PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: A Legend Talks About Success
Follow this link to a TED TALK by basketball legend John Wooden…
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Time
My daughter and I started our writing class last week. We were supposed to submit 10 pages to our new writing partners by midnight on Sunday. I just emailed mine. That’s 12 hours late and let me tell you, I don’t feel good about it.
What is it about never having enough time in the day?
Just when I think I might be caught up, I remember a dozen more things that need to be done. I normally pick a couple of things that are near the top of my list and then do them, then a couple more and a couple more. And sometimes they are not quite in order. There are even those things, like the last bit of tax information that I still have to wrangle up and sort and give to my accountant, that somehow slip by without getting done until I just can’t stand it anymore.
But I’ve learned over the years that there will ALWAYS be things on my list and not enough time to do them, so I just have to breathe, check things off my list as I go, make sure to take some time to enjoy life and then start the process again.
WRITING PROMPT 1: How do you make good use of your time? What methods do you use to keep your to-do list in check?
WRITING PROMPT 2: Clara glanced at her watch and sprinted out the door…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Adjust and Enjoy
This morning everything was getting in the way of writing my blog. The dishes, the laundry, and just as I was sitting down to get to work, my husband. Granted he came with a decaf tall latte in hand, my usual (and favorite), and a cheerful, “Happy Mother’s Day.”
“It’s not Mother’s Day.” I said.
“Yeah, but it’s this weekend…and I’m going to be gone.” he reminded me.
He is going on a motorcycle trip. I told him I thought Mother’s Day was the following weekend but I was really not sure. I guess I could have pulled it up on my computer as my hands were perched over the key board in mid-sentence, but we just pondered the fact and then he plopped down next to me.
Would it be rude to keep typing?
I tried, but I’m not good with someone staring at me. Still, I didn’t have the heart to close my computer, just scooted it to the side, thinking to myself that I should have written my blog BEFORE I did the dishes.
In life, things get in the way, slow you down, block the path to your goals. Whether it’s something little, like someone you love sitting down next to you to enjoy a cup of coffee, when you were on task to write a blog and then the next best-selling YA novel or your goal of making First Team All-League gets sideswiped by a blown out knee, you have to be ready to adjust and re-establish your goals.
This morning, though initially a little annoyed, I relaxed and enjoyed my latte and my husband. I enjoyed the moment, and then continued with my day happier for it. On the basketball court, I have come back from sprained ankles, jammed fingers and broken limbs. I have […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: A Little Pressure Can Be Good
My spring writing class starts Thursday and I’m not ready. We are supposed to have a description of our book and the plot, and the first 10 pages ready to go. I don’t write my books from start to finish so this is a small problem for me but not one that I can’t figure out with my pen in hand and my butt in a chair. It’s time to get to work.
Sometimes a deadline is all you need.
WRITING PROMPT: Write about a deadline that you scrambled to reach…
Meet Sonya
Meet Sonya
Sonya Elliott’s memoir, Back on the Court: A Young Woman’s Triumphant Return to Life, Love & Basketball, is her story of finding hope in the wake of tragedy after she and her fiancé were hit by a train. She blogs about writing, basketball, and life and is currently working on a Young Adult Novel and a Non-Fiction Coaching book. Stories of her career as a fashion model are woven through her memoir, as both the Soloflex and Easy Spirit Shoes commercials were filmed during that time period, and this unique and intriguing business continues to be a part of her life.
Sonya played basketball at Eastern Washington University and was a starter for the Big Sky Champion team that went to the 1987 NCAA tournament. She coached for almost 25 years and was voted Seattle Times Coach of the Year, Seattle Officials Women’s Basketball Association Coach of the Year, and twice voted Metro League Coach of the Year. She loves the game of basketball and is thankful, not only for her husband and kids but for her ability to continue to get back on the court.
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PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Win a Free T-shirt and Book!
PeaceLoveBasketball T-Shirt
Enter to win a FREE PeaceLoveBasketball T-shirt and a signed copy of my memoir Back On The Court!
It’s easy! All you have to do is answer one of the questions below in the comment section and you will be entered in the drawing. And since this blog is about writing AND basketball (and life in general), you can answer both question and be entered twice! (The drawing will take place March 19, 2015 – comments made after this date are encouraged but will not be entered in the drawing)
Question #1: Which Basketball team will be this year’s NCAA Champion? Since it’s that time of the year – March Madness 2015 is about to begin – let us know which team you believe will win the NCAA Championship (men’s or women’s).
Question #2: What is your favorite book? If you […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: A Season to Remember
photo by Paul Mosely
One of my coaches texted me yesterday, “Wow…no practice next week.” My reply, “Weird huh?” For the last four months we have be in full basketball mode. Practices and tournaments and games non-stop. We went undefeated in our league, were league Champions, made it through Districts and Regionals without our point guard and then headed to the State Tournament for the first time in school history.
The random draw going into the State Tournament matched us up against the #1 ranked team in the State for our first game (they eventually won the tournament). “How unlucky,” people lamented when I saw them after the brackets were set for the tournament. I stayed positive. “The good news is that we get #1 right out of the gate and we can knock them off when we are well rested.” It didn’t […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Hard Work
“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty and persistence.” Colin Powell
It was an exciting weekend. Our girl’s basketball program won our looser-out Regional game on Saturday to head to the State Tournament for the first time in school history. I am so proud of the girls. They have gone the extra mile. they have pushed themselves all season long to be better athletes and better teammates for one another.
Nothing beats seeing hard work pay off.
WRITING PROMPT: Write about a time in your life when your hard work paid off. Now write about a time when it didn’t. What did you learn? Did the experience change you?
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