Swim naked AND Defy Gravity

I'm in the mood to talk about books and lists today. I found another book for people turning 30. You know I'm always in the mood to check out the competition.

This one had me wondering again about lists - the things we do or want to do before turning 30. OR any other age milestone.

So for now I looked at this book and selected my top 5 great suggestions and the 5 I found most ridiculous.

I should also tell you that of 100 items, I have actually completed 72 of the list.

TOP 5

Swim Naked

Buy a Kick-Ass Mattress

Watch the sun rise and set on the same day by yourself

Sleep in a hammock

Carry something to read, a notebook and a pen at all times

Ridiculous 5

Claim your granny panties

Hook up something high tech by yourself

Invest in earplugs

Adopt an awkward teenager

Use a great dermo

So take a look at the book.

How many have you completed?

Thinking about love

Today I was thinking about love. Don't ask me why. It isn't usually on my radar. Don't misunderstand, I've got nothing against the big romance. I just don't often have time to think about it.

OK, so I do know why I've been thinking about it today. Last week I accomplished a goal. Yeah me! The reward I promised myself for meeting this goal is to have some free reading time. Instead of investing time in something literary or interesting that will capture my brain. I've headed down the easy entertainment route. I'm rereading one of my favorite series of books - JD Robb's In Death series.

I started with book one and now I'm on the second. The thing about these novels is that while they are futuristic crime novels, there's a serious love at the core of this series. There are more than 25 books in this series. What I've forgotten in the past few years of reading about an established couple was how they began. In reading the early books I've found the push and pull, the fight of falling in love.

So this round about tale was telling you I've been thinking about love today. What I've been thinking is does love change as we get older?

There is teenage love and early college/young adult love but what happens after that? Can we find great love as we get older? Is there ever a time when love runs out? Or when our ability to find it has passed?

Don't get me wrong. I know there are plenty of loves left in my life. I KNOW that 30 is young to start wondering about such things. Some people haven't even experienced love by 30, others may be on their second or third love.

What do you think?

Does love have a time limit?

Does age have anything to do with love?

30 Isn’t Old – the Book

You may not know but this blog started out as a book project. Two years ago while working on my final project for my Master’s degree I decided to interview women who were turning 30. After reading so many negative books about dreading 30, I became irritated and decided to do something about it.

The process to find women willing to be interviewed took some time. Then there was the actual writing of the book and deciding what I wanted to say. After the first few drafts were completed I began searching for an agent or publisher.

Long story short, two years later the book is almost ready. All that is left is some proofreading and the design and print process. The book will be available before the end of the year.

Now that I have a real date, a real end to the book project I am reminded once again that age is not a milestone. It is not a due date or a time when you must have accomplished some big thing. I have passed 30 but today, knowing that the dream of this project is going to happen, I’m having a great day. I am not the least bit bothered by not having published before 30.

So think about it.

If your big dream, your one goal to accomplish before 30 doesn’t happen, what will it mean to you?

Will you give up? Or find a new dream?
Or will you continue to seek your dream and celebrate the day it does come true?

Why Bradbury

I've decided to try a different approach today.

Maybe the problem is that I don't really love anything. I don't get all hearts and flowers about life. I decided to go back to Bradbury for another dose of inspiration, just in another direction.



You may wonder why I choose Bradbury as an inspiration. To most people he was a crazy science fiction writer on the fringe. To active writers, however, he might be something more. He is for me. Bradbury was extremely prolific as a writer. He decided at the age of 12 that he would write 1000 words every day. And apparently he did so, every day, even though his motivation lagged sometimes. He wasn't published until his 20s. So for a decade he wrote 1000 words a day, 364,000 words a year without being published. In that time he wrote over 3 million words.



Volume is not the most impressive thing about Bradbury. Truly I read him and I trust his words because his books taught me 2 things when I was a young reader


1. It's OK to be a freak who likes to read


2. Narrators in stories don't have to tell you the truth - they can lie





These 2 revelations caused me to decide that I wanted to read and write for the rest of my life. I think I was about 11 when I reached this conclusion.





So in a round about way maybe I have realized something.





What I love is books.


As to the other approach I was planning for today - I'll get to it tomorrow.

Zen in the Art of Writing

I read a book this weekend that I will likely talk about for weeks to come. The amount of motivation and wisdom in this compact book of essays reached into my brain on several levels. Today I’m going to give you what may be the best quote – at the very least it’s the one that best applies to Turning 30.

“For the first thing a writer should be is – excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms.” (p 4)

Writers are not the only ones in need of fevers and enthusiasms. All people, no matter what our occupations, can benefit from having something to be excited about.

I’m not saying that to be successful or fulfilled you should be excited to go to work everyday. What I’m suggesting is that there should be at least one thing – one thing in your life – that gets you excited and enthusiastic.

That one thing can be your kids, you job, your spouse, a hobby, your favorite pair of shoes. What it is doesn't matter – just that it is.

Take today to think about what matters to you. Take a single step in finding your own passion. Make a list if you have to. If the thing you love comes to mind in an instant, consider your self blessed. Then decide what the second thing you love is.

Book of Ages 30

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Book Review: Book of Ages: 30 by Joshua Albertson, Lockhart Steele and Jonathan Van Gieson

What I love about this book.

It's full of great facts about turning 30 such as

• On average - You have had 7.5 jobs in your 30 years. AND you'll have 2.4 jobs in the next 5 years.


• 20% of women are single in their early 30s.


• In their 30s women have sex and average of 116 times per year (the average is 115 times per year for men).

Beyond these juicy little tidbits the next best thing about the book is that it encourages readers to realize that life doesn't end at 30. To demonstrate this they show where many celebrities were when they turned 30.

• Harrison Ford was a part-time actor and full-time carpenter at 30. He was 34 when cast in Star Wars.


• Anne Rice didn't write Interview with a Vampire until 31.


• Madonna release Like a Virgin at 30.


• Martha Stewart was still working as a stockbroker on Wall Street - her empire not yet begun.


• Julia Child hadn't begun a cooking career.

The list goes on & on.

If you want a burst of motivation and inspiration that you still have decades left to pursue your dreams, take a look at this book.

Books

Illustration from ©iStockphoto.com/smartstock

The post will be short today because I have a full schedule. I've decided to share a few books I came across on my research journey.

THE BAD
29 and Counting: A Chick's Guide to Turning 30 (Julie Tilsner)

30 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do Before Turning 30 (Siobhan Adcock)

Debt-Free by 30: Practical Advice for the Young, Broke, and Upwardly Mobile (Jason Anthony & Karl Cluck)

Midlife Crisis at 30: How the Stakes Have Changed for a New Generation--And What to Do About It (Lia Macko & Kerry Rubin)

Facing 30: Women Talk about Constructing a Real Life & Other Scary Rites of Passage (Lauren Dockett & Kristen Beck)



The GOOD
Book of Ages: 30 (Lockhart Steele, Joshua Albertson & Jonahtan Van Gieson)

Turning 30: How to Get the Life You Really Want (Sheila Panchal & Ellen Jackson)

Eventually I will get into detail about why I either love or hate these books so don't go out and buy them just yet.

Just know that the first group of 5 are all about the "problem" of turning 30 while the other 2 are fun and positive. I'll share more later.