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Discover courage, wisdom, and peace. IN A WORLD filled with noise: people, ads, commercials, politicians, friends, and more telling you how you should think, what you should buy, or what you should do, it's important to listen to that voice inside that tells you, "This is right," or "This is wrong," or "I have no use for this." It's too easy to fall into doing what everyone else is doing, but worse when it's not what you want, need, or believe. “They should know the truth, as I know it, and as you refuse to believe it.” –Rhona Davidson in Blackwood Crossing When we listen to our heart, our intuition, and do what we know is right and good, we find doubt, uncertainty, and fear easier to overcome . . . at least in my experience. Do you listen to your heart, your intuition? And because I enjoy sharing these music videos, here's "Tongue That Cannot Lie" by Karine Polwart. It seems to fit (kind of), and I like the song. Search for weekly doses of inspiration and positive messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest using the hashtag #UpbeatAuthors. Thank you for sharing positive thoughts!

How do you work smarter? This wonderful phrase was coined in the 1930s by Allan Mogensen. There are more modern equivalents, but this is still one of my favorites when talking about efficiency. My mother used to say this to me as a child and through my high school and early work years. It's as good advice today as it was back then, AND it applies to any area of life—personal and professional. I've spent sixteen years in the corporate world as a business order, and it baffles me how often I see people working twice as hard on a task than needed. I like to ask myself: Is there an easier way to do this, to produce the same results? Even if thinking on the question takes a little time, it usually saves me both time and headaches. The way I see it we can go down the path of working smarter or the one of working harder. Now, figuring out which is which isn't always easy. “It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?” – Henry David Thoreau What is one of your favorite ways to work smarter?

My tricks for a peaceful home are simple: I open the curtains early in the morning to let the early rays of sunrise into the house. I take care with the garden, whether outside or with small pots scattered throughout the house, and I always play soft music in the background. From a young age, I was taught to make my home a refuge for anyone who enters the door, and in the process of doing so, I made it a refuge for myself. Search for weekly doses of inspiration and positive messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest using the hashtag #upbeatauthors. Thank you for sharing positive thoughts!

Andy Jones, founder of Africa Heartwood Project and a friend my high school years, said this years ago in an email. When I repeated it later, he hadn't recalled his words, yet they have remained with me, and have impacted some of the choices I've made. I strive daily, often failing, to be a person of action, whether it be helping others, giving back, or showing kindness to a stranger. How are you a person of action? Search for weekly doses of inspiration and positive messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest using the hashtag #upbeatauthors. Thank you for sharing positive thoughts!

The dreaded New Year's resolutions are here! Have you set goals for 2018? Promised yourself to do better, be more successful, lose weight, and be nicer? This week the #UpbeatAuthors are tasked with setting a resolution we've never made before. I tend not to set resolutions at the start of a new year because I overdo, as in I set insurmountable goals (a lot of them) and then get annoyed with myself when I don't accomplish them all within the first quarter. Years back I decided instead to have an on-going dream list. Every time one of my dreams starts to take shape, I move it into a new column. Those dreams become my goals and I tackle them as I can. It's not a hard-and-fast science but it works for me. I'd rather be ticking items off the list than worrying over one major resolution. If I were to make a resolution this year, it would be to stop procrastinating. By the way, I'm laughing right now because I'm a master procrastinator, which is not something to be proud of, yet year after year for as long as I can remember, I've procrastinated. I've turned it into a competition with myself to see how much I can get done at the last minute. It's sad. I'm much better now than I was in high school and college, but even if I get ahead of tasks by weeks or months, there will always be one thing I leave off to the last minute. Worse, I do it on purpose. Will I change this year? I don't know, but it's on the dream list! Do you set New Year's resolutions? What's one you've never made before? Search for weekly doses of inspiration and positive messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest using the hashtag #UpbeatAuthors. Thank you for sharing positive thoughts!

Dealing with a busy holiday season is this week's topic for the Upbeat Authors. I find difficulty dealing with a too-busy life more than just around the holidays. However, I've also found that the best remedy is to slow down, take a few deep breaths, and stop to enjoy the moment. How often are we thinking about what must be done tomorrow or checking off the many items on our to-do lists? When we stop to look around at who we're with, what we've accomplished, and what we have, so much of what we deemed important or essential slips away. If one manages to step away from their busy minds even for a few minutes, one can grasp an inner peace that makes every "must do" task seem inconsequential. What do you do to deal with a busy life or holiday season?

