I used to obsess over the outline, the act breaks, the characters voices, the locations, etc. This is what we’re taught in film school, and what to stay focused on throughout story development. I still do all these things, but the thing I zero in on now is tone.

What is tone?

For me TONE answers the question, “How do I feel when watching or reading this story?” “What is the overarching energy that permeates throughout?” On previous scripts this is where, I believe, most of my problem areas originated from, missing the mark on tone.

It’s like having one particular feeling in one scene, lets say dramatic and intense, then in the next, a feeling that is more comical and light hearted. Those two scenes, side by side, could be hovering over two completely different tones. Yes, I could rewrite them to sync up, but that wouldn’t solve the problem on what the tone should be.

The key is to have a crystal clear vision, a hard through-line that permeates from PAGE ONE to THE END. Just because you may not have the tone doesn’t mean you can’t begin. You have to begin. The more you chisel away, the closer you’ll get to discovering it.

Even though can’t play a musical instrument I love to hear those who can. I also love to sing even though I can’t. And I know enough to express how I feel when I sing a particular song or when one is being played for me.

And that’s all that matters.

I believe this is the biggest mistake screenwriters make – not paying attention to what they’re feeling.

What is the score like? Is it mysterious, eery, uplifting, big, subtle, loud, peppy? I will spend hours pouring through music libraries to find one artist or piece of music that expresses the entire tone for the film. I mean, hours. Even when you find something in the range, there are so many variations within that space. Then its diving into that and finding an even closer mark to what you’re feeling, what you want the audience to feel.

What is the color pallette? Is this world grey and dark, warm and light? How often and when? I search through thousands of images to find the ones that convey what I want.

What does the poster look like? We’re told, as writers, not to think about this but I have to disagree. Imagining what the poster looks like, writing out a few possible tag lines, helps in finding the tone.

When I look back on a script, like Emma’s Chance for example, and examine the progression from the first draft to the shooting draft, I find the one concurrent thing throughout (despite the millions of changes) is tone. If you have a pretty good idea of your tone you’ll save yourself a lot of heartache on subsequent drafts.

To pinpoint the exact tone, I free write with pen and paper. Before I open my laptop I write out the story, the simplest version, in my best handwriting as if writing it in stone – for myself. This forces me to hunker down and commit to a feeling I want to have or create.

I do this a few times. I’ll write the story out one way, then a week later do it again (without looking at the previous version) and then again. Then I compare them. Usually its, “Ahhh, I see a through-line here,” or “Ahhh, I see the moments that are sticking and saying something here,” or “I’m beginning to see a clearer picture of the overall tone here.”

Once I feel like I’ve exhausted this process and am confident I’m close, only then, do I go into Final Draft.

I can not express to you how much this helps.

There is a vibe or energy to everything we interact with, every human being, every animal, every plant … a feeling is felt. Tone can be applied to what our feelings are when we wake up in the morning, when we’re going through our day to day tasks, or when we’re in the middle of a certain personal journey.

What would you say is your inner tone? There is a beating tone in all of us. And we have control over what that tone can be.

x and tales,

AEJ

The post Tone appeared first on Kiss and Tale Productions, LLC.

I’ve done all I can do for the month of January, and time is up.

I did not complete my first draft on the UNTITLED MIND BENDER, but I am close!  I will plow through, and keep going until it is done.

(Preferably much sooner than later. Ha)

Re-evaluations.

Time management.

Being realistic.

Rather than posting everyday on the blog, maybe just the even numbered days?

#12scriptsin12months

#learningcurve

#iwillgetfaster

#alreadyfaster #betterstronger

Good night for now! Tomorrow is a new day, a new month. Another idea will get dusted off the cobweb shelf of my mind and enter into development.

x and exhausted,

AEJ

PS

Fin – slang for finished or the end

The post Almost Fin! appeared first on Kiss and Tale Productions, LLC.

I woke up early this morning and went straight to the coffee shop to begin another full day of writing. I didn’t get to see Lucy, nor her three siblings.

