Are you ready to spice up your life? There's only one sure-fire way. It's a secret.
Vicky Christina Barcelona weaves a tale of transformation of two besties who visit Barcelona for the summer unaware that the trip will challenge their current belief systems.
If you're ready to begin dating again, you'll need to know these mental strategies to make the most of it.
By Te-Erika Patterson
Organizing Your Book – Day One
Organizing a book will only take one day as you prepare the outline. Decide on a topic for your book. I usually decide on the name of my book first and it inspires me throughout my writing process.
After you have your topic, write down 10 questions your book will answer concerning your topic. Each of these questions will become your book chapters. Since most books have 10 chapters you can add more if you’d like, but you don’t have to.
Now you should have a book title and a list of questions (chapters). For each question write down as many answers to the question as you can think of. List these answers as bullets under each question. Move through each of your chapters this way until you have outlined all of them.
Writing Your Book – Day Two through Eleven
You can write one chapter a day by deciding which day you want to write and sitting down to do it. You already have the topic questions and the answers, all you have to do is expound on each answer. Use examples, share stories, resources and information to validate your views.
Write out one chapter per day and don’t worry about editing anything, that will come later.
Polishing Your Book's Structure– Day Twelve
Now that you have the guts of your book written you can go ahead and change the chapter questions to statements. Be creative with your chapter headings. Write headings that will grab attention and also support your book title. Add an introduction to your book that explains why you wrote the book and how the reader will benefit from reading it.
The rest of the process is editing and you’ll have to develop your own strategy for that. For tips on structure, editing, formulating plots for fiction books and how to market your book, I highly recommend that you order Nick Daws' Course How To Write A Book in 28 Days. This will become your new book writing bible. It was extremely useful to me. I wrote my first self help book in just 6 weeks while a full time graduate student and single mom.
Happy Writing!
by Erika Martin
I hope you're well and are having a great week.
Just wanted to connect with you and let you know that we've posted your story on our blog, FinerMinds. We think it's really inspirational what you've been doing and think that you will inspire a lot of women out there.
Here's our post: http://www.finerminds.com/
Best wishes, and best of luck
Did Finer Minds write about ME?
ME?
No, not ME?
I'm just Te-Erika. I'm not a finer mind!
Wait. Yes, I am!
I have been reading Finer Minds for years, gaining inspiration and wisdom because they always have something juicy to read or be inspired by. I considered them to be the ultimate in daily inspiration and they only feature the best of the best in inspiration leaders.
Yet, they wrote about ME.
Me?
Me, who is sitting here on a cot swatting flies away on the patio of a homeless shelter. Me, who doesn't even own a purse and who has a vision to tour the country and I don't have a dime to my name.
Me?
HELL YEAH!
I cried. I howled. I'm sure people thought someone had died,but for me, reading about myself on FinerMinds was an affirmation that I am more than just a nice pair of legs and a cute face. I am one of the best in inspiration.
I belong on that site too!
I am so elated that I have been walking on air all day. This feels too good to be true. A site that I read for inspiration is inspiring its readers through ME.
It is so amazing to be me right now. I don't have everything together but I am following my still voice. Regardless of the outcome, it feels so good to be me right now.
Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) signed legislation on Tuesday that requires anyone applying for temporary government assistance to pay for and undergo drug screening.All applicants for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program must now pay for drug testing. Any applicant who tests positive for illegal drug use will be ineligible to receive government benefits for one year or until they successfully complete a drug abuse program. Those who test clean will be reimbursed for the cost of the test.
“While there are certainly legitimate needs for public assistance, it is unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction,” Scott said. “This new law will encourage personal accountability and will help to prevent the misuse of tax dollars.”
In March, Scott also issued an executive order requiring that all state employees be subjected to random drug screenings and urine analysis once every quarter. The order is expected to cost Florida taxpayers over $3.5 million.
News Coordinator
Germany’s E. coli Outbreak Kills and Infects Many
16 people have died due to an E. coli outbreak in Germany and hundreds have fallen ill. The E. coli outbreak started in northern Germany, but has now spread to the western parts of Germany. Authorities have reported the outbreak was caused by E. coli found in raw vegetables. The European Food Safety Alert Network has reported E. coli which causes hemorrhage in the intestines was found in cucumbers which were also shipped from Germany to Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Luxembourg and Spain. The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition reported two Spanish producing cucumber companies may be involved in the E. coli outbreak.
