The Write Stuff

Just recently I sat down and started to write a short story and was pleasantly surprised by the whole thing. Like the poems I write they are normally quick and easy to knock off. A simple easy vision that can translate onto paper very quickly. What surprised me was how much that I actually enjoyed it. 

You I love to write, its one of my passions. I started at a young age and wrote nonstop. I wanted to write science fiction, and during my teen years I must have written easily over 50 stories. Of course they were very immature and childish, but I think deep down they had a good basis. Deep, deep down I mean. 

The problem I had back then was I had no plans to my stories and I was trying to write novels. As you can probably guess the stories had no real structure and jumped about all over the place. I found the whole process to be tedious and boring after a while and I stopped. Plus I was growing up, meeting girls, working and moving on to a different phase of my life. 

When I hit about 24 I started to get the urge to write again. This time I moved on to poems and have been doing that for the last 16 years. The short stories are virtually just an extension of the poem theme, but unlike when I was 14 I now have plans and structures for my work. 

The funny thing was I didn’t get the idea of structure for my stories until I had some for my own life. I over the years that having goals and direction in life was important, and it applied perfectly to my writings.  Thinking about what I want to write and plotting out the, well, plot was the best thing to do. 

Once I know where I want to go, the story flows easier out easier and I can stay on track. I used get mental blocks before, or as I used to call it, writing myself into a corner. Now, however, it all comes so much easier and I can write for hours and walk away happy with the results. 

The same can be said for my life in general. I know where I want to go and it is easier to get there, instead of wandering aimlessly through life.  So if you haven’t already done so, start developing some plans for your life. Set your goals and start working towards them. You will be so much happier that you did.

One of my goals is to get people to read my poems and stories. I am working on a romance novel at the moment, but that has been developing for over 5 years and will take a lot longer yet before it see the light of day. Other stories, romance, horror, and of course the adventure of my Labrador Sebastian, will come a lot quicker. 

As for the science fiction, I have an old Star Trek story I wrote a few years back, that with a little reworking and maturing, could make for an interesting read. We’ll just see how that goes for now. 

Terrys Short Story Page

Terrys Poetry Page

Terry Shadwell Happiness, Motivation and Success

Terry Shadwell

And It's Goodnight From Him

For nearly two years now I have been writing articles for the paper. In that time we have covered a lot of ground, mainly on motivation and change. The reason I have been focusing on these two in particular is because I see them both as fundamentally important in a person’s life. Change, and acceptance of change, is probably the most important area in life that people need to develop. So in saying that, things are about to change here.

This shall be my last column for the foreseeable future. There has been change in my life and it has taken me away from the ideas and concepts that I originally started with. The whole idea for the weekly articles was to build my profile and move into the professional speaking circuit as a motivator. However, the more I looked and listened to those already on the circuit, the less motivated I was to join them.

Most motivators have replanned speeches that the recite over and over again. The same story, the same anecdote constantly repeated and never anything new. They choose the topic for the occasion; choose their speeches and just recite away, and most of the time it’s just rubbish. They say one thing and then do another. I can’t do that.

So I have shifted my business into a new area and only time will tell if it will be successful.  However, I do feel that what I am doing now is more true to who I am, and I can promote a product, not just myself. I am not interested in being famous; just want to run my own business.  Fame brings to many problems and is annoying. Never under estimate the true beauty of anonymity.

Before I go I do want to run over a few points with you so that you can continue into your future with a great chance of success.

1.       Always accept change

2.       Treat others the way you would like to be treated

3.       Set your goals and take action everyday to move towards them

4.       Don’t let other stop you from achieving your dreams

5.       Don’t let your fears stop you from achieving your dreams.

6.       Be thoughtful, generous and kind

7.       Be strong and have confidence

8.       Be honest

9.       Take time to relax and see the world

10.   Be proactive, not reactive and live life to the fullest.

Thank you to all the people that have read the articles over the years. You feed back and comments have been greatly appreciated. I know at times I have been blunt, and even controversial  in some of the things that I have said, but that is just life. And for all of those who came and complained, I have only two words to say to you and the second one is “off!”

