Copyright Versus the “Fair Use” Doctrine

Many people are confused about copyriting their work, when in reality they shouldn’t be. They shouldn’t be because your work is copyrighted the MOMENT you’ve
“created” it!

That story you wrote for your grandson — its copyrighted!
The letter you just sent to Aunt Carol — it’s copyrighted!
That email you just sent to Joe Bingham — it’s copyrighted!

That’s right. As soon as you “create” something and write it down whether on a piece of paper or electronically, it’s copyrighted.

A Word of Caution: Copyright law can be very vague and although it’s certain in some areas it can be uncertain in others.

There are a few of exceptions:

Your work must be longer than just a few lines (it can’t be just a couple of words), very simple drawings are not copyrightable and you cannot copy someone elses work
without adding something new to it.

Of course you wouldn’t be able to copy someone elses work verbatim, you would have to express it in your own words and it would definitely have to show some fresh material.

There is a precept that lets people copy other’s work. It’s called “The Fair Use Doctrine.” With the “Fair Use” one can actually copy someone elses work. Here’s how it works. First determine if it will fit the following:

a) Is it being used for purposes of criticism, satire, teaching, news reporting or research?

b) Is it mostly fact?

c) Are you copying only a small part and is that part an insignificant part of the work?

d) Are you adding a lot “new” to the work?

e) Has the original work been published?

The more YES answers you can achieve, the more likely your use is legal.

An example would be: you download a news article and quote a few sentences from it in your newsletter or an email.

That’s “Fair Use” because you’ve only used a few sentences.

For some startling facts on “CyberSpace Law” check out these fascinating sites and view the lessons on copyright law provided by three professors of law:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=493642
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=449341
http://www.ssrn.com/update/lsn/cyberspace/csl_lessons.html

Copywrite 2004, Larry Pilarski, All rights Reserved Worldwide

Larry has worked at home since retiring from the business arena. He provides useful info to a growing number of people through his Ezine EARN2010. Exchange ideas, info, questions, opportunities or just plain old friendship. To subscribe: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Copyright and Fair Use of Published Materials

Teachers, librarians and educators working within the context of their jobs in an educational setting are free to use material that has a copyright without asking permission of the author. Using the material for personal financial gain by performing it for a fee or by publishing it in any media outside of the educational context requires permission of the copyright holder.

What is a copyright?

In our modern society, according to American copyright law, when an artist claims ownership of an original personally created artistic “work,”, they can write c with a circle around it, the date beside it, and their name ((c) 1998 Heather Forest) on a “fixed” version of the work, such as a tape or a manuscript. With the copyright notice clearly legible, the documented version of the work could be then kept in a safe retrievable place or, for safekeeping, an artist can officially register the work with the copyright office in Washington D.C. This copyright claim allows an artist to require that others obtain their verbal or written permission to use or reproduce the work or must offer the artist financial compensation for the use or reproduction of the protected work. This extends also to permission to make a derivative version of the copyrighted work such as a film from a novel, a song from an original short story, or a performance piece based on a field-collected folktale that has only one copyrighted translation available in English. The financial compensation is often negotiable and could range from a one-time licensing fee, to a mechanical licensing fee based on the number of copies manufactured, to royalties paid based on the number of manufactured copies sold. Forms to register works and printed information on copyright basics can be obtained by writing to: Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20559.

Storytelling Ethics

Some storytellers consider the plots of folktales to be public domain entities and, as such, do not treat them as the property of any individual or group in particular. Other tellers feel that folktale plots belong to the descendants of the culture from which they derive. Without proper study of the culture and context of the tale, tellers who delve into unfamiliar cultures to find performance material can be like clumsy cultural imperialists, taking plots which have deep meaning in their cultural context and prostituting them for personal gain. There needs to be ongoing discussion on this topic in the storytelling community. Scholarship, intuition, and respect for the plot can help a teller determine if a tale is a proper one to present. Choosing appropriate tales to tell is as much a part of the artistic process as learning to tell the tale. Some tellers say that the tale chooses them. If a tale from an unfamiliar culture resonates within the teller who wishes to be a vehicle for it, then sometimes it can be very appropriate for the teller to attempt to present it. It is a matter of the heart. However, to do justice to a traditional tale, respect and understanding of its cultural context is essential.

