In this issue
	Sophfronia's Novel Now Available! Welcome and News Meet the Ruthless Reading Renegades FEATURE ARTICLE: When Opportunity Knocks, How to Follow Through Following Through to a New You

Welcome and News

Hello! I've been racking up the frequent flyer miles over the past six weeks and having a lot of fun in my travels. This photo (left) is from the talk I delivered at my alma mater, Clearview High School in Lorain, Ohio. I have to admit, I wasn't sure how I would come across to an auditorium full of teenagers, but I figured if I could connect with just one student, the whole trip would be worth it. Fortunately everyone seemed to enjoy my presentation, "Ten Things I Learned on the Way to Seinfeld's Neighborhood", and thoroughly ate up my message of going after what they want in life. I even made the front page of Lorain's Morning Journal! It was so exciting. Who says you can't go home again? You can read the article as well as other clips about my coaching and writing on my new press kit page (see Quick Links) on my web site. I've met a lot of great people on my trips--a few I'll even mention here-- and the rest you'll see in photos on my author web site (see Quick Links). (If you don't see your group, keep checking back. We're adding the photos as quickly as we can-- there's a lot of them!) I'd like to welcome to the "Living the Dream" subscriber list all the wonderful people who have joined from Dayton, Ohio, to Altadena, California and as far away as Singapore and Australia. I'm glad you're here. Last month I made a special offer to all the people who downloaded a sample lesson from my coaching e- courses, Grow & Go and Do It Now!. Now I'm happy to report that I can now make this offer to everyone! It's my spring special. From now until May 31 you can sign up to take an e-course for $195. That's just $65 a month for either 12-week program. Here's another bonus: you'll also get unlimited e-mail coaching and support from me for the whole three months. I usually charge $99 a month for this level of attention. Why am I doing this? Because I know that so many people want to start anew with the spring but don't know where to begin. Well, here's a starting point. I want for you to be able to take advantage of this productive time and to enjoy the energy that comes of making big change in your life. To get this special e-course rate just click on the link below. Here's to your good growth! Best wishes and be well. Sophfronia The Spring Coaching E-course Offer »

Meet the Ruthless Reading Renegades

I am so grateful and appreciative of all the wonderful book clubs across the country who are reading or have read my novel, "All I Need to Get By". At last count they numbered over 160 and the list is still growing. I wanted to highlight one group here--the Ruthless Reading Renegades whom I visited in Houston, Texas last month. They're led by Sandra Rigsby--that's her on the far left pictured with some of the members of her book club. What are they doing in the photo? Well, let me just say that they ARE ruthless! Sandra brought flashcards she made herself featuring my character's names, nicknames and personality traits. Then she divided the club into three groups and they spent the first part of the discussion with each group working on matching up their cards properly to test how well they had read the book! I was quite impressed. Thank you, Renegades, for reading with such attention and hosting a fabulous, heartfelt discussion. I hope to see you all again soon. Book Club Gallery »

FEATURE ARTICLE: When Opportunity Knocks, How to Follow Through

It's springtime and I'm a gardener so I'm thinking about flowers. I walk through Central Park observing what's coming up and when. This spring has been cold and slow to develop. I thought the inclement weather would make the flowers wilt or the trees lose their new buds, but that didn't happen. It seemed the plants sensed it was their time to grow and they did so despite the conditions. Not a one of them said, "Whoa, conditions are bad, I'm not going out there!" The flowers followed through. I find it interesting how so many people fail to do the same--they don't follow through. In one of the panel discussions at the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop where I spoke in March, a TV writer noted this. He said there are thousands of breaks given out in Hollywood every day-- he's even given a few on his own. But surprisingly few people ever follow through on them. I've come to the conclusion that not following through is often the result of not thinking things through. I have identified three big reasons for not following through, each one capable of being resolved with some solid thought and preparation. Let me show you what I mean. 1.)Fear of Success or Fear of Failure. Fear is a perfectly valid emotion and the best way to dispel it is with information. Play out the best and worst case scenarios for yourself. What if you do achieve your greatest success or your worst failure? What would it feel like? What makes you feel scared or uncomfortable about it? If you succeed will you lose your friends? Be swamped with business you can't handle? Have to take on more responsibility that will eat up your free time? If you fail will you be left with high credit card debt? Will you be unemployed? Will you be sad and disappointed? Now: think about what you would do AFTER the failure or success. You could get another job, even if it were something temporary to pay the bills. You could pay down your debt over time. If your goal were to lose weight, you'd try again. If you lost friends, how would you make new ones? Could you parlay your long hours at your new successful position into getting long vacations as well? Resolve the problem in your mind before it happens. That way it will not be a block to your following through.

Following Through to a New You

2.) Being Unprepared for Opportunities. I know a few people who are interested in being TV writers. For now I'll meld them into one person and call them "Steve". Steve tells me about the contacts he's trying to make and the script ideas he has. "That's great," I say. "How are your spec scripts coming along?" "Oh," he says, "I haven't written one yet." A spec script is a script written for a show that's already on the air like "Frasier" or "The West Wing". A new TV writer is usually expected to submit at least two as samples of their handiwork. So Steve has already set himself up for great difficulty. If someone does express an interest in Steve, what will he have to show? He scrambles to get something written. As the days turn into weeks he feels bad that he hasn't contacted the person again. Even worse, the script he's writing doesn't seem very good, it could use some more time. In the end, he feels so bad that he doesn't finish the script and he never calls his contact back. He doesn't follow through. The solution? Steve needs to PREPARE for his success. If he's truly devoted to being a TV writer, he needs to spend time doing that in addition to his networking. When his break comes, he'll have work to show and discuss and that will make him more confident in his conversations--so much so that he'll be ten times more attractive to his prospect. 3.) Lack of Clarity on What You Want and Why. Sometimes an opportunity is the first chance a person gets to really think about whether or not they really wanted that opportunity in the first place. Instead of waiting, why not take the time now to visualize what you really want? Here's a tip: are you passionate enough about your goal that you are willing to make your own breaks if someone doesn't give you one? That should help clear up the picture. In my travels I have met a number of authors who, after receiving a pile of rejection notices, went out and published their books themselves. Getting into print was that important to them. What goal has that level of importance for you? Here's another tip: ask more of yourself! Set a standard that says "I am someone who follows through." Then ask, "What actions will help me to be such a person?" Do you have to be clear? Prepared? Organized? Focused? You can start working on this concept by experimenting in other parts of your life. You can practice following through simply by setting a date with a friend and showing up on time. Or you could be more conscious of when you'll say you'll do something like complete a project or write a report. Don't overpromise- -offer up a little less than you know you can deliver. If you know you can write that report in three days, say you'll have it done in a week. You'll have less stress that way and it will be easier for you to follow through. Just make sure you really DO it in three days--no points for procrastination here! If you'd like to work further with these concepts, I suggest you take my Do It Now! E- course. Going for a goal takes extensive preparation and week-by-week I'll take you through the steps to do just that. After all, the flowers know when it's their time to bloom. Do you know yours? Copyright 2004 Sophfronia Scott. All rights reserved. Ask a question and get it answered in the next issue! Contact Sophfronia »