Please take care, follow through on everything that you dream of and have a good life. I hope Christmas is good to you this year and that you have a wonderful and enjoyable time. Thank you to Sue Harvey at the Warren Weekly for allowing me to write this column.  It has been fun, and I will miss it. However, I now need to write articles for other areas on my business, such as weight loss, travel tips and more. They will be more advertising articles designed to push people to my website, and I will most probably outsource that work to somebody else.

And so this is goodbye. But don’t cry for me Marge and Tina (thanks Graham, Bill and Tim), I will still be around, and more than happy to shoot the breeze or to motivate whenever you need. Just remember one important thing, SMILE, it’s not that bad.

Terry Shadwell.

 

 

Universal Knowledge

Over the last few weeks I have been contemplating the very existence of the universe. I have been thinking endlessly about what is out their beyond the boundaries of the universe, if there are any boundaries at all. Nothing has any scientific basis, but it has all made my brain hurt.

I have conceived two theories. Theory one is that both time and space do go on forever and that is just too much for the average brain to handle. Theory two, which I like/hate more is that time and space, for the want of better word I will say loop back on itself. There is no foreverness and no “outside” of the universe. Funny thing about the second theory is that for as big as the universe may be, the thought of not having an outside to go to makes me feel rather claustrophobic.

However, regardless of how time and space do actually operate, the one thing I have been doing is learning. Thinking, contemplating and deducting are all skills needed for people to learn and to develop understanding.  I may not be right about what I have been thinking, but I have learnt to open my mind up to new possibilities.

Being open minded is a key feature in being able to learn. People with closed minds are not interested in learning and ignore any new information that may affect them. People with open minds often seek more information and crave a deeper understanding of the world around them.

I do want to make a distinction about information and knowledge. Information is great, but knowledge is using information to achieve a desired outcome. Information isn’t power, knowledge is.

People that are knowledgeable have a great understanding and empathy of the world around them. They remain calm when events happen and plan what type of action would be best for a response. They don’t get emotional and just rush in without thinking.

To be knowledgeable you need to not only be willing to learn but listen to what is going on around you. You need to be able to take various sources of information and piece them together to get a better understanding of what is happening.  This means watch the news, learn the theories and talk with people involved. Then you will have a bigger picture and be able to take more appropriate action.

It’s through this sort of thinking that we have the modern technology of the world today. Knowledgeable people share their ideas, work together and devise new theories, technology and create the marvels of science that we take for granted in our everyday living.  They also come up with more ideas.

You need to know what is going on in the world. You need to let you mind expand and see the bigger picture. It will make you more tolerant, empathetic and happier.

Regardless of the size and shape of the universe in the long run, being happy is probably the most important thing of all. Whether or not we figure it all out is not important, happiness is, and good knowledge will definite make you happy.

Terry Shadwell

 

Top or Bottom; Your choice

Once again the tabloid media of Australia does it again. They are running headline about how the rich people have money and the average person does not and that it is all wrong. They are promoting the fact that the people at the top of big businesses are earning millions and the poor old worker doesn’t even get a 10^th of that amount. It’s an absolute outrage and a national disgrace that the average worker doesn’t earn millions every week themselves.

The actual outrage and disgrace is that people that call themselves journalists can write such rubbish, and still have respect for themselves. I know why they do it; because headlines like that sell papers, even if it’s only half true. Omit certain facts and embellish others and call it news, and that is what every commercial news report is about. As they say “why let the truth stand in the way of a good story?”

Now I can understand why people get upset when other people make a $20 million a year when they only make $50, 000 but they do miss some main points. The people at the top of big business have a lot of responsibilities and a lot of peoples financial lives depend on them. They are on call 24/7 and if something major happens they have to be on the scene and deal with the situation.

