Her Inspiration: Secrets to Help You Work Smart, Be Successful, and Have Fun - Hardcover

Mina Parker

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1573243248 ISBN 13: 9781573243247

Publisher: Conari Press,U.S., 2008

Synopsis

The Perfect Book to Inspire You to Be Your Best Self!

Her Inspiration is a book with a crystal-clear mission: to provide the advice, solace, kick in the pants, pat on the shoulder, hug, or giggle you need when you most require it.

The secrets of highly successful women. Her Inspiration is packed with the success secrets and wise words from hundreds of famous and infamous, wise and wisecracking, haughty and humble women. Some are names you know, others are everyday people. Use this book to find the insight and courage for self-improvement, and have fun doing it! This book covers nearly every aspect of your life, including career advice on how to be successful, personal empowerment, and even how to still have fun every day.

Women can do anything. Keep this book close to you as you pursue your dreams. In it, Mina Parker offers you motivational quotes and words of encouragement from women such as Sandra Oliver, Gloria Vanderbilt, Jackie Kennedy, Pearl Buck and more.

Find inspirational quotes to help you:

• Organize and save time
• Create a fashion sense you truly love
• Stay motivated
• And so much more!

If you enjoyed books like Vibrate Higher Daily, Expect a Miracle, or Happiness Becomes You, you’ll love Mina Parker’s Her Inspiration!

About this title

About the Authors

Mina Parker is a freelance writer, editor, and mom. Her other books include Half Full (2006), Mother Is a Verb (2007), and 100 Sweet Nothings for Baby (2009). She also has worked as an actor, a grant writer, and an administrator for several nonprofits. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and son. 

BJ Gallagher is an inspirational author, speaker, and seminar leader. She is the author of Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Other Women, and A Peacock in the Land of Penguins. She is a blogger for the huffingtonpost.com and appears regularly on radio and television. She lives in southern California.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Her Inspiration

Secrets to Help You Work Smart, Be Successful, and Have Fun

By Mina Parker

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

Copyright © 2008 Mina Parker
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-57324-324-7

Contents

Foreword by BJ Gallagher
Be Inspired: Secrets of Highly Successful Women
Get Organized: Tips and Time-savers
Chill: Give Yourself a Break
Create Your Style: Fashion Sense and Common Sense
Gather Your Group: Friends, Mentors, and Motivators
Indulge Yourself: Little Rewards Lead to Big Accomplishments
Live Well: Living Your Life to the Hilt
Be Bold: How to Make Your Ideas Count
Work Smart: Loving Your Job and Being the Best You Can Be!
Achieve: Women Can Do Anything!

CHAPTER 1

get Organized: TIPS and TIME-SAVERS

If managing your life feels like a war, then half of every battle is gettingthings in order. For me it's no fun at all. I have this nagging feeling that Ihave two lives going on simultaneously: the fun stuff and the rest of it. Forexample, I love to cook but despise washing dishes. I love the feeling of payingoff the monthly bills, but often can't get myself together to do it until a weekpast the deadline, and then I feel miserable about the cumulative effect on mycredit score. And any upheaval—a move, an emergency, or just getting a bad headcold—throws me for a loop. How did I let this go?! I ask myself, crazed. Why ismy house filled with paper?! (One in every five pieces is really important, Iswear.)

Well, it's time for a detox, a deep cleansing, spring cleaning. Doing yourtaxes. Clearing and sorting your wardrobe. Getting rid of the magazines you'vebeen unwittingly storing since college. What a wonderful release. Now, those arethe big projects, and don't worry yourself into trying to do them all at once.Just pick a project each month and do it a little at a time or set aside a wholeweekend to blast through, whatever suits your style.

And for the rest of the month take aim at the little, repetitive, everydaystuff. Work hard to make it a habit to sort your mail right away, clean out yourpockets and purse every day, and dream up new ways to multitask effectively.Train yourself to make a difference in tiny ways all day long, and soon you'llforget it's an annoyance because when it all adds up, you're way ahead of thegame. If you can coax yourself into making the art of organization secondnature, I promise it will serve you forever.

Find Your Focus

Words are a lens to focus one's mind.

AYN RAND

Sometimes I still lose my head, even though it is attached to my body. But ifI've left myself a note, I can usually find it again.

MARLO THOMAS

Detail is electric.

