Remember when I said I won a book a few weeks back? This was it! I won it because the author, Erika Napoletano, said via her Facebook page that anyone who creatively sends her a message through her new Contact form would receive a signed copy of her book, The Power of the Unpopular. So I emailed her, tried to be as creative as possible, and I won!

A little back story: I’ve been following Erika Napoletano forever. She has her own business and she cusses a lot. She helps businesses get unstuck essentially. And she has fiery red hair. And she writes for Entrepreneur Magazine occasionally! I think I found her blog Red Head Writing about a year or so ago, and then I sort of forgot about finding it, and then I ‘liked’ her Facebook page and remembered again.

Basically, she’s awesome. She’s so kick ass, and she gives a shit load of useful information on doing what you love. And she’s mean about it because she’s serious about it! In the nicest way possible. I subscribe to her blog and every time her posts land in my inbox I’m always excited to get smacked around into waking the hell up. She is the voice in my head that tells me that I have two choices: either ‘freak the fuck out’ or ‘just launch the fucker’. And that’s essentially how this whole blog thing started out a year and a half ago and look at me now! I’m a bonafied blogger and happier and learning, and I love this blog more and more as the days pass. I even got blogger business cards ferkrissakes! And you have no idea how hard it was to talk myself into that one. There was a fair amount of inner voice stifling.

Life is mysterious.

In other news, tonight I am realizing that I’m far too hard on myself when I take too long to finish a project, and I shouldn’t be. I’ve been thinking somewhat negatively about my direction lately, but I need to remember that I have a choice in the way I approach situations, and that I need to be more loving and forgiving towards myself. I read some quote by Lucille Ball today that made me realize this. She said, “You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” And I realized how right she was. How can you move forward with the confidence and strength of your vision if you’re worried about the things you find faulty with yourself? It’s distracting as all hell, and it takes you away from what’s important.

As for other random bits of inspiration that floated in my periphery today, I read another quote, this time it was actually a tweet by a woman named Ekaterina Walter, who recently penned the novel Think Like Zuck, a book based on how Facebook and other popular companies made their mark in the world. She said on Twitter today that in 9 years Mark Zuckerberg (creator of Facebook) “has built something amazing and never took his eye off the ball,” which so reminded me of something my dad used to tell me in softball when I was little.

I realized how incredibly applicable that advice is today, as I’m out in the world trying to pursue my ‘something great’. It struck me that whatever that ‘something great’ turns out to be, it will have been something I kept in my direct line of vision, without ever losing sight of it for however long. In fact, even though that ‘something great’ may turn out to be one of 5 projects I’m juggling, it’s always in the back of my mind: in the car, in line at the coffee shop, and when I’m waiting for slow people to get out of the way at Trader Joes so I can safely pass to grab the last box of chicken tikka masala in the frozen foods section.

Lastly, I love this song below. It’s called You, Me, and the Bourgeoisie (Tonetiger Remix) by The Submarines. I had it on repeat today, and for me it symbolizes just how much we often take for granted, how easy it is to fall apart, and how every day we should “choose love, choose light.”

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Monique Muro

Monique is an exceedingly happy human from LA. She runs the blog A Novel Quest, and writes. A lot.

Latest posts by Monique Muro (see all)

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