The other major fact is that they have spent years working hard, long hours away from family and in stressful work situations to make it to the top to earn that money, why the average worker has stood about with their finger fair up their backsides whinging that they should have more money for doing only half the work, time, and effort of a CEO.

So here’s the point, Shut Up. Stop whinging and if you want the big money go and do what is required to get the big money. Go and get formal education, start at the ground floor, work 12-14 hour days, spend weekends working, manage the different personality traits of you employees, work your way up through the system and fight your way into a good position. Then, and only then, if you’re not earning good money for all the time and effort that you given to the business, you can have a whinge.

I don’t know who ever told you life was meant to be fair, but I know two things, they were stupid, and they were wrong. Things like fairness and equality are silly rules played out in school class rooms around the world. The real world is about everybody for themselves and the one that works the hardest and smartest is the one that comes out on top, and if you’re not that person, then go suck eggs.

If you want money, then get of your backside and go and get it. It will not come to you and no one is going to work hard to make you money. This is the choice you have to make so for god’s sake make it, decide to work hard and have what you want, or stay where you are and be quite.

I will also tell you this, you cannot be lazy and rich. Even lottery winners that a lazy soon lose it all and have to go back to work. So what do you want to be? Rich, or lazy? They are your only choices.

Terry Shadwell

P.S. All articles can be found at my blog http://terryshadwell.blogspot.com/

Are you Living a Life or a Lie?

Very soon we will be heading into my favourite time of year, Summer. There is a lot I like about the summer months. Long days, BBQ’s, swimming, holidays, and of course the big birthday event in December each year, Mine. However, this year there is wee bit of work to do before I can embrace summer head on.

The winter months this year have been, shall we say, fattening. I managed to find a few extra pounds of cuddliness this winter and it’s not good.  My clothes are too tight and I look awful, especially in my purple G-string (try getting that image out of your brain!).

I would like to say that all my extra pounds came because I wasn’t able to keep up my running after my knee went out. I’d also like to say that my shoulder went out again and I wasn’t able t do my weights. I also like to point out that I also pulled my calf muscle. I’d like to inform you that they were all the problems that led to my weight gain.

Oh God would I like to be able to tell you that were all true.

I suppose I can, as it all happened, but they were not to causes of my wobbly new body. The main factors were laziness and eating too much rubbish.  If I wanted I could have still found ways to stay active, but a warm fire, a cosy lounge and chocolate were just too inviting on a cold dark winters night.

However, the weight is not the problem. I can lose it and lose it quickly, now that most of the body is better again. The real problem was admitting in the first place that I was overweight and that it was my fault and I was not a victim of circumstance.

To many people blame other things for their problems or worse, never admit that they have a problem in the first place. They live a lie and unfortunately some of people prefer the lie to real life. Living the lie and blaming anything and everything else for your problems is easier than having to admit that you failed and you will now have to work to make things better.

Let me ask you a few questions. Are you living a life you can be proud of? Are you the person that you hoped that you would one day become? Are you taking responsibility for you actions? Are you living a life or living a lie?

Look at yourself and see if you are the person that you want to be. Look at you physical appearance, and your manners, attitudes and outlook on life. If what you see doesn’t match what you always wanted then you need to take action an change your life.

I am not the man I want to be at the moment but am willing to admit to it and take action to be better in a lot of different ways. I have visions of what I want. A body like Superman, they brains of Stephen Hawkins and the love of Jews like Mel Gibson. Ok, not the last then.

Take action and start to live the life you wanted. Stop making excuses or blaming others and admit that if you want to be successful, then you have to make yourself successful.

 

Into The Great Unknown

We had a garage sale last week and we sold off a lot of our old furniture. While I was happy to see it go, there was a little bit of sadness as well. Some of the stuff that went I had grown up will. I still have memories of these pieces going back 30 years. Now I would be living a life without them, and while it is only furniture, it still feels a little odd. However, while the past has that warm, safe comforting feel attached to it, it’s not good enough to stop me from embracing the future.