When I am busy, deep in a story, and I know its a temporary heavy lifting, I can get through it. I put my nose down and ignore the fact I’m not with my babes. I don’t feel any pain because I’m lost in something else.

But when I get a glimpse of them, as I did yesterday with Lucy, my heart catches a tinge of pain and I’m thrown off course momentarily.

I had to drive home to meet up with Michael so we could go over some elements of the script I’m working on for him. We hired our part-time (very part-time) nanny to watch Lucy for a few hours. As I was driving on the street back home, Lucy and the nanny were headed out to the park. I looked the other way, hoping Lucy wouldn’t see me but that little pumpkin turned her head and looked right at me, recognizing our car.

For a split second she saw me.

My heart!

“She is fine,” I told myself.

And she was. No tears whatsoever (I am told).

But she was with her favorite person, Naomi. Naomi has been in Lucy’s life since she was two months old. Lucy looooooves Naomi. The relationship between the two of them is special, like two friends getting together for a play date.

So why does it still hurt? I don’t think the tinge of pain ever goes away. Which makes having a career, and being a caretaker so difficult. I think about the many caretakers who have walked this same path, taken this same journey, only to have it harder – entrenched in the need to survive. (Which we probably can’t fathom.)

I’ve noticed in the industry, whenever a journalist is interviewing a filmmaker or actress with children they often ask, “So, how do you do it all?”

There we go with the do it all comment again.

And what about the dads? Don’t they do it all too? Isn’t it tricky for anyone who has kids? Everyone figures it out. So why is this the topic of discussion or the main question asked to a female filmmaker?

Journalists, this is the last thing we want to talk about when promoting a piece of work over a hundred people have contributed on. I mean, really. It’s called life. If you want to know how we do it all, examine our Instagram, blog, or social media posts. But when we’re in the limelight, can we please keep the questions focused on the work?

Nobody asks the big budget, over 100 million dollars, male directors these questions, so please don’t ask us. Nobody is looking to hire a director who they think might have too much on their plate. High lighting ours, like we have more than everyone else, is truly unfair. I know you mean well, but remember everyone has things to do. It’s all relevant to the artist’s life circumstances at that time anyway. You want to be apart of evening the playing field? Then avoid asking these types of questions. And ladies, speak up! Ask for this too. Its up to us to help shift the way these reporters look at things.

It takes every part of me to stay focused on the task at hand, and not get lost in my emotions of missing my babes. No one is immune from this feeling, male or female, mother or father.

I am lucky.

I get to see Lucy every morning, when she wakes up, when she eats lunch, when she goes to bed. I got to observe and be with all my children from the time they born to the time they started school. I never had a nanny, or a full-time job/career that prevented me from being with them. But I don’t think that necessarily deserves an applause. That’s just the way the cookie crumbled for me.

This isn’t the ideal dream either. My dream evolved, and continues to do so.

The truth is many mothers would love to have this luxury, or wished they were in a different situation that afforded them the chance to be with their brood more hours of the day, to be able to carve out their own schedule. I feel for those women who have to get up at 5am, kiss their kiddos goodbye, slave away all day long for someone else, only to make pennies, then go home late and pick up the pieces for everyone else. That. Is. Too. Much.

Our mothers, our caretakers, our soldiers – we don’t appreciate them enough. We don’t take care of them enough, we don’t make life easier for them enough, and we don’t applaud them enough. It’s really awful how this country expects moms to get “back to work” so quickly after giving birth; preventing them from adjusting, gaining their physical strength back, and bonding with their baby that first year. It’s even more awful we don’t pay mothers the same rate we pay fathers, for doing the same exact work. This only hurts our children and the fathers!

It’s crazy madness.

Like rats running in wheels, going nowhere.

Mothers should be compensated for what they do. Veterans too. The caretakers of our country deserve better. Most of our government assisted programs help these two groups more than anyone else, so why not make it standard like many progressive countries are doing? We have to fix this, we have to make it right.

Someday, I will. I don’t know how, but I will.

