The Fun Starts Here!

Posted by rebeccainspiresnow

I’m so happy today I could not wait to write to you. I woke at 5:55am which was really 4:55am and today feels like New Year! In fact, for many of us, it is!

Today some very fun creative explosions start! It’s Art Every Day Month and it’s National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo! Both are free!

You can read about Art Every Day month started by Leah Piken Kolidas’ here. She started it a decade ago inspired by NaNoWriMo! There are even rules which are made to be broken! Those are my kind of rules. You can write, draw, take photos on your phone, color, sculpt, just create.

I’m starting Book 2 of Selma’s Truth and Magic Series today for National Novel Writing Month! You can sign up here if you’d like to join me: http://nanowrimo.org.

There are of course, fun ways to share your progress in social media and in other places, but if you are introvert (like me, yes, yes I have the Myers-Briggs results to prove it), you may want to do this on your own or with one or two friends.

Spread the word because there’s real research demonstrating the importance of creativity to our own vitality and life. It’s central to making us tick. Before some of you tell me, “I’m not creative like that,” listen to this interview between Brené Brown and Elizabeth Gilbert. (If kids are around, put in headphones due to some adult language.) I know I’ve shared this one before, it’s that good.

I also want to share some exciting news about my novel, The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calderón, A Globetrotting Magical Mystery of Courage, Food & Friendship:

Discounted Signed Copies for Teacher Gifts and the Holidays: Individual copies are $12, but if you want to gift signed copies of the book to 20 or more people, it’s $10 each plus shipping. And 10-19 signed copies are $11 each plus shipping. I have one mom who ordered the 20 copies in the photo below and she is including a printed copy of my recent Huffington Post interview. It’s easy to order! Just send an email to team@rebeccavillarreal.com with the number of books and the mailing address and we’ll take it from there!

Teaching For Change to receive 5% of the proceeds from Selma: I’m so excited that we announced my commitment to donate 5% of the net profits from Selma to Teaching for Change through 2016. And I’ll keep giving back to organizations benefitting youth in perpetuity, as in forever! Read the news story here and the official press release here. If you know of any media outlets, blogs, newsletter or websites that might be interested in this story, please share. I would love to inspire more authors to do the same. The novel is available everywhere, and I’m thrilled to share that you can purchase it directly from Teaching for Change’s online catalogue as well. It’s an honor to be included!

Dharma Blazers Interview: Wowie Zowie! The amazing motorcyle-riding yogini Carrie Hensley interviewed me for her Dharma Blazers interview series. She published it last night and sent the interview to her community around the world. “Dharma” means life purpose. Carrie illuminated things for me about my own life purpose that were completely new to me. We laughed a lot. I shared in ways, I’ve never done in a recorded interview. I hope you brew a cup of something delicious, sit down and join us. You can view the interview here. She also included a link to a recorded meditation I shared on this blog to help you start your day with a playful heart (as opposed to a racing heart thanks to your to-do list). I got to know Carrie when I participated in her 30 Day Yoga Un-challenge. After more than twenty years of doing yoga at home, she is the best teacher I’ve ever had—kind, gentle and yet just the right amount of helping me stretch literally and figuratively! She offers a free 20 minute AM and PM yoga classes when you sign up for her newsletter in case you want to check her out.

Huffington Post interview: Sometimes there’s a pebble in the water that creates ripples. For me, this interview was it. Dr. Brandi Megan Granett, a fellow author, asked such insightful questions. And my favorite part: there’s a focus on my grandmother, Mama Chelo, who was born Consuelo Calderón. She lived until age 105 which is why my novel is for ages 10-105. You can read the interview here. (And I also have to thank my sister-in-law who struck up a conversation with Brandi at her delectable restaurant, Thai Tida, and handed over her personal copy!) Kindness and magic abound!

Recipes, Magic and Fun: We are gearing up to share recipes, ways to bring magic into your every day life and more inspiring content for readers. I’d love to invite you over to play at: rebeccavilarreal.com. You can sign up for my e-newsletter which I’ll send out every couple of weeks.

Finally, today is the birthday of one of my best friends in the world: Amheric! I wrote this 1 minute and 43 second video poem, New Month, for him a few years ago. I thought you might use it to help you kick off an amazing month!

Thanks for visiting with me this Sunday. And a special thanks for sharing so much Selma love! I’d be grateful if you would add Selma’s magical word #cucalacas to your posts. I want to remember to do the same!

I’m going to make some breakfast now. Remember how much I love you because there is only ONE you and the world needs your smile, your gifts and your big golden heart!

The Bravemakers are coming!

Posted by rebeccainspiresnow

Hurry! The Bravemakers are coming! The Bravemakers are coming! Today in honor of International Women’s Day, I want to share one of my favorite time-sensitve FREE resources for you. The theme for International Women’s Day is “Make it Happen.” On Monday, March 9, Jennifer Lee’s 5th Annual Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit begins. If you participate, it will give you that spark to make it happen! The summit runs through March 20th. (Guess what, it just might be the last one.) What’s a video summit? It’s an experience that’s open to anyone in the entire world who has access to the Internet. Just click here and enter your first name and email address to gain access to daily interviews with the most courageous and thoughtful creative entrepreneurs. Every weekday at 1pm ET, you’ll meet an “established” creative entrepreneur as well as a shining star. I’m excited that Katherine Carey, New York’s boldest milliner artist will be featured as a shining star. I’m tickled that I own one of her hats and even featured her on this very blog! Even if you can’t view the videos live, signing up will give you access for at least 24 hours after the video is aired. Here’s a peek at the line up: For more info, visit: http://rightbrainersinbusiness.com As Jennifer’s introductory video states, taking this time to participate, “gives you permission to listen to your deepest longings.” She speaks the truth. Two years ago, I listened, took a courageous plunge and made a declaration when I applied for a scholarship to Jenn’s premium group (you’ll learn more about that when you sign up). Here’s what I said:

