I think it is a great book because it is simple and not complicated.  Here is what Marcia instructs us to do:

First “Get clear about what your dream is”

Second “Remove the obstacles, especially the limiting beliefs”

Third “Design the simple steps to make your dream happen”

All quotes from the book on page 5

Now I’ve already done the first step.  I’m very clear on what my dream is, I’ve had it ever since I was a child.  Another thing that she tells us to do is write down the dream and read it out loud to ourselves.  Check, I’ve done that too.  A dream should not be just a fantasy, but a goal brought into reality.  Living out your dream.  I want to make that happen.  I see some really talented artists like me who really hold back and not take their talent to the next level, and I do not want to end up like that.

Instead of just fantasizing about my company, I need to take the first step in registering the company name.  That is the next thing I need to do.  Who feels me on that?  I need to connect with other business people who share similar interests in the arts.  I’ve been doing a lot of writing, especially writing children book manuscripts.  Other writings I am doing are Screenplay Writings for future films I want to direct, Proposals for the films, writing out a Business Plan, etc.  I’ve got to make this happen!

There is no more wish, coulda, woulda’s.  But Walking the Talk is what we dreamers need to do.  So write out a plan, and then read it out loud as if it is happening already, or as if it has already happened.  I have learned that you can speak things into existence in your life, and reading this book is a conformation that I need to do just that.  I need to speak my company into existence, and be specific about it.  Words are powerful.  But not only just speak it but also act it out.  You can have the faith, but without the works it is dead.  Personal Children Illustrations

Part of my company involves illustrating children’s books, doing personal children illustrations for clients, writing children book manuscripts, screenplay writing, and much more in the creative arts and story telling.  This has been lingering in my mind far too long and I need to make some progress and not throw it to the side any longer.

Another sources that inspired me to think back on my dream and carry it out are the movie’s FAME and GIFTED HANDS.  Sounds Silly, but to know that these people made their dreams into reality is darn amazing.  They sort of helped me get back on track.  I believe God has his ways of telling me something, and getting me to open my eyes to what I’ve been missing out on.  He gave me these gifts and wants me to move forward in them.  He is probably just waiting there with all the possible resources ready to be handed to me when I’m ready to use my gifts.  God makes no mistakes, he knows exactly what he is doing.

So get up, get ready, start planning, start speaking, start connecting, starting doing.

Got nothing to lose.

Why do I have so many stories in my head and can’t manage to get them out?  If I was superwoman and was able to dish out every story at the same time that would put my mind at ease, because I am always anxious to get every story out onto script form. 

I never really considered myself a writer, and I guess every new writer would say that about themselves.  But how else would I be able to get my stories out unless I write it?  The endless stories and movies playing in my mind are actually turning me into a writer.  But I have a hard time sticking with one story, I end up starting another story while the other is left unfinished.  And when I get back to that story, I have a hard time finishing it because it isn’t as fresh as it was when I started.  How can I solve this problem?  Don’t start the other until I finish the one I’ve started?  But the other is running like a movie in my mind while I am writing the first one, and I don’t want to lose what is playing in my mind because it is sooo good!  Maybe I should just write it down and stash it away for later! 

I’m also reading a book called “Making A Good Script Great” by Linda Seger, a great book!  Even Ron Howard used a lot of the methods from this book to make his script greater.  I am trying one of these methods for my first script, which is the story outline which seems very helpful.  Even though I’ve started my script already, I had to step back a moment and think out the story in outline form.  Maybe when I do this, this will help me to finish my first draft faster. 

I guess every writer suffers writers block!  It isn’t fun!  How can this be solved?

Curtis Comic is one of my biggest inspirations for the type of work I am doing now.  Every saturday I would race to get the morning newspapers because I knew my uncles would be after it and I wouldn’t get my chance to read the funnies.  I lived in the slums of Detroit, and the head of the house hold was my grandmother of 6 children.  Basically everyone lived in her house; my mother and I, uncles and aunts along with my cousins.  So we had to learn to share everything, but it was hard for me to share the Saturday’s comics because I would always use it to copy drawings from.  It was also one of the only black comics in the newspaper in the 80′s when I was growing up, so I had to read it.  I didn’t know the type of impact it had on my African-American Character drawings, until I got the blog response. 

Here is the picture!

Curtis sure did have an impact!  I saw the resemblance in the drawing techniques, especially in the shape of the lips of the characters.  But Pooky has her own personality.  I think I was inspired by the artist of the Curtis Comic, because they created black characters different from other characters and gave them the big lips and braids in their hair or the afro.  It is the natural look of the average African-American.  But I see today African-Americans promote straight hair, even with children of African-American ethnicity.  I think that is why I loved Curtis so much, because it had promoted African-Americans with the natural hair.  It was something we used to be proud of, some are still proud of the natural hair.  But that is a different subject on its own. 

Thanks to the Curtis Comic for being one of my inspirations to move forward as an African-American Children Book Illustrator.

Image from a page of my new book “Meet Pooky The New Kid”

How can you get your child to pay close attention to you, there are many ways!  I know that the Nanny show is a big plus in this area, but sometimes those tacktics don’t always work!  I’m not a mother but I have had the chance to help raise my 2 younger sisters and it was a like a WAR ZONE.  My parents went to Quebec for about a week and when they got home I was in distraught, lol!  But my sisters didn’t want to pay attention to me because they could distinctly tell the difference between a mother and a sister, and I was their sister. 

But the more I learned to discipline them the more and more they wanted to call me mom!  There were slip-ups out in public and after calling me “mom“, people thought I was a young teenage mother.  Embarrasing, for a teenager!  But I learned different tacktics on my own and not through other people.  I learned to pay attention to children and what was important to them as well as getting them to pay attention to me and know that I mean business! 

Some parents, as far as discipline goes, are opposed to taking out a belt and whipping a child that gives them lip.  But I say pull out that belt or that switch branch from the bush that is nicely kept and trimmed in the front yard,  and give them a nice lickin’.  I always go by the word of God when it comes to disciplining the child, “Spare the rod, you spoil the child”!  I give my mom much respect even while I am now in my 2o’s, it has been over 20′s years since I can remember having to go outside and chose my own switch from the bush in the yard.  But I know that works, because it worked on me and some other children I knew in the neighborhood.  Now-a-days people are afraid to discipline their children in that way, and so in return children end up not listening to their parents and hitting them and the parents the same.  I’m not saying that is the only way to discipline them, there are other ways like; time-outs and no candy today, but it is necessary from time to time. 

I once saw a child bad mouth their mom out in public and give a bad tantrum, and all the mother did was look embarrased and say stop.  I would be embarrased as well, but from looking at that situation it seemed like the mother wasn’t paying any attention to their child when the child needed attention.  The child also needed discipline, and love!  If you love your child you would discipline them and get them to understand why you are disciplining them.  You need to sit and talk to your child, let them express themselves to you.  And when they have your attention, then they will be open to pay attention to you!

These are a few pages from my book MEET POOKY THE NEW KID, written and illustrated by me.  I hope you enjoy the few pages shown.  You can order my book from http://www.xlibris.com/Mayhawk.html

About the book

Pooky is a 2nd grader that just moved to the suburbs from Detroit! She learns to make new friends and shares a little bit of her Detroit culture with her friends.  This teaches that God created everyone different, and that being different is good!  This is the first of a series of books that I am working on based on the Pooky character.  This is my first book being published, and I think it will be fun for kids to read.  I am both the writer and illustrator!  The book will be released for sell on xlibris.com on July 31st!  Thanks for visiting!