BONNI GOLDBERG

To know where you can find a thing is the chief part of learning.

UNKNOWN

Only when your consciousness is totally focused on the moment you are in can youreceive whatever gift, lesson, or delight that moment has to offer.

BARBARA DE ANGELIS

On clutter: chaos begets chaos in our homes, and in our minds.

CAROL WISEMAN

A place for everything, and everything in its place.

ISABELLA MARY BEETON

Just before bedtime prayers, evaluate each day. Make plans for tomorrow thatwill move you toward your long-range goal.

FLORENCE S. JACOBSEN

You may not be able to foresee what the universe has planned for you, but thatdoesn't mean your own plans should be unpredictable.

SANDRA OLIVER

Most of what you obtain in life will be because of your discipline. Disciplineis perhaps more important than ability.

CHRISTINE DARDEN

Never walk into or out of a meeting without a clear agenda.

MARY JANE RYAN

Many a woman has a "to do list" that resembles the phone book! Don't over doyour "to do" list. Keep it reasonable and keep it doable.

LESLIE ROSSMAN

I want minimum information given with maximum politeness.

JACKIE KENNEDY

Out your problem on a piece of paper, stick the paper in a drawer and close it.Do not allow yourself to look at or think about the list until the end of theweek. By then, you may will look at your problems differently and will havesolutions.

MICHELLE STRONG

I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind mustknow it has got to get down to work.

PEARL S. BUCK

Plan and Prepare

Look twice before you leap.

CHARLOTTE BRONTË

The very best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance.

RUTH GORDON

What I've learned from fairy tales: Invest in some good string rather than merebreadcrumbs.

That way, you can always find the path back to the gingerbread house.

WENDY ST. CHARLES

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

EFFIE JONES

If one asks for success and prepares for failure, she will get the situation shehas prepared for.

FLORENCE SCOVEL SHINN

Don't agonize. Organize.

FLORYNCE KENNEDY

Plans are necessary to life and achievement in any sphere. But they should neverovercome our powers of flexibility.

DIXIE MARTIN

Lack of confidence is born from a lack of preparation.

SHANNON WILBURN

Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.

OPRAH WINFREY

You had better live your best and act your best and think your best today; fortoday is the sure preparation for tomorrow and all the other tomorrows thatfollow.

HARRIET MARTINEAU

Winning is the science of being totally prepared.

GRACIE ALLEN

Preparation, I have often said, is rightly two-thirds of any venture.

AMELIA EARHART

Dream On!

Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality; they are also dressrehearsals, plans. All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination.

BARBARA GRIZZUTI HARRISON

What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork.

PEARL BAILEY

If we would only give, just once, the same amount of reflection to what we wantto get out of life that we give to the question of what to do with a two weeks'vacation, we would be startled at the aimless procession of our busy days.

DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER

I want to so order my life that its impression, its impact, might always bepositive and spiritually constructive.

DOROTHY BROWN

For the happiest life, days should be rigorously planned, nights left open tochance.

MIGNON MCLAUGHLIN

To stay ahead, you must have your next idea waiting in the wings.

ROSABETH MOSS KANTER

All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.

PROVERB

Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble and logicalplan never dies, but long after we are gone will be a living thing.

LITA BANE

It's never too late—in fiction or in life—to revise.

NANCY THAYER

Take Your Life in Your Own Hands

It's true that life's gifts come with responsibilities. When I don't feel likecleaning up my desk or my car or my house or my general existence, I try toremember the people who would be desperate to have all the things I take forgranted.

RACHEL CLARKSON

You take your life in your own hands, and what happens?A terrible thing: no one to blame.

ERICA JONG

Make decisions in a timely fashion—rarely does waiting improve the quality ofthe decision.

ODETTE POLLAR

This is a wonderful world for women. The richness, the hope, the promise of lifetoday ... are exciting beyond belief. Nonetheless, we need stout hearts andstrong characters; we need knowledge and training; we need organized effort tomeet the future.

BELLE S. SPAFFORD

When planning for a year, plant corn.When planning for a decade, plant trees.When planning for life, train and educate people.

PROVERB

I don't know that there are any shortcuts to doing a good job.

SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

I was taught the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.

MARIE CURIE

Some Helpful How-To's

I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.