In the video, you can see how nervous I am to declare my dream in a public venue. I want to thank you, dear readers, for cheering me on because I won the scholarship. I’m forever grateful to Jenn Lee for giving me a forum (and the gentle push) I needed to keep plugging away at my dream. In the last line of my scholarship application video, I promised to give back one hundred fold. I’ve committed 5% of all net proceeds from the book to go to non-profit organizations benefitting youth. And then guess what happened? I got connected to a very supportive group of creatives from New York to Australia including Beth Barany and Stacey Aronson whom I hired to help birth my book, The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calderón, A Globetrotting Magical Mystery of Courage, Food and Friendship. I’ve worked on this book for more than a decade, but did not take the true leap to publish it until I took a risk and made that declaration. You will have the chance to read my book this coming August! I’m taking another leap at the same time and moving my family to our dream town on the West Coast. Without being surrounded by inspiring stories like these, I don’t think I’d be here sharing my PUBLICATION DATE–it’s August 2015! August 2015! Think about joining me and creatives from around the world at the summit from March 9-20. Make it happen. Join us any day you can. Take a chance and dream! For more information about Jennifer Lee’s Books, visit her author page and her website. The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calderón, A Globetrotting Magical Mystery of Courage, Food and Friendship cover was designed by Alvaro Villanueva of Bookish Design.

Get Your Brave [Bot] On.

Posted by rebeccainspiresnow

Pick one thing!

It’s so hard, but I will try to focus on one tool that stuck with me from last week. I had a life-changing experience at The World Domination Summit (WDS). It’s taking every fiber of my being to share the energy in bits, because there was so much to take home for my mind, heart and soul.

WDS is the brainchild of author Chris Guillebeau. I can’t wait for his latest book, The Happiness of Pursuit, to to be released on September 9. Over the course of ten years, Chris has traveled to every single country in the world. After 9/11, he wanted to “do something.” So in time, he launched the World Domination Summit. He invited people to Portland to answer the question: “How do you live a remarkable life in a conventional world?” With the core values of adventure, service and community, I joined 3,000 people at WDS, now in its fourth year. Chris doesn’t take a salary for the event and though there are a few staff members, the summit wouldn’t exist without the corps of amazing volunteers who truly wanted to be there. I’ve never felt so much love and commitment to service in one room.

I will tell you that as a human vessel, I was moved more than I’ve ever been moved in my life. Don’t I look like I’m about to explode with joy? Dominate the world? I intentionally took plenty of time alone when not in sessions to come down off of the excitement and soul-moving stories and insights. If you like TED Talks, this was like TED on steroids while being surrounded by some of the most kind and interesting people from around the world. I met scientists, software designers, day traders, writers, artists, musicians and world leaders. And when I say world leaders, I mean ordinary people taking small and big steps every day to change the world.

(Photo credit: Armosa Studios)

So here’s my one thing I’ll share today: Gary Hirsh launched Bot Joy to help people feel brave. One eleven-year-old girl with diabetes used her Brave Bot to inject her arm with insulin before every meal. She’s gone through several bots because she rubs them again and again, wearing the paint off. The impetus for this project is based upon Gary’s childhood memories of waking up with nightmares of monsters. His dad encouraged him to draw and name the monsters during their 3:00am kitchen table sessions. Years later, Brave Bots were born. At WDS, Gary asked, “What’s one brave thing you’ve done?” Stop and think about it. Brave things can come in small packages. Your answers might surprise you. He also asked,

What’s one brave thing you want to do, but haven’t?”

One of my favorite answers (from Gary’s friend) was:

“Write a book. What if it sucks? What if I get lost in the middle and can’t find my way out? What if nobody cares? What if it’s not funny? What if it’s not smart? What if it’s not truthful? What if it is? (And which is worse?) What if my mom reads it and makes that pursed-lip face and then has no comment beyond pointing out a grammatical error on page 47?”

Okay folks, so here’s my brave thing I want to do but haven’t:

I am taking some time off from working on my novel, The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calderón, A Globetrotting Magical Mystery of Courage, Food and Friendship. I decided to move publication to 2015. And for the very driven Rebecca, this takes courage. I am choosing to slow down so I can stay healthy while working and enjoying life with family and friends. This is a brave step in staying whole.

Here’s the other brave part: at the top of this post, I’m hanging with my bot. And for the first time, I’ve unveiled the cover of my novel just for you, dear readers! Isn’t it beautiful? I love, love, love it! Alvaro Villanueva of Bookish Design created it.

This makes it real, folks. As if it wasn’t already.

So what’s one brave thing you want to do, but haven’t?

To experience more of Gary Hirsch’s presentation at WDS, click here.

To see my fellow WDSers activating their bots, click here.

To steal Gary’s idea and make your own bot (really, he wants to you to), click here.

Sending you love and bravery, every single day from me and my bot, Olympia. (I just named her that.)