Your cover letter is the first thing the hiring manager will see—think of it as the first impression of the first impression. No doubt, you would want it to be a great introduction. But how can you stand out in a pool with tens, hundreds, or thousands of applicants?
If you really want a job, show interest—be enthusiastic. Your enthusiasm will show at the interview when you answer questions confidently, when you show you know about the company/ position, and when you respond to the questions with enough energy.
When you open yourself up to people and you invest in building long-lasting relationships, your life becomes filled with inspiration and, ultimately, rewarding.
When you put on the beta reader’s cap, your senses are sharpened. You can’t help but see all the “errors”. And the more writing experience you have, the better. And after the beta read, when you get back to your own manuscript, you’re hit by an epiphany—your novel has all the errors you were fighting so hard to stamp out of your friend’s manuscript! You were brutally honest with your friend (let’s just call it tough love); it becomes easier to be brutally honest with yourself.
At first I was afraid,
I needed a hand across the bridge,
A guide to the beach,
An illuminated tunnel through my core and an explorer to teach me its depths.
According to scientific studies dug up by the University of Southern California and Reader’s Digest, listening to classical music can help improve learning ability, lessen anxiety, lower blood pressure, and reduce stress. The result—you become more relaxed.
Whenever I take my time to talk someone through their anxiety, I always come away feeling much better than I did before. I remind myself of the ideas that rightly deserve a place in my head—the ideas that will push me to be better and that will carry me to where I need to go.
Remember that you got to where you are by doing the best you knew at the time. Now you know better. Appreciate yourself as you are now, but know that you’re improving yourself. Everything worthwhile takes time and effort, but you will get where you want to be by putting in the work.
Don’t be bogged down by regret and shame once they have taught you to be a better person.
A lot of us confuse plot with story. We imagine that the thing that drives us to flip the page is a dramatic plot or the twists and turns of a convoluted plot. This could not be further from the truth. The truth is more obvious, yet we totally miss it.
What compels us to keep on reading is the curiosity to find out how the external elements are going to affect the protagonist internally. Story is not about what is happening externally; it’s about how our protagonist is feeling, reacting, and changing because of external events.
Good vegetarian meals require the simplest commitment—a variety of vegetables in your pantry and fridge (most of which are affordable), creative ways to cook cheap, local ingredients, and a healthy dose of aromatics, herbs, and spices.