This week for Upbeat Authors, we were asked to share a beautiful and uplifting image. While looking through many, I realized I couldn't choose just one. Whether a colorful sunrise, snow-capped mountains, horses running in a meadow, or an eagle soaring, they're all beautiful to me. I have shared a few below, and you can see more in my galleries. What do you find beautiful and uplifting? Search for weekly doses of inspiration and positive messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest using the hashtag #upbeatauthors. Thank you for sharing positive thoughts!

If we give ourselves praise for a job well done, does that make us boastful? If we recognize our accomplishments and want to share them with others, does that make us arrogant? There can be a shaky line between boasting of one's success and recognizing hard-earned achievements. When I finish a book, I can't wait to share it with others. When my sister designs a stunning home, she's earned the accolades others give for recognizing her talents. When my brother creates a well-crafted and beautiful piece of furniture, he's deserving of praise for his hard work and skills. Arrogance and boasting are unattractive traits in anyone, no matter the talent or work that goes into achieving any milestone. However, when shared with humility and understanding that others may have played a part in your success, why not celebrate a milestone? I believe it's important to recognizing our own talents and accomplishments, and to celebrate them, whether by ourselves or with others. When we acknowledge what we're each capable of, we often have the confidence to go onto do even greater things.

When it comes to showing love to the people in our lives, we might think it's easy. They should already know how much we care, right? Unfortunately, that's not always so. Showing with words and by deeds lets those who are important to us know how much we care, and how much they mean to us. Perhaps your mother could use a shopping friend for a few hours, or your best friend is in need of babysitter for a day but can't afford one, or maybe your neighbor is unable to rake leaves and shovel snow from their driveway . . . giving of ourselves, and sacrificing something we want for the benefit of others, is one of the greatest ways we can show love. How do you show family and friends how much you care? Search for weekly doses of inspiration and positive messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest using the hashtag #UpbeatAuthors. Thank you for sharing positive thoughts!

I have many incredible childhood memories, and many of things I tried or did, I did again and again simply because it made me happy to do so. I rode horses, and still do. I went on adventures, and still do. I was a dreamer, and still am. One thing I miss from childhood is that undeniable belief in magic. Sure, as adults, and especially authors, we can believe in magic, fantasies, dragons, witches, etc., but as a child, believing wasn't seeing, it was just believing. There was no intellect involved, no practicality, just the magic. It's fun to tap into that magic as an adult. Like what you've read? Consider sharing below! Search for weekly doses of inspiration and positive messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest using the hashtag #upbeatauthors. Thank you for sharing positive thoughts!

I've always found the deepest wells of creativity to be hidden within the unfamiliar. When we step outside the comforts of our personal space, and when we imagine that we're capable of doing more than we first thought, our creative minds have an opportunity to traverse new landscapes. There is nothing as stifling to creativity than a narrowed point of view. When we open our minds to the unknown, whether as an author, painter, musician, artist, or hobbyist, possibilities become endless. Search for weekly doses of inspiration and positive messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest using the hashtag #upbeatauthors. Thank you for sharing positive thoughts!

This week the Upbeat Authors were asked to share a quote about joy and happiness. There are thousands of them out there, but I always go back to one of my favorites: "Happy the man, and happy he alone, he who can call today his own; he who, secure within, can say, tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today." It's this portion of John Dryden's poem that is most often quoted, but the full text is worth reading. Happy the man, and happy he alone, He who can call today his own: He who, secure within, can say, Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today. Be fair or foul or rain or shine The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine. Not Heaven itself upon the past has power, But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour. (—John Dryden, Horace, Odes, book 3, no. 29) I believe happiness is most often a state of mind. It's not easy to find joy in every situation, especially when life tosses us about on roads filled with challenges and difficulties, yet I can't help but think that even in those darkest of times there is a place for happiness. Search for weekly doses of inspiration and positive messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest using the hashtag #UpbeatAuthors. Thank you for sharing positive thoughts!