOICE When you are in a relationship you tend to define yourself in terms of how others see you as a ‘wife’, ‘mother’, ‘friend’ or whatever role you are playing.

When that relationship ends you might find yourself floundering and not knowing where you fit in. Your identity has been challenged. This is the time to find your voice and work out who YOU are and what YOU want.

GET COMFORTABLE BEING INDEPENDENT Learning to live on your own and do all the jobs that you use to share can be overwhelming at times. Having to put the rubbish out, assemble flat packed furniture and pay all the bills can be frustrating and at times even upsetting. What you need to do is to switch gears and get comfortable with being independent. Doing things that you have previously relied on another to do can be empowering. Accept that your life has changed and look at these things as challenges that you are more than able to accomplish. It is a chance to get out of your comfort zone, learn new skills and surprise yourself.

LEARN TO BE SOCIAL When you have experienced a loss it is very easy to hibernate. Getting out and about, especially if you are doing it solo can be daunting but also hugely rewarding. Get out of the house and meet new people and reconnect with old friends. If you like reading – join a book club. If you like cooking or

gardening – take a class. If you want to give back – do some volunteering.

Go to your local pub or club on trivia or bingo night and join in. Human interaction is good for the soul and gets your mind off your worries.

PURSUE A PASSION When you are in a long-term relationship you often compromise when it comes to achieving your goals, pursuing your passions and how you spend your time. Now that you are on your own this is the time to focus on you and to start doing the things that you always dreamed of. If you want to travel – make it happen. If you want to re skill then take a course and re train - it is never too late to pursue your passion.

LEARN TO LOVE YOURSELF

future. The past is the past and the future is bright. Don’t compare your old life with your new life – this is another chapter that is yet to be written so make the most of it.

LIVE YOUR LIFE You only have one life so don’t waste it. Moving on from the loss of a loved one or the end of a relationship is heartbreaking but for as long as your heart is beating you have an obligation to yourself and to all those who love you to live your best life. Stop to smell the roses and be grateful for what you have. Those war wounds have made you who you are and they will help define who you become. You can choose to be a victim or you can choose to be the hero of your own story. Choose hero!

When you come through the tunnel of loss and grief it can be like a rebirth.

It is time to take stock, go inside of yourself and realise just how fabulous you are. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes but it is time to forgive yourself for what could or would of been and embrace who you are, warts and all.

Write down three things that you love about yourself and put this somewhere that you can see it every single day – a gentle reminder that you are amazing and that you deserve to be happy!

CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE FROM MOVING ON TO MOVING FORWARD You don’t need to forget what you had but you need to now look forward to what you are going to have in the

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How

SUSAN HAMILTON:

TO GET PUBLISHED WITH CROWDFUNDING 26 www.moveonmagazine.com

You finally found time to pen that book you had always dreamed of writing, so, now what? If you are ready to think about publishing, but need help with to fund it, why not consider crowdfunding to get your masterpiece out there?

Crowdfunding has grown in popularity over the past decade as a way to financially assist a cause; be that helping a family in need, funding a community project or raising money for a charity. However, as a writer, you can also use the power of the people to get your book from desktop to bookshop!

Award-winning urban fantasy writer Susan K. Hamilton has been writing stories for as long as she can remember but really hit her paces as an author in college. She was asked to write a 14-page creative story for an English assignment, which ended up as a whopping 75-page comic book fantasy.

“After that, I started to wonder what was keeping me from writing a book.

So, I started bringing an extra notebook with me and working on my book idea whenever I could. It took awhile, but eventually that notebook became Darkstar Rising.”

Like many other authors, Susan found writing a book is one thing, but getting published is quite another. To test her manuscript for Shadow King and see whether she had what it took to get published, she entered ut in the Launchpad Manuscript Competition in 2016. As part of Launchpad, participants had the opportunity to post their work on Inkshares, a rights-management and publishing platform, and begin a

crowdfunding campaign. The three authors with the most number of unique pre-orders won a full publishing package. While the competition judges loved her story and offered some very positive and valuable feedback, unfortunately, Susan missed out on a full publishing deal by just a couple of spots. However, through her crowdfunding work, she had garnered enough pre-orders to qualify for one of Inkshares’ regular publishing deals, and Shadow King was on its way to meet a growing fanbase.

Susan also crowdfunded her second novel, The Devil Inside, through Inkshares and the manuscript is currently waiting for its turn with the Inkshares editor. While this method of publishing has allowed Susan an opportunity to publish that she may not otherwise have had, it has been a steep learning curve.

“Before getting onto the Inkshares track in the competition, I’d never even heard of crowdfunding a book, so this was all new territory for me,” she said.