GOLDA MEIR

If only everything were as easily organized as, say, my shoe collection. Andeven that can sometimes be a losing battle.

SASHA MORROW

There are so many options, so much to do, so many demands on women. There is nopoint in taking one hour to do a ten-minute task, nor should we slap together anhour-worthy project in ten minutes.

ELAINE CANNON

Arrange whatever pieces come your way.

VIRGINIA WOOLF

A team is more than a collection of people.It is a process of give and take.

BARBARA GLACEL

Effective teamwork is all about making a good, well-balanced salad, not whippingindividuals into a single batch of V8.

SANDRA RICHARDSON

Take just a few minutes each day to sort through any miscellaneous papers onyour desk at home or the office, rather than letting unorganized piles multiplyand grow.

GLADYS MORISSON

To achieve your dreams, remember your ABC's:Avoid negative sources, people, places, things, and habits.Believe in yourself.Consider things from every angle.

WANDA HOPE CARTER

Keep things as simple as possible ... nobody wants to reorganize their system oforganization!

CASSIE LAWRENCE

If a problem has no solution, it's not a problem, just a fact.

BJ GALLAGHER

There are two ways of meeting difficulties.You alter the difficulties or you alter yourself to meet them.

PHYLLIS BOTTOMED

Adopt the highly effective SAW inbox system: Stat (as in a hospital EmergencyRoom) means "do it now!" and is for urgent tasks with a deadline of today.A stands for "as soon as possible" and goes on your "to-do list" with doabledeadlines. W stands for "whenever" and is only for "ideas" and wishes for thefuture.

ROBERTA LEFFLER

I always say don't make plans, make options.

JENNIFER ANISTON

Get a 3-ring binder with pocketed dividers for receipts and user-manuals, andorganize by need such as "birthdays," "utility bills," "credit cards andreports," "computer info," and most importantly, "taxes!"

NINA LESOWITZ

One way to keep control over the paper in your life is to get it back incirculation—do you have a stack of magazines that you are almost "done" with?Take a few moments to go through them and then pass them on to friends, alibrary, a school, a hospital, or a charity thrift shop. I have a magazine"trade" system set up with some girlfriends!

LILLIAN CRIST

The most successful people in the world break big tasks down to into doablepieces. If you have a major goal that feels overwhelming to you—slice and diceit. One step at a time and the mountain is climbed—Now, doesn't that feel great?

DEENA PATEL-WINE

I make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes.

SARA TEASDALE

Never rely on your PDA or your electronic file for addresses, numbers, and email.Just one computer crash or loss of your PDA or cell phone can render youhelpless if you lack a paper backup!

SUZANNA HARWELL

Recharge yourself by rearranging your home or office.Go for simple and streamlined décor and organization and you will find you havea fresh new attitude, as well.

WENDY JOLENE

I see something that has to be done and I organize it.

ELINOR GUGGENHEIMER

Pay your bills the same day you receive them—don't even think about it. Not onlywill you be more organized, but your credit rating will improve dramatically!

DAPHNE BUNLERT

CHAPTER 2

Chill: GIVE YOURSELF a BREAK

You know the feeling too well: you're worn out. The rope you're dangling at theend of is frayed and about to snap. But you can't stop. Your to-do list islonger than the beginnings of that novel you've been working on, and everysecond that ticks by is gone forever. STOP! You're no good to anyone in thisstate—your boss, your best friends, your family, and most of all you.

In high school I was a bit of an overachiever, wearing myself to the bone to getgood grades and participate in every extracurricular activity I could. Overall Ienjoyed it, but I remember waking up one morning and my mother telling me Ishould stay home from school. I wasn't really sick, but I was exhausted. Ididn't know what to make of it—most parents would punish their kids for tryingto get out of going to school. But her lesson was partly about perspective. If Iwas sacrificing my health and my sanity for things that were meant to befulfilling and fun, what was the point? And she knew better than I that somedowntime would refresh me and I could hit the ground running the next day doingwhat I loved.

Naps. Walks. Quiet time. Meditation. Breathing. Day-dreaming. Baths. A goodbook. Or maybe, best of all, doing nothing. When's the last time you took a stepback and really took a moment for yourself? It's about time. Here are a fewfamous quotes as well as some tried-and-true suggestions from ladies like youand me for taking good care of number one.