Developing Repertoire Based on Folktales in Print or Recorded Media

If a folktale appears in printed or recorded media in multiple versions, each printed or recorded version claims a legal copyright notice. However, this is not for the plot of the folktale, but for the fixed arrangements of the words used to narrate the plot. If a teller uses the exact words of a printed or recorded text, then permission must be obtained from the publisher to use those particular words if the text will be told for pay. Royalties would be due if it were to be recorded or reprinted. If, on the other hand, the teller researches the story, finds all the variants of the tale in print or on tape, adapts it, edits it, and constructs a unique retelling of the tale, then no legal permission is needed to present the new version of the story. The teller can then actually claim copyright, not to the plot, but to their own version of the tale.

Giving Credit

If there is a particular version of a folktale which brought the tale to light for a teller, and which inspired further research or was especially influential in the retelling, often, as an artistic courtesy, tellers will give credit to that source. If there is a particular teller for whom the story is a signature piece, or if the teller heard the tale orally from another, tellers will often cite that teller before telling the tale as well. It is a matter not of law but of conscience. As a community we can choose to respond only to the written law or we can create an atmosphere of fairness and justice among ourselves that goes beyond copyright law. A story is invisible. It feels in some ways like the wind. It can’t really be owned. But we each do know what is original with us… what we have honestly invented. We must be aware of what we have brought to the telling of the tale. In the interests of fairness and peace, when we support each other with respect for the time, effort, and invention we each put into our art, then we can alleviate the thorniest issues of tellers lazily or disrespectfully copying ideas, stylistics, or text from others. Part of the work of a storyteller is to personally know or create a body of work that reflects their deepest convictions, passions, interests, and spirit. This takes time, perhaps a lifetime.

For more articles by Heather Fisher, please go here: http://www.storyarts.org

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Cool Moves and Writing

I have an 8-year old friend. She’s a lively third-grader who has a strong sense of self. One evening I was babysitting her and she shared a list of odd-sounding names. “Back Stand,” “Over-Under Flip,” “The Round About-er,” “Twist, Un-twist, Upside-down Split.”

“Gymnastics,” she explained. “I made up some cool moves.”

I was already curious so I was happy when she offered to demonstrate. The “Over-Under Flip” turned out to be more of what most people would consider a flop.

The “Upside-down Split” had her jumping up and down, twirling around and making a run for the couch. She plopped on the couch, on her back, and lifted her legs in the air, splitting them apart, and waving them around. (Then she fell off the couch, but she assured me that was not part of the move.)

Cool moves, indeed.

My grown-up mind recognized that each of her moves was merely a failed attempt at some other real gymnastic move.

My creative mind jumped for joy at her way of turning a challenge into a personal, unique success.

She could not perform a cartwheel, flip, head stand, or split so she adapted them to suit her abilities. Suddenly, she was a success. In fact, it’s safe to say that she is the best Over-Under Flipper around!

When we put our writing dreams into motion, we are often given specific rules to follow, steps to take and books to read in order to make it big. In fact, we are also often handed someone else’s definition of making it big.

We could follow someone else’s map to success.

Or we can look at where we are and what we are interested in, and build our own “cool moves” as food writers. My best friends flip through Bon Appetit for inspiration to create their own magnificent dishes. I look through farmer’s markets and my pantry to uncover exciting, fresh recipes. Good news! We’re all correct in our approach.

Early on in my food writing, I ran into someone who told me that there were only five food magazines available for food writers, and nothing else mattered. On the other hand, I’ve seen food writers start with a free newsletter and turn their weekly recipe offerings into a cookbook. Others write for sites, weekly newspapers, online syndicators and ezines to build up both a following and published clips. Still others write articles about food for camping, leisure, parenting, regional, and travel magazines.

My 8-year old friend’s philosophy helped me refocus for the new year. Instead of focusing on a few markets for food writers and comparing my work with others’ successes, I plan to return to writing culinary mystery shorts, personal essays (always about food) and working on my cookbook. These are the “Over-Under Flippers” that fill me with joy.

Now it’s your turn.

What would you do if you didn’t feel you had to compare your performance with anyone else’s?

copyright 2006 Pamela White

  When not performing her non-gymnastic cool moves, Pamela White thrives as a writing parent of three children, five cats and one dog. She publishes two ezines, The Writing Parent at www.thewritingparent.net and Food Writing at www.food-writing.com . She teaches online writing classes from both sites and has had over 600 articles published in newspapers, online and in magazines including Writer's Digest, ByLine, Home Cooking, Low Carb Energy, and in anthologies. Her short mysteries have been published in both print and online.