“People don’t necessarily realise how time-consuming it is. It is nice to imagine that you’ll put your book out there, hundreds of people will say, “this is amazing!” and wha-la, your book is crowdfunded. That’s not how it happens, at least, not for 99% of us,” she said.

Through her experience, Susan found that people who were willing to preorder her books had high expectations and timeliness posed an issue. Her first book waited in the production queue for 18 months and then took www.moveonmagazine.com 27

an additional six months to complete.

She also had to work through frequent disappointments from people saying they would buy and but never following through.

“It will make you crazy, but you need to let it go…people will let you down, and when they do, it can be really disheartening because you’re so passionate about your book. Don’t take it personally – writing is a tough business,” she said.

Susan has put together her top tips to crowdfunding to help you decide if it is a viable path for you and – if so – how you can improve your chances for success in this often fickle business.

DO YOUR RESEARCH Susan’s biggest piece of advice for other writers considering crowdfunding a book is to do their research.

Inkshares uses a business model whereby you must pre-sell a certain number of copies to prove there is a market for your book, then they choose to invest in production through editorial and design services before moving forward as a regular publisher.

Alternatively, you can fund via platforms such as GoFundMe, Indiegogo, and Kickstarter, where pre-sale money often goes into the editing and design work.

You also need to set aside enough funds for marketing, website creation and promotional items to make the most of your campaign. Once these things are taken care of, printing costs are often then offset by sales after the book release.

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Whichever way you go, make sure you know what’s covered and what’s not, and have a realistic amount you ask from your supporters. If potential supporters think that your goal is unreasonable or unreachable, it might discourage them from contributing.

So, clearly understand what costs you anticipate, and then crowdfund to raise a percentage of that.

HAVE A PLAN Don’t just throw yourself into crowdfunding. Susan recalls she spent zero time planning for Shadow King and this ultimately this caused a lot of extra stress. The campaign to fund The Devil Inside was still stressful, but more manageable with the right planning in place.

Make a marketing plan for the duration of your campaign. Get your social media up and running and consider a website to promote your upcoming book further. Understand who you’re going to talk to, when, and through what channel.

If you’re going to offer incentives, be clear on what they are and when you offer them. For example, everyone who contributes between X date and Y date gets entered into a raffle. Or, consider offering to name a supporting character after, say, the first 10 customers.

As they say, plan your work and work your plan.

BUILD YOUR PLATFORM Crowdfunding campaigns are based on donations, not ‘investments’, from people who support your work. Success

is rooted in creating and growing a large following, so expand your reach.

You can do this through social media as well as local interest groups, your local library, an email list and personal website. Some of these avenues require an investment, so pick the ones that work for you. Also, don’t forget about friend and family connections.

Get to know your target demographic and what they want from your work.

expectations for your supporters. And be sure to stay connected with them along the way so they can see your progress. Don’t leave them in the dark.

Driving traffic to your project early will provide an anchor for you. Something to help promote your book and build excitement, and enable you to build your author brand and voice along the way.

If you promise it, deliver it.

If you promise a reward (gift card, special short story, naming a character), follow through. Don’t disappoint your supporters. If you promise a book for their up-front order, be sure they get the book when it comes out. As a golden rule; you’re always better underpromising and over-delivering.

INVEST THE TIME Once you have your marketing and promotions plan, put it to good use.

Know who you are going to target and when, and set aside time every day to work on your campaign. It is likely you’ll spend an hour, and quite likely more, when you are in the middle of an active campaign.

Be meticulous with your records so you are not bothering people who have said no (or who have already supported you) and keep track of where your funding is coming from.

BE CLEAR The key to any sales is always a concise and clear pitch. Prospective supporters need to know what you are doing and what you are asking from them (AKA, “what’s in it for me?”). Be very clear about timelines, and set

You also need to be clear about what happens if your campaign fails. Will they be refunded for their pre-order? If not, what happens with the money?

KEEP YOUR PROMISES

STICK WITH IT Susan’s final piece of advice is not to give up. You have an incredible piece of work that deserves to be shared – but you have to be willing to put in the hard yards.

“For some people it is a wonderful opportunity and a way to get their work out into the world without having to go through a traditional publisher.

However…there’s no sprinkling of magic dust -- to get the result you want, you’re going to have to work for it and work hard.

“But keep at it, don’t give up. The world needs more stories from more voices— especially your story and your voice.”

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Learning New Things

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Many people stop the process of learning new things once they get to a certain age. When they start their jobs after college, they are still in learning mode, so they pick up new skills. But, over time, they stop learning anything new.

On a physiological level, learning new things is good for your brain and helps improve performance on a number of tasks.. It stimulates neurons in the brain, which forms more neural pathways and allows electrical impulses to travel faster across them. The combination of these two things helps you learn better. It can even help you stave off dementia.

Here are a few tips to help keep your learning and your skills sharp.