Ratko Mladic Extradited for War Crimes
Ratko Mladic Bosnia’s former Serb Army Chief has been extradited to Netherlands where he will be tried for war crimes in a UN court. After 16 years on the run Mladic was detained last week at the age of 69--Mladic attorney argued he was too sick to stand trial or be extradited, but Serbian Court denied the request ruling he was healthy enough to stand trial. Ratko Mladic is allegedly responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre that claimed the lives of Muslim men and boys.
Nepalese Peacekeepers, Source of Cholera Outbreak
An independent panel appointed by the United Nations released a statement declaring the cholera epidemic in Haiti that claimed more than 4,500 lives did not originate in the country. Peacekeepers from Nepal have been concluded to have caused the deadly outbreak. As the nation was trying to recover from last year 7.0 earthquakes swiftly after many died and became sickened from the fast spread cholera epidemic. The Nepalese officials deny that the cholera originated in the country.
Heroine Teacher Awarded
Rivera Alanis a Kindergarten teacher at Alfonso Reyes School, in Monterrey, Mexico was presented with a heroism award by Governor de la Cruz for calmly instructing her class away from the windows and to lie down on the floor for their safety while gunfire erupted outside the school. Alanis used her cell phone to tape the incident as it was happening during the gunfire Alanis led the children in song to keep them calm and mind off the deafening gunfire. Officials later announced gunmen claimed five lives at a taxi stand.
I decide to follow my intuition and take my hands off this project and allow the divine to take control.
By Yolanda Jacobs
As I stated in an e-mail response to a friend:
"Too much of what transpires in the black community is beyond belief when we take into account that it seems the same issues continue to be at the forefront decade after decade. It’s like reading Carter G. Woodson’s book, The Miseducation of the Negro, and realizing we’re still, over 50 years later, conducting ourselves the same way we were when he published it—and in some ways we’ve gotten worse. We haven’t progressed as well as we could have because, in many ways, we’ve been our own impediment. Yes, racial inequality, human rights transgressions and the like have played a great role, but for those of us who KNOW the deal, what have we really done to resolve these issues?
"Growing up, I remember one specific aunt who would ridicule my sister and brother because of their darker skin. My sister developed a serious complex behind it. I used to get so angry at my aunt for doing that that I would forget she was an older relative and fling rocks at her. That’s how upset she would make me, and it was the only way I could think to protect my siblings from her harsh words. The crazy thing about it is that she was darker than both of them. Now, who passed that on to her? It surely wasn’t my grandmother, because she loved some dark-skinned men and proved that by marrying one after the other.
"When I was stationed in Korea, I remember a train ride that took me deep into some of the Korean villages. Many of the Koreans living within those villages had never seen a black person up close. Do you know that quite a few walked up to me, offered me some of their food and reached out to touch my face? At first, I thought they were trying to attack me, they were so forward. One English-speaking Korean relayed to me that they were saying I had the most beautiful skin they’d ever seen. They were bowing and smiling broadly at me. I got treated like royalty the entire train ride, with them offering drinks and snacks repeatedly although I’d turned them down earlier. I still have a beautiful set of hand-painted chopsticks an elderly Korean lady insisted I take. Coming from Louisiana and being accustomed to the racially based remarks from whites and blacks, this was definitely an experience, especially considering we’d been led to believe we were hated and thought to be ugly around the world.
"If we want the world to change how it sees us, we have to change. This change has to come from within. We were first destroyed from within before anyone was able to destroy us from the outside. It was W. Durant who said, 'A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within.' That is our history, in a nutshell. Will we get it right in our lifetime? I’m not too sure because, for one, we’re too busy being the only ones dedicated to the practice of multiculturalism yet running away as fast as we can from the practice of black cultural unity."
Until black people get it right, there'll always be a need for documentaries like Dark Girls. In the same token, Carter G. Woodson's book will remain relevant to our current time, whether it be 2011 or 2021, and so will the words of many writer scholars who came before us. We'll continue to be the same story, because we have refused to change. And, to some extent, because we don't know we need to change or because we think we are changing and that we are getting better. Nothing more than illusion that thought, but a thought nonetheless.