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Consider the Radical Truths and Choices for the Storyteller

This is the time of year when I re-evaluate my direction, catch up on important reading, listen to inspirational/ motivational tapes and reset some of my goals for the rest of the year. For this article, I will share ideas that bombarded me – even shook me up – from two sources. First, was an article that appeared in the 2002 September issue of Creativity called “Radical Careering” written by Sally Hogshead, Creative Director, Crispin Porter + Bogusky/Los Angeles. “This article is about refusing mediocrity.” Second, is the tape program The Luck Factor: How to Take the Chance Out of Becoming a Success by one of my favorite gurus, Brian Tracy.

Warning: if you are completely satisfied with the status quo – you are thrilled with your storytelling, your life, your goals and direction – then skip this article. I’m writing for the rest of us. It’s about doing everything possible to get better and reinvent ourselves.

Radical Truth/Choice #1: We are where we are today because of the actions we have taken in the past. If our storytelling is improving because we are continually learning, preparing, performing and seeking feedback and ways to get better, then we will grow as a storyteller. I know that if you are reading this article, you are someone who is serious about your telling. But, you know that reading is not enough. It is joining that storytelling group and attending regularly. It’s letting people know that you are a storyteller, explaining what a storyteller does, and then offering to tell stories to their group. As Brian Tracy (www.briantracy.com) points out, we are the originators of our own luck.

Radical Truth/Choice #2: Push yourself to upgrade your repertoire of stories. If we have created and practiced a group of winning and comfortable stories, it is easy to become lazy about changing and/or creating new programs and stories. It takes time and effort to create a brand new program with new stories – and, after all, we love the stories we have been telling. Take the time – the payoff will be worth it. I am not necessarily suggesting that we tell all new stories, just keep adding new ones continually. And, it will add excitement and pizzazz to your storytelling.

Radical Truth/Choice #3: Being a terrific storyteller is not enough. It used to be – when excellent storytellers were not plentiful – that once the “word was out” that you were a great storyteller, groups in search of a storyteller would automatically call you. That old mousetrap saying about “beating a path to your door” hasn’t worked since the Dark Ages. Nowadays, we must let the world know what we do and the benefits of storytelling in all areas, not just at libraries and schools, but also in organizations and businesses. Yes, if you speak for free for anyone, and do it well, you probably can get free storytelling gigs. These are fine for experience sake, but don’t do them just for exposure. We need to examine what our goals are. Are we telling stories to become hired as a paid presenter? One excellent teller I know who has been telling for free in his town for years is finding that now when he tells people he is charging, they don’t want to pay. See the next section.

Radical Truth/Choice #4: It is time to charge what you are worth. Having come from a professional speaking background, I was incredibly amazed by how little storytellers charge for their wonderful art. I have even been forced into the mold of charging less than half of what I charge for speaking, mainly because we, as storytellers, have created the perception that we are not worth more. As long as the majority of tellers charge “beans” for what they do, and Aunt Mary thinks she is a storyteller and will charge even less – or come for the fun of it – then there is little hope for higher and fair fees.

Radical Truth/Choice #5: Establish a professional presence.

• Join storytelling organizations, and volunteer. The National Storytelling Network (NSN) has many volunteer opportunities and within the group are SIGs (Special Interest Groups) with more chances for interaction. Every group to which I have belonged has been thrilled to have a volunteer who works hard and is dependable. You will be amazed by the contacts and friendships you make, and also the amount of business that will flow your way.
• Establish a presence on the Internet. It is not going away. Join the Storytell list and interact. Get a website – yes, the initial investment sounds expensive, but the marketing value you gain will more than pay for it in the future. And every time you send an e-mail, make sure it has a signature with your website address and/or a blurb about you as a storyteller.
• Create product. This can begin with articles that you post on your site, offer to magazines and e-zines and send in your own e-newsletter. Tapes and CDs are very popular, because everyone likes to take a piece of you home with them. I always have storytellers’ tapes in the car to soothe the frustrating moments that occur while driving. There is also the whole new area of e-books. They aren’t selling like hotcakes yet, but I am ready when they will.

Radical Truth/Choice #6: Jump, and a net will appear. As Sally Hogshead said so well, “You can’t be successful when you cling to obsolete situations out of fear. Only when you put yourself out there wholeheartedly can the best opportunities present themselves.” Changing direction, trying something completely new and offering or volunteering a whole new program can be scary. Every time I’ve jumped and taken a risk hasn’t been pretty or successful, but it has always led me to something better. The net does finally appear if you just take action and persevere.