DETERMINE LEARNING MILESTONES Figure out what you want to learn and then come up with a plan on how you want to accomplish it. Determine a set of milestones that you use to measure your success.

FIND YOUR REASON FOR LEARNING It’s nice to learn about life’s mysteries, but there are only so many hours in a day. You should seek out why you want to learn something. It could be that you have always been curious about a certain subject. That’s okay, but try to focus on learning that can somehow improve your life. The topics or skills you choose, may get you a promotion or land you a dream job. Without having a specific reason, you may find it easier to avoid learning something.

USE YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY Too many people believe the library is not as useful as it used to be. That is simply not true. Many subjects are not digitized due to the costs associated with doing so. Specialty topics won’t have the audience to make digitizing worthwhile.

Therefore, seek out information in your local library when learning new subjects.

SPEAK TO A RESEARCH LIBRARIAN Research librarians know how to find good information. They may be able to tell you some steps to take in your path to learning. They will be able to point you in the right direction for resources.

Use their knowledge; it’s a good use of your tax dollars.

USE THE WEB As obvious as this sounds, you should use the web when learning new subjects. However, don’t just settle for a simple Google search. Try to find uncommon but useful resources that can help you get more in depth knowledge about subjects you are interested in learning.

DETERMINE WHAT IS NOT USEFUL Just as important as knowing what you want to learn, is to avoid learning what isn’t needed. This is as much an art as it is a science. You need to filter out what learning is not going to help you to satisfy your learning needs. This is something you’ll get better with over time.

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DISCOVER DIFFERENT ANGLES When you are in school, you are taught subjects based on a curriculum. Each student learns similar topics. There is nothing wrong with this way of learning.

However, try to discover different angles to a topic that others have not yet explored. The process of discovery itself can lead to interesting facts and makes the learning process much more enjoyable.

Or explore online. There is so much to learn at fingertips - you just need to know where to look. Here are 15 websites that are guaranteed to teach you something new.

Curiosity curiosity.com The app presents these pieces of facts and trivia in individual posts that feature the text and either an image or video (for the visual learners). It enables you to digest the information in less than ten minutes.

CuriosityStream curiositystream.com The streaming service offers the best quality documentaries that are guaranteed to broaden your knowledge.

The annual fee is very affordable.

Gaia gaia.com Gaia is a streaming service that provides enlightening documentaries. If you are in search of resources for alternative healing, truth seeking, and personal transformation, it offers over 8,000 exclusive videos that will help expand your consciousness and manifest your reality in keeping with your true self.

Small fee.

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Coursera developgoodhabits.com The site provides well-curated courses created and delivered by well-known and respected universities around the world. You can choose from nearly 3,000 courses. For a fee, the site offers a certificate, which you receive after completing individual courses that are part of a specialization program.

Udemy udemy.com Boasting over 100,000 online courses available on diverse topics.The instructors are professionals and experts in their chosen fields.

Duolingo duolingo.com This app is brilliant for learning a new language, or at least some useful words!

YouTube youtube.com The online video giant is a treasure trove of videos and channels for you to learn something each and every day.

TED Talks ted.com TED talks are a fun and inspirational way to learn new things. They are also quite motivational. All for free.

Skillshare developgoodhabits.comIOS Most of the courses offered are interaction focused. Skillshare has more than 4 million students enrolled and over $5 million dollars in paid teacher salaries - yes, you can earn money as a teacher for Skillshare.

HowStuffWorks howstuffworks.com

Highbrow gohighbrow.com

This site has a massive collection of podcasts, videos, and illustrated articles that explain a wide category of topics from the flu to Elon Musk’s plan to colonize the planet Mars.

Get bite-sized courses delivered daily to your email, courtesy of this site. The courses aim to fill in the gaps of our general knowledge.

Useless Facts uselessfacts.net

LifeHacker lifehacker.com

This site contains thousands of factoids that may or may not be useful.

Improve your life and learn something new and interesting everyday with this weblog.

LitLovers litlovers.com

Yousician yousician.com

Do you love literature? Here’s an online site that is composed of well-read individuals.

With this app, you can learn how to play a musical instrument even while you’re on the go. This is ideal for beginners who want to learn how to play the piano, guitar, ukulele, and bass. There are also voice lessons. This looked very interesting. Need to suss it out as there is a fee involved.

Blinkist developgoodhabits.com Blinkist is an app that gives you the important “cliff notes” versions of over 2,000 non-fiction books.

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s e n i l e n Beat Lo

We attribute this notion to Aristotle, who taught us that humans crave social interaction. It’s a tricky idea to wrap the mind around, and it has surfaced in many debates throughout the years.

Do humans innately feel lonely when they lack human interaction? More importantly, is loneliness something we can combat?