Hugs and kisses to my fellow mama bears out there, and anyone else who is taking on more than they can physically handle – hang in there! You are loved. You are special, and you are GREATLY appreciated. 

Back to it,

AEJ

The post A Tinge of Pain appeared first on Kiss and Tale Productions, LLC.

Across the room from me is a pop star. I don’t know her name but she looks familiar, and her lips are puffy. She’s all dolled up, sitting next to a Producer type of dude, glasses, high-end hoodie with pristine Air Jordan’s. Another celebrity type just sat down to join them. I don’t know who she is either but she’s in the most provocative sweater jump-suit. Her bootie is quite volumptuous, and her hair is colored that trendy grannie grey. Both pass as goddesses from a comic book.

The table beside me, sit four eclectic young women, chatting excitedly, going back and forth between french and english, engaged in a compelling conversation. A complete juxtaposition to the demi-gods in the corner.

The cafe is bustling with white noise, wealth and privilege, wealth and privilege. I am sitting among the cream-of-the-crop, the wanna-bes, the tourists, the few lonely artists and writers.

My back is to the fireplace, the only real hearth and open flame in all of LA. Andrea Bocelli fills the room, which is perfect since hearing english words jumbles my thinking. I am in my element, enjoying my decadent chocolate flourless cake, taking pen to paper.

This is my life now.

Much different than it was before, ten years ago. Much different.

Some people ask me, “Are you happier?”

Which I don’t know how to answer. That would depend on your definition of happiness.

I am fulfilled in knowing I am me now. (Relieved actually.) So that makes me happy.

And I’m less anxious. I no longer worry about the fact, that if something were to happen me – the world wouldn’t know who I truly was or what I really believed in – but now they will. So that’s a relief.

The things that matter most to me are my kids, helping others find their purpose, relieving pain and suffering for those in need, and telling honest stories.

This weighed me down a lot, that I was living a life contrary to what my heart said inside. So yes, I’m happier in that regard. A storm has lifted, the dark clouds have blown away.

But in terms of where I want to be, where I long to be – I still have quite a ways to go. And for that I am frustrated, motivated, hungry, anxious, and uneasy. I’m not sure if these feelings will ever dissipate though.

I will not rest until I’ve accomplished more of what I want to do on the planet.

What do you want to do while you’re here? What are the words that will be on your headstone, how will you be remembered? I think we should ask ourselves these questions more often. That way, we are more compelled to get to work.

Back to it myself …

x and tales,

AEJ

The post Down to Urth appeared first on Kiss and Tale Productions, LLC.

With only hours left to finish my first script of the year, I will post something uplifting to help me feel not so alone.

I find great comfort in discovering similar ideas from those who have gone before, even though these thoughts were written in 1946.

George talks about his early childhood, then goes into why he believes writers write. This can be applied to filmmakers, storytellers – all artists.

“I give all this background information because I do not think one can assess a writer’s motives without knowing something of his early development. His subject-matter will be determined by the age he lives in– at least this is true in tumultuous, revolutionary ages like our own, but before he ever begins to write he will have acquired an emotional attitude from which he will never completely escape. It is his job, no doubt, to discipline his temperament and avoid getting stuck at some immature stage, or in some perverse mood: but if he escapes from his early influences altogether, he will have killed his impulse to write. Putting aside the need to earn a living, I think there are four great motives for writing, at any rate for writing prose. They exist in different degrees in every writer, and in any one water the proportions will vary from time to time, according to the atmosphere in which he is living. They are:

