Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips When can you quit your day job and write full time? This question comes from time to time. Actually, it comes more often than I wish it would. People are looking for one answer: Quit now, write full-time, and you will make loads of money. I disappoint a lot of people because […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we feel that we cannot do what we want to do unless we go somewhere else. Most of the time, however, we can do just fine right where we are physically. We merely have to move mentally and emotionally. I follow the Location Independent Professional blog and a few that are […]

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by Dwayne Phillips As a designer and writer, two of my favorite tools are the blank sheet of paper and the pencil. I love a blank sheet of paper. I love to have a pencil in my hand when I’m looking at a blank sheet of paper. This is freedom. There are no guidelines, no […]

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by Dwayne Phillips One task which many of us either choose or have thrust upon us is predicting the future. We usually perform this task poorly. An aid to declaring “the future will be thus” is reframing with a few introductory words. The future will be awful. There is no way out of this. We […]

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by Dwayne Phillips We often give power and control to our surroundings. This change of words returns those to me. I have heard it many times and said it a few times. Things like: I am under a lot of stress. This is a stressful situation. The stress here is too much. Let’s look at […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Building systems, managing efforts, raising kids – these and many other worthwhile endeavors can be difficult. I see no good in attempting to make those things sounds easier than they are. The reframe discussed here changes the description of tasks to be attempted. We will just… I don’t know how many times […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Our works need not be final; we need not be finished with anything. Using a couple of magic words, we can give ourselves a choice of coming back to our work. Consider the statement: I am finished with this. Writers often say this. (I’ll use the example of writers and their writing. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Here is another example of a reframe. In this reframe I change an inability to do something into a choice to attempt it or attempt something else (for a while). Here is another post on reframing things – changing a situation by merely changing the words we use to describe it. I […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Exotic locations inspire writers to great writing. Well, sometimes that happens. What I find more important than location is attitude. A few years ago my wife and I went on a short cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. It was great fun. Such an exotic experience. Who could not help but be […]

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by Dwayne Phillips In a common usage, the word “but” erases all that has been said previously. This is a writing nicety. It is also a bad way to confuse conversation in the workplace. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but you need to check with me on things like this. Quick, without looking back, […]

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