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This One Document Raised My Spirits

Today I had one of those really productive days where I sat down for several hours and wrote.  As my fingers danced over the keyboard on my laptop I remember a short note from my 10th grade English teacher - Mrs. Agnew.  She was one of the most encouraging people I ever met, and she and I clicked on so many levels.  She was the first teacher to explain what a thesis was, and gave us an assignment to write a position paper with a clear thesis.  Mine was a commentary on Beavis and Butthead and their cultural impact.  She loved it and gave me 100% on the paper.  At the end of the year she signed my yearbook, told me to have great adventures, and to write about them.

So today I heeded Mrs. Agnew's advice and finished a short paper I had been working on for the past month.  Aside from this blog and the social media posts it's going to be my first public offering of my storytelling framework.  I am really excited and apprehensive at the same time.  Since I'm still unemployed I have the time to do things like this, and I want to make a contribution to the Church.  It's weird not serving in a parish since that was my typical outlet for service.  Now I don't have that and I still want to do some good - so I write.

About an hour ago I put the finishing touches on my first draft.  I'm now envisioning some graphics for the different sections, posting it online and promoting it.  The promotion part is still a problem since my new Facebook Page still only has 35 followers or so.  But I'm working hard on engaging other Facebook arenas, and I'm hoping to entice some traffic from over there.  Russel Brunson has some great advice in Traffic Secrets that I'm following to a t.

And now I'm saying to myself, "What's next?"  I've been at this project for less than a month and have already started to make some strides.  I plan to expand the guide into a full book, which would mean 3-10X as much content.  But I think I'm up to the challenge.  I want to design a course that people can use in their parishes, and a whole parish program to make storytelling a part of a congregation's culture.  All of these projects will no doubt keep me busy for a while.

But right now I feel good.  I feel good that I accomplished something and that my project is moving farther along.  Maybe that's why I'm having this season right now.  We'll see.  But for right now I'm going to keep up with my stories.  I hope you will too.

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