1. Sheer egoism. Desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, to get your own back on the grown-ups who snubbed you in childhood, etc., etc. It is humbug to pretend this is not a motive, and a strong one. Writers share this characteristic with scientists, artists, politicians, lawyers, soldiers, successful businessmen — in short, with the whole top crust of humanity. The great mass of human beings are not acutely selfish. After the age of about thirty they almost abandon the sense of being individuals at all — and live chiefly for others, or are simply smothered under drudgery. But there is also the minority of gifted, willful people who are determined to live their own lives to the end, and writers belong in this class. Serious writers, I should say, are on the whole more vain and self-centered than journalists, though less interested in money.
2. Aesthetic enthusiasm. Perception of beauty in the external world, or, on the other hand, in words and their right arrangement. Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story. Desire to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not to be missed. The aesthetic motive is very feeble in a lot of writers, but even a pamphleteer or writer of textbooks will have pet words and phrases which appeal to him for non-utilitarian reasons; or he may feel strongly about typography, width of margins, etc. Above the level of a railway guide, no book is quite free from aesthetic considerations.
3. Historical impulse. Desire to see things as they are, to find out true facts and store them up for the use of posterity.
4. Political purpose. — Using the word ‘political’ in the widest possible sense. Desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter other peoples’ idea of the kind of society that they should strive after. Once again, no book is genuinely free from political bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude.”

George lived to be 47. If that’s the case, I only have ten years left. Ha

I will write about this more later, but you must know I love the classics.

I didn’t find Why I Write until I was in my thirties. (You can get it on Amazon for $3) When I read works like this one, I make sure to avoid reading any summaries or opinions on it, so I can have my own.

Burning the midnight oil,

AEJ

The post Why I Write appeared first on Kiss and Tale Productions, LLC.

This is the thought that has been running through my mind today. I signed up for a challenge I knew would be nearly impossible to complete. I’ve done this to myself before and somehow made it to the other side, having no clue how I got there. I like accomplishing hard things. Whether or not I like the process in getting there? Ha, not important.

I’ve never done anything as insane as this though. #12scriptsin12months?

(Production on Emma’s Chance is a close runner up, shooting 9-10 pages/day with horses, and one camera. Next would be childbirth, followed by playing football in high school. I know, that’s kinda of out there, but it was good for me. What can I say, I like the idea of impossibilities.)

So here I am. Stuck.

Do I blame my lack of pages on post-production with Emma’s Chance? Nope.

On my partner and the fight we had? I don’t think so.

On my kiddos? Sorry mama. On the elections? Come on.

BUT SERIOUSLY, WHO CAN I BLAME!?!?!

“No one Anna, because you are going to get through this. You will succeed. You will pull up your big girl panties, hunker down, and plow through those pages like you never have before. Get your head in the game and rise up. You know your story, you know your characters, you know the world – you have everything you need to accomplish this draft. Your mind is vast, your pages wide open, so f–cking get your ass into gear, and COMPLETE THE SCRIPT.”

Pep talk.

I have them often. We need that sometimes, right?

I’d love to hear what others say to themselves when they’re in the bottom of a pit, lying in the mud, looking up towards the light, feeling sorry for themselves, wondering how the f–k they got there, and how the f–k they’re getting out.

I usually don’t swear. I find it distasteful and poor in thought.

But swearing is incredibly powerful for me. It awakens my belly of the beast, my survival instincts, my masculine side … to get that f–cking woman in the attic, who’s fallen asleep on the job, AWAKE, and puffing on that damn cigar!!

Yep.

That’s where I am. If I don’t buckle down RIGHT NOW, I’m never going to make it.

And how was your day? Going well?

x and o,

AEJ

PS I love words

The post Belly of the Beast appeared first on Kiss and Tale Productions, LLC.

A dark room in Granada Hills, California, at the home of Jerimiah Morey, our colorist for Emma’s Chance.

This is where the color master turns edited films into cohesive stories; aligning each frame together into one beautiful color palette, all from a converted second bedroom. I’ve been going to Jerimiah for over five years now. (Michael found him through an ad on Mandy.com, the Craig’s list of the entertainment industry)

When we first worked with Jerimiah, he was working for a company during the day, moonlighting indie projects at night. Within the five years we got to know him and work with him, we witnessed him quit his job, establish himself as an independent artist, and move his operation 45 minutes outside of LA.

I send everyone to Jerimiah. And everyone drives out here to work with him.

He’s affordable, but better than that, his work is impeccable.

He’s doing the thing he was born to do.