Slow Down

If you realize too acutely how valuable time is, you are too paralyzed to doanything.

KATHARINE BUTLER HATHAWAY

To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep.

JOAN KLEMPNER

Like kids, adults need time-outs too, but it's usually to keep from doingsomething bad rather than as punishment.

KATHY FREEMAN

A good rest is half the work.

PROVERB

Relaxation is an art that has been made very difficult to practice by theconditions of modern civilization.

ALANIS MORISSETTE

For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.

LILY TOMLIN

Regardless of your religion, go inside a local church, temple, or synagogue andsit for a half an hour when there is no service happening. Simply sit and enjoythe company of your thoughts, the mellow lighting, and the reflectiveatmosphere.

PERINE PARKER

If you don't take naps, take one! Take a nap in the middle of the day when youare unusually overwhelmed. Just doing this once, during an "off limits" time,will renew your sense of self and allow you to stay on task the rest of thetime!

DONNA OLICKIN

Take a bath early in the morning, before you begin your daily routine. Get upearlier if you have to, and immerse yourself in the tub. You will have a relaxedday.

POLLY PORTER

Interrupt your daily routine on a weekend by doing nothing; it brings a freshperspective.

CAROL WISEMAN

Laugh Out Loud

You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself.

ETHEL BARRYMORE

Housework can't kill you, but why take a chance?

PHYLLIS DILLER

Remember that thing they say about stopping and counting to ten? It only worksif you're sane enough to count.

ALEX PRESTON

I am woman! I am invincible!I am pooped!

UNKNOWN

Insanity is my only means of relaxation.

UNKNOWN

Read some young adult fiction—a Nancy Drew book or anything by Lemony Snicket.Get yourself out of the busy adult world and remember what it was like to getlost in a book.

EVELYN VANDERMERE

Here is the opposite of your "to-do list" for work! Make an "I want to do this"list. It can be as adventurous as possible, anything you want to accomplish inyour life: plant a gorgeous garden, go to Australia and surf, learn to playpiano, hang glide. Just by making the list, you are helping your wild wishescome true!

LOTTE WARNER

Learn and Share

Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond allboundaries.

SISTER CORITA KENT

Take up a new hobby you've always been interested in. Learning a new skill willmake you feel productive, even if that skill is only for your enjoyment.

LAURA BAKER

Don't forget the simple pleasures of your past. Recently I remembered a favoritepresent from my childhood, an origami kit. I bought myself a new kit and wasdelighted to find that making these tiny works of art can still focus and clearmy mind.

MABLE EVANS

A potluck with friends may be a simple tradition, but it's one of the most funand even rewarding to uphold.

FLORENCE ALLEN

A change of scenery is often the easiest way to take time away from our everydaylives. Never underestimate the benefits of a simple day trip alone or withfriends.

REBECCA GLEESON

Museums are some of the best places to gain a bit of relaxation and perspective.You have to think about something besides your own problems when surrounded bythe evidence of so much other reality.

CANDICE LONG

Listen to music you like and cultivate that interest actively—go to concerts,listen to CD's you have never heard at the store, and share your taste withfriends. Music communicates to us on many different levels and your favoritemusic tends to transport your mind to its favorite place.

KRIS BHAT

Develop your green thumb—even if you only have a couple of pots on your deck orfire escape. Learn all about plants online or at the local nursery and addseasonal plants for spring and fall. Not only will you be creating beauty, youwill be more in tune with nature and the seasons.

AMBER GUETEBIER

Pets are great happiness boosters. The companionship, love, and entertainment apet provides, for many people, is as significant as any human relationship.Medical researches have even discovered that petting your pets reduces bloodpressure!

MICHELLE STRONG

Grab your wild friends and have a clothing swamp. Set aside clothes oraccessories you don't wear, gather with friends who've done the same, and begina fair trade.Spice up your wardrobe without spending money!

DEE LOGAN

Let It Go

Forget the past and live the present hour.

SARAH KNOWLES BOLTON

The jump is so frightening between where I am and where I want to be ... becauseof all I may become I will close my eyes and leap!

MARY ANNE RADMACHER

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.

CORRIE TEN BOOM

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Her Inspiration by Mina Parker. Copyright © 2008 Mina Parker. Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Conari Press,U.S.
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1573243248
• ISBN 13: 9781573243247
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 220