Self-hatred runs deep, and self-haters are known for transferring their hatred onto others. It's how we adopted the thought process that we needed straight weave, perms, makeup, thinner lips, pointier noses, lighter skin and less ass. It's also how we got to be so damn multicultural that we haven't even noticed that we practice it to a greater degree than any other group of people, yet we benefit the least from it.
A crystal-ball glimpse into the world of modern-day blacks reveals an inner turmoil that is so dark, so mentally unstable that it's no wonder a total implosion hasn't yet taken place. Those who want their conditions to change are outnumbered every day by those who are satisfied, complacent or too afraid to disrupt the status quo. So, as a whole, we continue to practice our regression strategy. The one that makes us less threatening. The one that builds up other groups of people at the expense of destroying us. The one that convinces us that we must keep each other in our place, even if it means name-calling, backstabbing, killing and bickering.
It is that strategy that keeps all black movements, protests, books, articles, documentaries and movies in a repetitious cycle and state of relevancy. It is that strategy that leads us to always display the negative of who we are, if it means being noticed. To indulge in it, savor it and not want to let it go for fear our instituted pity party might come to an end, and then we'll be left holding the bag of responsibility, which we should have held long ago. We don't want to have to get off our asses and do something. That's what we've had other groups for, despite them placing their foots on our necks as payment. We don't mind being less, if someone else is willing to do more. We carry on in ways we know are not beneficial to us, because it prolongs that inevitable day. The day when it won't matter about the latest documentary or sensational media story that adds to the stigmatization of blacks, because we'll be forced to have to do as was said long ago: shit or get off the pot.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States of America May 30, 2011 -- With 6 days left before the rescheduled job fair to benefit homeless women and women in distress, the organizer of The Rebuild Your Life Job Fair, Te-Erika Patterson makes one last appeal to Miami-Dade and Broward county businesses.
I began the Rebuild Your Life Project nearly 2 months ago after giving away everything that I owned including my apartment to become homeless in order to teach women that they can overcome their biggest fear of losing everything. I know that I am an overcomer and I wanted to show other women how they can be overcomers too. I created the Rebuild Your Life job fair as a way to help other homeless women and women in distress to find employment and I didn't think that 30 businesses willing to support would be difficult to find. I am down to my last hope as I go into my final week of planning and trying to gain interest. Sixteen businesses have partnered with me and one woman has already been offered employment. There are so many women in our community who simply need a chance at employment. They are hungry. They are hurting. They have no one to turn to for help. They have called and emailed and I've met them on the side of the street as we discussed life's trials. They are on waiting lists to be placed in shelters. They are on the verge of eviction. They have lost their cars and their families are sleeping on couches in crowded homes. They have lost hope but I wanted to stand in the gap for them, to be their agent of hope and to work for them during these trying times.
My first job fair didn't work out. A month into the project I only had 3 businesses signed up and I had to reschedule it and remain homeless for another month. I have no home to return to but I won't begin my own efforts to secure employment and adequate housing until I am certain that the women that I've come into contact with who have come to me for help, have found the help they need.
I ask that you partner with me to give these women a chance at interviews at your business. Even if you can not make it to the job fair on June 6th, you can still support this effort by allowing me to connect qualified women with your business needs. All I am asking for are guaranteed interviews for the women I meet. All they need is a chance to show you that they are serious about working. Your support counts. I know the community cares. I've seen it with my own eyes and even the clothes I am not wearing were donated to the homeless shelter that took me in. If you have any open positions that you need fill, I ask you to please contact me and add yourself to the list of 16 businesses who have pledged support. I ask that you show up on June 6, 2011 at 11am and meet the women who need your help the most. You will be honored that day for your efforts.
Please help. I need 14 more businesses to pledge their partnership before June 3rd so that I can move out of the homeless shelter and work toward rebuilding my life again.
Please help me help women survive.
Sincerely, Te-Erika Patterson Creator of The Rebuild Your Life Project, an empowerment outreach for women.