Nearly all of my work has been colored by him. (And if it wasn’t colored by him, it was only because I wasn’t in control of the decision.) I never have to worry when he’s in the driver’s seat. I can sit back and enjoy the process.

Whenever I come here I’m always inspired too.

I don’t know if its the front lawn and back lawn of the home that gets me (I long to have a garden), or the fruit trees he makes homemade jam from. Maybe its the simplicity of the life he lives, the avoidance of over spending and the American pitfall of credit card debt. (He doesn’t have it) Or it could be the ample free parking outside his front door, on the street. Sigh.

He’s smart. He cut his overhead in half by moving out here, defraying costs for the struggling filmmaker; thereby pulling in more work and bettering his craft.

The artist’s life is a lonely one.

You have to make decisions that our contrary to the norm. You have to go against the grain, possibly being the only one in your extended family who is repeatedly saying, “No, I’m not out of work. Just freelancing.”

“Have I seen anything you’ve worked on?”

“I don’t think so …”

“So this is more of a hobby then?”

“Not exaaaacccctly.”

“Then how do you survive? I mean, you have a job right?”

(Gotta love those J – O – B comments.)

“I make money on a project to project basis. Some times a lot, a little, or nothing at all.”

“Yikes. That rough.”

You’re telling us!

But we wouldn’t have it any other way, right? Here’s to the farmers, the freelancers, the crazies, the artists – anyone who doesn’t live on a consistent paycheck.

You are loved, you matter, and you keep going. 

Be like Jerimiah, hone your craft, stay out of debt, and ignore the rest.

x and tales,

AEJ

The post Color Grading :: Emma’s Chance appeared first on Kiss and Tale Productions, LLC.

Material, or intellectual property, is your trump card in Hollywood, especially for a director. (Ahem, female director). If the script is good, the writing top notch – a page turner – and fills the hole in the marketplace, then that script becomes a girls’ best friend.

Now let me pause for a moment and also say, 15 years ago I was grossly aware of the “lack of female directors” thing. (Read my entry on Pre-visualization for more) Throughout film school it was always a topic of discussion … but the thing that got me, the thing I analyzed more than anything else is, why? Why do we not have a bigger bucket of talent to choose from on the vagina side of things? This was my true thesis at film school, to find an answer.

And the answer I found was: an economic one.

At the end of the day, it costs more to be a woman. Yep, you heard me. Biologically speaking, relationship speaking, motherly speaking, etc. (And if you want to debate this, bring it on.) On top of that, women are really good at cleaning up other people’s messes, I mean they’re really good at being “the assistant” or “the producer” because we have a disposition to fix things, problem solve, and mother. Disagree with me all you want, but this is absolutely the case. There’s nothing sexy about it. And to be a director, you need to be sexy. Simple as that.

Take for example my friends. All guys. It used to be I had a few girl friends with me, on the front lines, but now its mostly dudes, all of us scraping by just to maintain living out here. They can afford it though. Their health can, their biological clock can, their relationships can. They don’t need to go shopping, get their hair colored, etc, just to keep up. They can pull it off with the “dark and mysterious starving artist” look. (Case in point, Project Greenlight. I was a finalist last year – don’t even get me started). You’d be insane to stay out here, especially if you’re a woman who yearns to be a mother someday. Which, many of my friends secretly want, even though none of them admit it. (Says the girl with four kids.)

Not only this, but every female guest speaker who came into those golden gates at USC; showrunners, producers, agents, executive, a couple directors, etc. all said one thing in common: “Whatever you do, don’t let go of your vision of who you want to be in this town.”

Bam.

Enough said.

So back to my discovery of this app called Airbnb. In short, the game-changer. I did whatever I had to do, to pay the bills and keep writing.

10,000 hours right? That’s what they say is the minimum amount required to be an expert at something. I needed to put in a lot more hours if I ever wanted to get into this club. I knew that and still know it. I have to be quicker, better, and more clever than the competition.

Back then, if it meant staying at my parent’s homes for long periods, I would do it, if it meant staying at a hotel in Utah to be with my kids and have lower cost of living, I would do it. If it meant sleeping in my car and showering at the community pool, I would do it. I would do whatever it took to keep my kids the number one priority as well as my writing.

