Soul Saturdays: Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich Exercises Via Stacey Curnow

I was inspired to answer the four questions below thanks to Stacy Curnow's blog post "Feel Like Giving Up? Read This First" which was in turn inspired by Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich.Click the link above to read her responses, then write your own responses to help make 2012 your best year yet! 1. Have a definite purpose, backed by a definite desire.
My purpose is to be a writer that writes stories that touch people emotionally and inspire them to get the most of of life and ideally, live their dream lives. I've always wanted to help people, and through writing, I get to potentially help hundreds (and hopefully thousands?) of people through every piece I write, even if what I'm writing is just a restaurant review that encourages them to go out and enjoy life to the fullest! 
2. Create a definite plan expressed by definite action—even if they only involve one-minute actions!
My definite plan is to write four books per year while also amping up the number of magazine and newspaper pitches. I also want to start a second blog, co-written by my husband, about our marriage which will hopefully appeal to my novels' target audience as well. 
3. If you experience any negative or discouraging messages from others, try to understand that your desire is creating some discomfort for them—probably because they wish they were acting so boldly on their desires—and do not take it personally.
This one is tough for me because as a rule, I have honestly always been the type of person that celebrates the success of others and is inspired when other people do great things. I credit my mom for always making celebrations an important part of my childhood. When my sister's birthday rolled around, my mom would buy me one small gift because she wanted me to know that she and my dad were thankful for me too, and she would do the same for my sister on my birthday. Every achievement was celebrated and recognized, and that attitude rubbed off on me. But I have come to terms with the fact that we as humans are jealous/envious by nature and that nature is amplified by the"keeping up with the Joneses'" mentality of our society as a whole. 


4. Have a friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage you to follow through with both plan and purpose.
Twitter has been a godsend for exactly this reason. I feel like I have a whole bunch of fellow writers that genuinely want me to succeed (or at least pretend really well that they do!). However, more than anyone, my husband has supported me during this last wild year when we both quit our jobs and did a total "life upheaval" in order to allow me to chase my dreams of being a full-time writer. He is my unpaid editor, toughest critic, and biggest cheerleader, and without him, I wouldn't have been able to take the full-time writing leap. Thank you honey!