Radical Truth/Choice #7: It’s never too late to reinvent yourself and your direction. You have the ability to become the best storyteller of your kind of tales. Remember the choices and actions we take today will not only add enjoyment and purpose to today, they will shape where we are tomorrow. No mediocrity for us! When others who come in contact with you or listen to you start saying, “You are just so lucky!” you will be able to smile to yourself, knowing you are there!

If you would like to try an issue of ourFREE eclectic e-newsletter, Portfolio Potpourri, sign up by clicking This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and hitting SEND. Just for trying it, you will receive "10 Tips of Ways to Develop Your Personal and Professional STYLE." We never sell names and/or e-mail addresses, and if you ever wish to "opt-out" that's never a problem. Contact Chris King at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or at: P.O. Box 221255 Beachwood, Ohio 44122 Phone: (216) 991-8428

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Confident Writing

You know how, when you’re watching a speaker, you can tell if he or she is nervous? There are those tell-tale signs: trembling hands and voice, lack of eye contact, perspiration, twitches, lots of “ummms,” and a myriad of other idiosyncratic gestures and signs that show he or she is not fully at ease in front of an audience.
Did you know that I can spot those same tell-tale signs in your writing?

If you’re not completely confident in your skills as a writer, and in what you’ve written in particular, there are warning signs that can tip off an editor or reader. I find them in query letters all the time, and, to a lesser extent, in articles and stories themselves.

The first tip-off? Stilted language.

Stilted language is formal and proper. It employs big words when small ones would suffice just fine. It “sounds” canned and over-prepared.

Example: “Marjorie was required to submit to a physician’s examination prior to the interview in which she would be considered for the position.”

Doesn’t it sound like the writer is working too hard to impress here? Like she’s trying to SOUND like a journalist? “Real writers” don’t have to use big words and serious language to effectively get their point across. In fact, the more direct and simple the language, the better.

“Marjorie had to go for a doctor’s exam before the company would consider her for the job.”

Is it “dumbing down” your language? No. It’s cutting through the thicket and allowing the words to flow as naturally as they would in your speech—just with the benefit of editing. It’s being purposely as understandable as possible, so that if someone was skimming your query/article quickly, he would still get the meaning, without tripping over S.A.T. words or unfamiliar phrasing.

Many professional writers (myself included) believe in writing first drafts quickly, so as not to give our brains enough time to censor, doubt, and question each word as it flows through us and onto the paper. When I write, whether it’s an article, story, or just about anything else, I pretend I’m talking to a friend. I want my friend to hear about this interesting thing I learned. So, I tell him in the same manner I’d tell him if he were sitting next to me in my living room. I don’t need to impress him (or confuse him!) by “spicing up” my writing with words like “proceed” and “consume” when the words “go” and “eat” would have worked just fine.

Stilted language is a sign that the writer is not confident that her OWN words—the words she would really use—are good enough. It’s puffing up the writing to suit an editor. But think about this: the more formal and convoluted the language, the harder the editor will have to think just to get through the piece. Too much thinking equals rejection, unless you’re writing for an academic or very intellectual market. Editors want clarity. They don’t want to have to reread sentences to get the meaning of your words. Once the eyes glaze over, you’re in trouble.

Another giveaway: namby-pamby qualifiers that shift the responsibility for the statements away from the author. Example: “It seemed to onlookers that Mayor Ross might possibly have been suffering from exhaustion.”

Were you one of the onlookers? Was it pretty obvious that the guy was falling asleep at the podium? Then don’t shift the observation into a passive voice. Be confident in your own powers of observation and reasoning. “Mayor Ross seemed exhausted.”

The same goes for overuse of “experts” and studies when none are needed. We all know that you’re supposed to get eight hours of sleep a night, right? Then why do people insist on writing, “According to doctors, eight hours of sleep per night is optimal”? You don’t need the doctor to say that for you. If you know it to be true, you can skip the “according to doctors” and get straight to your point, without pulling out of your own voice.

Another example: “usually,” “probably,” “most likely,” “often,” etc. Watch for these words in your writing. There are times when they’ll be necessary—and, then again, there are plenty of times when you can omit them.