I decided to hold onto this mantra and never let go.

And thank goodness I did.

Because the most extraordinary thing happened; I became a cleaning lady. Ha

I soon realized I could average more money per day if I kept the cleanings rather than farm them out. So commit to the cleanings I did, and continue to do so. Humbling for sure. But there is a gift in cleaning, something so brilliant you’d never see it coming – the work you’re doing is in auto-pilot – it’s a mindless, non-emotionally exhausting money maker, the best kind of job ever for a writer/creator.

Your mind gets lost in the worlds you’re creating, for hours. So much of writing is working things out, chewing on things. Committing those ideas to the page is definitely an obstacle, but if you know where your story is going, its much easier. I can make money and work on my craft.

Win, win baby!

And hey, breaking a little sweat while cleaning never hurt a writer either. Being sedentary is a no-go, so cleaning forces me to get off my bootie and kick it into physical gear.

I will write more on my airbnb adventures as we go along, but for now know this:

• Being in control of your time is the key to succeeding as an artist.

• Having residual income (even if its not a lot) is still better than nothing, and allows the tortoise part of you brain, the creative side, to expand and create. (Stress is the number one killer to creativity, so lack of consistent income is a doozy for us writers.)

• Focusing on your personal relationships, my kids, is stimulating and life fulfilling. I don’t know how anyone can create without strong relationships surrounding you, feeding you, reminding you why you chose this life path.

I now have an adorable 1950’s home in Utah, truly a dream come true, which is less than a mile from my kids’ schools, and two more airbnb’s here in LA, all of which are booked nearly every day I’m not in them. My older kids clean The Utah Bungalow, teaching them work ethic, saving, and to remain focused on their studies. (Not to mention, building a nice stash for college and/or a car.)

Someday I hope to have a dozen of homes I own that I can host from. Home sharing isn’t going away anytime soon, despite the negative chatter. If you think about it, it’s always been around. Until then, I’ll continue cleaning and hosting, affording myself the time to write and keep creating.

Do you have any other ideas or solutions on how to create residual income? Please share! I think it’s important we artists ban together, keeping our village strong.

More on this in other posts!

x and tales,

AEJ

The post Living the Dream :: Cleaning Part II appeared first on Kiss and Tale Productions, LLC.

I had just graduated from USC and needed to find a “job.” Up until this point I had a roommate, whom I split everything with, and had been commuting back and forth from Utah to be with my kids. (They moved to Utah mid-grad school when it became too much for me to have them by myself, and when I realized the public schools were phenomenally better there.)

Now that the heavy lifting of school was over, I wanted to refocus my efforts on two things: my kids and writing. (Because writing leads to directing)

Just as I was about to post half my furniture on Craig’s list to downsize my LA life, a friend told me about the home sharing site, www.Airbnb.com

One click and I was sold.

I’ll never forget the first time I hosted.

Two stewardesses. They said they wanted to try something different, something cozy and warm. They wanted to be in a home. I definitely had that in my Shabby Chic Oasis. I remember being outside, sitting in my car, looking up at the apartment window when they arrived, having never met them in person and imagining them in my kitchen cooking, in my bed sleeping. How strange the feeling was! I couldn’t believe two complete strangers were in my home, treating it as their own. What had my life come to? How did I end up here, pimping out my sanctuary, especially after all that money I dumped into grad school!?

Believe it, I did.

I slept on a friend’s couch that first night. After expenses, I made a profit of $70/day. That’s more than $15/hour working part time as a waitress or as a customer service rep at the Apple Store … all while writing at a cafe.

Say what?! Yep, I made money while writing the projects I cared about, and not the ones the bank wanted me to write, AKA the studios, who were never going to hire a female director, especially for her first feature anyway. My guests stayed for three nights, so I made a goal to write 10 pages in that time, giving myself a self-imposed deadline.

I returned home, surprised to find everything in great order, as if I had two girlfriends over, except these girlfriends left me money with pages in my pocket. Cha-ching. I could get used to this!