You see, life is about change and bringing new people, items, and events into your life. It would be a dull old world if nothing ever changed. Let me give you an example. I love music, and the music I grew up with through the 80’s is some of my favourite. Yet if that was the only music I ever listened to it would become very boring. New music is always great. I may not like all of it, but I never liked all the stuff from the 80’s either.

I know it can be hard sometimes to embrace change, even if we have been waiting for it for a long time. No matter how bright a future may seem it can be very scary. Letting go of everything we have ever known, and walking into the unknown takes a lot of courage. However that should not be a reason to deny your future.

After the fall of communism in the former USSR, many people were lost and disillusioned with the idea of capitalism. In fact many people wanted to have communism reinstated. Why would anybody want to go back to a dictatorship? Because it was all they ever knew. They had been spoon fed for decades by the government that they didn’t know how to think and fend for themselves. They had been supplied with food, shelter, water and even ideas that the sudden appearance of what we call freedom was terrifying. They didn’t like communism, they just felt safer with what they knew.

So let’s stop fearing the future. It’s a complete and utter waste time. It’s about as useful as being scared of the dark. What will happen will happen, however, you can take some steps to make your future the way you want. Set goals, and start working towards them. Plan your moves and take action. Things will sometimes go astray, but it’s how you respond to them that will make the difference. The future is yours for the taking, you just have to be willing to reach out and grab it.

The past is always worth holding on to, but it must not stop you from having a future. Let go of your fears and let your heart, mind and soul soar with the endless possibilities that await you. Spend each day trying to make it better than the last and have a life that is worth living. 

Terry Shadwell

“True happiness does not come from money.” I don’t know how many times I have heard people say this, especially from all the millionaires and billionaires. These so called guru’s who tell us that true happiness is found within, and not through the private jets, luxury boats, exotic mansions and other extremely expensive worldly goods, and goodies, that they have. They swan around the world, being paid millions by us, so that they can tell us that money is not the be all and end all of happiness.

In fact I have heard quite a few of these experts say “I’d give it all up to have true happiness.” Well I guess that none of them have ever found true happiness because none of them have ever given up any money.

Well I will tell you to day that they are wrong and money does lead to happiness. I won’t tell you that you need millions, or even billion of dollars, but you need enough to make yourself comfortable. You need to have money in order to survive in our society.

You see this world works on money and without it you can do very little, including buying food, shelter and clothing. Go tell a starving person that can’t afford food that they should be happy because they have no money, but just give a warning so that I can call the ambulance first. True happiness does come from within, but it can very hard to search for that happiness when you a to busy searching for food to keep you alive and clothes to keep you warm.

How about love and money? Sure The Beatles tell us “money can’t buy me love”, but it can buy you a divorce. A lot of marriages break down due to money, or more accurately, the lack of money. Fighting to pay bills, not being able to buy new items or to have a holiday puts a lot of stress on relationships, and slowly they break down. Love, the one true happiness that people want, is destroyed because of no money.

If having money can stop someone from being hungry and help a relationship from imploding does that not suggest that money can make people happy? What about the fact that people can go and do what they want, have what they want, and be who they want, because money will allow them to do so? Is that not money bringing happiness to a person’s life?

Let’s stop kidding ourselves. Money does buy happiness, but it will not buy total happiness. Money will help you get to the things and to the places that can make you happier. However, when you get there you need to happy within, or all the tangible goods, holiday destinations and people around you will not make you happy at all.

Don’t be greedy either or allow yourself to be consumed for money. That will not make you happy. In fact greed and obsession are probably the fastest way to making yourself unhappy. My advice, work, save, invest, and enjoy the life your money will allow you to have.

And stop paying people money to tell you that you don’t need money to be happy.

Terry Shadwell