The answer, like most answers in the field of psychology, isn’t simple. Most humans feel lonely at some point, but for some reason, we feel like we’re the only ones experiencing it. It’s possible to disrupt the stigma of loneliness, which can be done by adjusting our mindset.

You can train your mind to counter the negative effects of loneliness with the positives by embracing alone time as a period of selfactualization and independence. Let’s dive into 15 practical ways to overcome loneliness so that you can flip your situation into one that benefits you in the long run.

UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR FEELING IS NORMAL The first step is to understand that you are not the only one who experiences this feeling. In fact, research shows that 40% of people experience loneliness at some point in life. Break that cycle and remind yourself that you are not alone in this— you are simply experiencing a human emotion.

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REIGNITE EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS Here’s the paradox of loneliness: The times that we feel most alone are often when we’ve pulled away from friends, family, and support groups.

It’s understandable that you may want to deal with things on your own, and it’s important to take times like this to really understand yourself. However, you shouldn’t completely shut yourself away from everyone. Try to reach out to others. Something as simple as a walk along the beach or a meet-up at a coffee shop can have a positive impact on your disposition.

BE POSITIVE IN YOUR SELF-TALK In the face of loneliness, you may be inclined to revert to self-deprecation, but it’s critical that you aren’t hard on yourself. Try to remember what you love most about yourself. Perhaps you want to post words of encouragement on your bathroom mirror. Another way to give your self-talk a boost is by reading self-help books that encourage positive thinking.

PICK UP A NEW HOBBY Rather than feel isolated, seize this life phase as an opportunity to explore who you are and who you want to be.

The next time you begin to feel alone, pick up a hobby. Whether you try out a sport or focus your energy on a creative outlet, a hobby will give you a sense of purpose.

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START VOLUNTEERING Try getting involved in your community through a volunteer position. The benefit is two-fold: You’ll meet new people with similar interests, and you’ll be making an impact in your community. There is always a need for volunteer work, so it’s a great way for you to get your mind away from the negative thoughts.

PRACTICE SELF-KINDNESS There are many ways to practice selfkindness, and it depends on who you are as a person and what your interests entail. For some, it may be a yoga class or meditation center to bring calm to the mind. For others, it could mean treating yourself to a day of pampering at the spa. Whatever it is that makes you happy is a healthy, positive way to boost the mind.

ENJOY THE PRESENT MOMENT When you’re going through a rough patch, your mood changes from day to day, moment by moment. You may be inclined to zoom out and look at your situation through a negative lens. If you’re having a great day, try to revel in that feeling of happiness. You can take time to journal your feelings or call a friend and tell them how excited you are at that moment. It’s important to be present and savor the good moments.

SPEND YOUR FREE TIME WISELY In today’s world, it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of social media, phone time, and Netflix binging. Whenever you catch yourself spending time on something that doesn’t give you energy and happiness, think about doing something else—whether that be a hobby, meeting up with a friend, or working on a passion project.

FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT MATTER You feel the first pang of loneliness, and after that, a cycle begins. It becomes the only thing you’re paying attention to, and that lonely feeling is completely exacerbated. Try to put a stop to this cycle by paying attention to things that matter more—finding purpose, making an impact, reaching out to others, and improving yourself, just to name a few.

As soon as you’ve sorted out what really matters to you, you can fully immerse yourself in those experiences, which will take your mind off feeling isolated.

CONSIDER PET ADOPTION Studies support the idea that getting a pet is a good thing. From reduced cholesterol to increased outdoor time, furry friends are a bonus in life. One study found that petting a dog or cat for just 10 minutes leads to lower levels of cortisol, the “stress hormone.” It takes a lot of work and effort to train a pet, so you’ll have your hands full if you decide to adopt a little critter.

AVOID TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS One coping mechanism that will never help is engaging in toxic relationships.

You’ll need to use your judgment to decide what types of people you’d like to be around. Positive, uplifting friends?

Absolutely. Negative people who gossip and talk down to you? Not so much.

If you notice a pattern of feeling extra lonely every time you see a certain person or group of people, you may want to consider distancing yourself from those people.

SPEAK TO A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL Loneliness can lead to depression, so it’s important that you’re in tune with your feelings to make sure you’re not developing depression or serious anxiety. Every case is different, and there’s no shame in seeing a doctor or medical professional who can help you sort through your feelings. Seeking help takes a tremendous amount of bravery.

It’s important to remember that loneliness is different from being alone.

It’s an internal feeling that creeps into your mind, often when you are lacking fulfillment, joy, or rewarding and genuine friendships. When you’re trying to conquer a daunting feeling like this, don’t lose sight of your journey. There will be setbacks and periods of trial and error. At the end of the day, though, you’re here to overcome something, and you should be incredibly proud of yourself for that.

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