The Rebuild Your Life Job Fair For Homeless Women and Women In Distress
Date: June 6, 2011
Time: 11am- 1pm
Place: Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, 2400 Charleston Street, Hollywood, FL 33022
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.mysavvysisters.com/p/rebuild-your-life-project.html
Please call to leave a message at 954-586-7173 to pledge your support.
| 12210 Biscayne Blvd N. Miami, 33181 |
| 12105 Biscayne Blvd N. Miami Beach, FL 33181 |
| 3. Sweet Tomatoes |
| 2906 Oakwood Blvd Hollywood, FL 33020 |
1203 N. Federal Highway Hollywood, FL 33020 5. Denny's Restaurant 2800 N 28th Terrace Hollywood, FL 33022 6. Foreclosure Forensis 1200 Brickell Avenue, Suite 900 Miami Fl 33131 7. Loewes Miami Beach Hotel 1601 Collins Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33139 8. Dave & Busters 3000 Oakwood Blvd Hollywood, FL 33020 9. Famous Footwear 3551 Oakwood Blvd Hollywood, FL 33020 10. Quizno's 3050 Oakwood Blvd Hollywood, FL 33020 11. Old Navy 3801 Oakwood Blvd Hollywood, FL 33020 12. Taco Bell 1830 S. Federal Highway Ft. Lauderdale,FL 13. Wendy's 2031 E. Oakland Park Blvd Ft. Lauderdale, FL 14. Chili's 5363 Sheridan Street Hollywood, FL 15. Goodwill- Miami 16. Anonymous Business ** This business wishes to partner with us to interview women but does not wish to be mentioned in publicity efforts |
By: Christina FerminPolitics & Society Columnist
It is time we begin erasing the lines that divide us and unify for peace. We consider ourselves to be a civilized society while 1/4 of our population is incarcerated and we are currently involved in multiple wars brutally killing our enemies and even more innocent civilians. We fight wars to “eliminate” the enemy and instead hundreds of thousands of innocent people get harmed or killed in the wake of going after the enemy. Which in turn creates a ripple effect in the community near and far, all the while claiming to be civilized.
In the name of humanism it is time we look forward and unify as people, as one human family and look past race, sex, ethnicity, color, status, ideology, religion and beliefs. Belief systems can be destructive as well as ideologies, as one strives to cling to the belief system they so inherently “believe in” or stick to an ideology no matter how destructive or counter productive these beliefs and ideologies are. Even when proved destructive and wrong people will ultimately stick to it because they believe it so much. Ideology and beliefs are only as powerful as we allow them to be.
We are all equal parts to the whole, we are collectively one. There are a few groups of people instigating the lines of separation, separating us to become weaker. We are stronger unified than separate, in order for peace to be achieved we must unify behind the cause, even in the face of adversity, bringing down that which is evil, wrong, cruel, inhumane, corrupt and against the people. The masses wish for peace, everyone speaks of it, everyone dreams of it, and almost everyone does not want war. We have seen what war has done, and in the last century we have seen what war does to societies, civilizations, people, our environment and our psyche.
I refuse to believe that humans are cruel in nature, we are a product of our environment, we have seen this time and time again. Negative environments create negativities in people, where they are unable to achieve positivity and positive outcomes. Two negatives never make a positive, how can a person evolve in a negative environment? We create these excuses against that which we believe is unattainable, when in actuality they are and it begins with changing your beliefs and becoming more open to ideas beyond what we were “taught.”
Creating peace at home and abroad begins with you. Without changing the self, how do we expect others to follow or be the change that we seek. The most difficult process is letting go of those beliefs systems and erasing the ideological lines that separate us. Open your heart and your mind and the world will change. During the hippie movement of the 1960s, the young generation rejected the idea of war and hate, instead they preached of love and acceptance and through a peaceful means of rejecting those beliefs systems they forced an end to the Vietnam war. At the same time civil rights had passed and we began living more unified by erasing those lines of separation between whites and blacks. Creating a utopian society begins with change within, so take a seat and sit with yourself, meditate every day and it is amazing what you will discover.
Peace & Love,
Christina
About the Columnist
With a bachelors degree in political science from Florida Atlantic University, Christina Fermin has always cultivated her love for history, politics, sociology, ancient knowledge and teachings, the outdoors, the ocean and the environment. Christina strives to make our world better by helping us all create a new reality and understanding of all taking place here and now.
I remember Will Bell, Jr. more popularly known as Will "Da Real One" to his fans and friends across the globe. I hung out with him the week before I began The Rebuild Your Life Project. He was an extremely popular inspiration to many up and coming spoken word artists who yearned to transform their crafts into a fruitful career.