I continued this on and off until my apt. became so popular, I literally was couch surfing 100% of the time. My friends and parents were incredibly patient, knowing I wanted to see my kids in between writing spurts, and continued supporting me with this crazy lifestyle. (I owe them for that)

Now I know this all might sound insane, and it is, but you have to understand I wanted to be able to see my three pumpkins in Utah at any time, for any reason. If I locked myself into an entry job at a production company, I would be a slave to that company just to make ends meet, and would never be able to get away. If I wrote on a television show, I would be a slave to that show and never be able to write and direct the projects I knew I needed to create. And if I moved to Utah and got a job, I would literally be throwing away a massive investment on myself and the potential of a career that could change my life and my children’s lives for the better.

Okay, so now you’re thinking, “What’s so wrong with that? Work your way up, get established and maybe in 5-10 years you’ll get there.” Okay, true.

Sort of.

Here are the facts:

• Invested – Over $250K in student loans to attend the best film school in the world, to be mentored by the best in the industry, and make connections to last a lifetime, in short, to become a writer/director in the toughest sport on the planet

• Top of the Class – After graduating USC you can edit, produce, shoot, do sound, work in post production or development, or write. Or you can go be an agent. I excelled at directing, something only 1% of students get to do at USC. Not only that, but I sold a script to a major production company/studio. Two points in favor of going the writing/directing route. (Believe me, I would never had signed up for this if I didn’t think I belonged, one of the reasons why I went to grad school, to figure out for myself – I belonged.)

So where should that massive investment go? Into someone else’s company? Into someone else’s vision? Nada. No way. I didn’t give up nearly everything to sort of make it.

I made an ultimatum with myself, a promise if you will.

I would do whatever it took, no matter what, or die trying. That’s all there was to it. 

And Airbnb was part of my ticket in getting there. (As well as thousands of others who would jump on this train for similar reasons in the coming months and years. Thank goodness for good ol’ capitalism! I know a lot of controversy exists with these ride-sharing and home-sharing platforms, which I’ll discuss more on the blog, including how to do it the right way.)

I flipped houses in my twenties while raising three babies, and became an expert at staging. Nothing could come more natural and easier for me. I could win at this. And I knew it after that first booking.

More in Part II, click on the link below!

x and Tales,

AEJ

The post Living the Dream :: Cleaning Part I appeared first on Kiss and Tale Productions, LLC.

When I was a teenager I had an angel figurine in my room. I saw this angel nearly everyday, more than once, for many years. I think she even followed me off to college. Every time I got dressed, set or hit my alarm, answered the phone (back when they plugged into walls) I saw her words written on a banner she held.

That’s a powerful thing to have running through your mind, don’t you think?

Which is why we should surround ourselves with positive words more often.

How many times do we check into social media, to see what’s going on in the world, and find ourselves in the mud of it?

I think too much.

Or how many times do we interact with others, only to be adversely effected, not to anyone’s fault per say, on our goals for that day or week because of the words they use? (Remember, your mission is not the same as everyone else’s.) I don’t think we should isolate ourselves from all negativity, but much like a pendulum, we need to swing back towards the positive.

And depending on what kind of learner you are, either writing it down, or seeing it in front of you, take the time to remind yourself who you want to be in a tangible, physical way – with an index card on the fridge, near the door, or a figurine like mine resting in your room where you will see it everyday. I think connecting to physical properties in an era of tech is another way to feel grounded too.

If you do it … I’ll do it?

Deal.

Okay then, what positive affirmation are you thinking of now? How does it effect you/make you feel, and where did you find it? The positive affirmation you share here might inspire someone else, so please share away!

And if you don’t have one, you’re welcome to use the one my angel held for me:

“The only limitations are the ones you set up for yourself!”

x and tales,

AEJ

PS I love words

Limitation – a limiting rule or circumstance; a restriction

Limit – a point or level beyond which something does not or may not extend or pass

The post The Only Limitations appeared first on Kiss and Tale Productions, LLC.