I once had a psychology professor who prefaced every statement she made with the words “basically,” “usually,” or “typically.” It undermined what she was saying, because it felt like she was unsure of herself. When you write these words, it translates to uncertainty—did Mary Beth go to church on Sundays, or did she “typically” go to church on Sundays? If she skipped once or twice a year, she went. You don’t need a qualifier. If she skipped every other week, then you can add a qualifier.

Be confident in what you are writing. Every time you shift away responsibility for your words by attributing them to someone else, or by watering them down with adverbs, you give the reader leeway to question whether or not you really know what you’re talking about. This is so important in custom dissertation writing, it cannot be overstated. You must not give your readers leeway in the direction of confusion or inaccuracies.

Another tip-off: fear of making a point.

Similar to the problem with too many qualifiers, pulling out of your article too soon shows a lack of confidence in your message. Let’s say you wrote an entire article about how a certain kind of duck is going extinct. You talked about all the reasons why it’s happening, and you explained what people can do to help. Then you end it with a lame conclusion like “Further studies are needed” or “Experts will continue to examine the causes…” blah, blah. Again, if you know that what you’ve just said is true, you don’t need to end off with anything that detracts from your conclusion. Sure, further studies may be conducted, but does that take anything away from the evidence you’ve just reported? Let your point come through loud and clear. Make the decision to take a risk and be accountable for your words.

You don’t need to tie it all up neatly with a moral, a la Aesop’s Fables (“And that’s why we must all stop throwing plastic in the garbage”). Just let the strength of your entire article carry the message—let your readers come to the conclusions to which you’ve directed them, and don’t let them second-guess those conclusions by giving a wishy-washy ending.

Be bold. Be confident. And let your very best writing shine through.

Jenna Glatzer is the editor-in-chief of Absolute Write (www.absolutewrite.com), where writers can get a free list of more than 180 agents who are open to new writers! She is also the author of OUTWITTING WRITER'S BLOCK AND OTHER PROBLEMS OF THE PEN and other books for writers, which you can read about at http://www.absolutewrite.com/jenna/books.htm if you want to make her day.

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Concert Storytelling and the Gong of Seven

Chris King tells me that “defining storytelling has been a topic of discussion” for as long as she can remember. I cannot imagine anything less fruitful, if the aim is to advance the art and win new audiences. Define storytelling? Why bother? Describe it, possibly. Embrace its pluralism, preferably. Celebrate it, certainly. But define it? As well define the spirit of the ages.

To define is to delimit, and to delimit is to diminish. Who wants a diminishing art? Not audiences, that is for sure, especially those who are paying full price for tickets. What they want are experiences of supreme art. In our world, they are most likely to find them in a storytelling concert. There we are most likely to perform at our best.

Notice that I speak of likelihood, not inevitability. Other environments support fine storytelling art, but are less likely to do so consistently for artistic and practical reasons too complicated to examine here. More importantly, however, storytelling concerts are highly accessible to audiences. They appear in public places. They advertise themselves. They want people to buy tickets and come, and the more the merrier. If we want to be our best, and woo new audiences, we must become virtuosi of storytelling concert art, in all its dimensions. I can already mention a dozen of artists, who have their events running on CheapoTicketing successfully, that have already started making this form of art more aware.

Storytelling concerts, like other art forms, march to the beat of their own drummer, or rather their own band, which we at Voyageur Storytelling call the Gong of Seven:

Walt Whitman (1855): You will hardly know who I am or what I mean, but I shall be good health to you nevertheless, and filter and fiber your blood. His instrument is the barbaric yawp, pounding into our ears the truth that the value of art resides in its effect on the “audience,” which in our case is literally an audience — that is, people who hear — and that the process by which it achieves its effect is mysterious, not usefully subject to rational analysis.

Sarah Cone Bryant (1910): A story is essentially and primarily a work of art … Its part in the economy of life is to give joy. Beside Walt’s urgent insistence on the resounding “You” and coeval “I” Sarah gently sets the more objective, continuing presence of the story, in its own way as much “a foster child of silence and slow time” as a Grecian urn. We notice, however, that Sarah does not sing of art for art’s sake. It has a practical purpose: to give joy, without which no other purpose makes any sense whatsoever. Her page-turner is Bertrand Russell, who adds that “the greatest joy is to be found in a profound instinctive union with the stream of life.”

Marshall McLuhan (1951): Any artistic endeavor includes the preparing of an environment for human attention. The whole tendency of modern communication whether in the press, in advertising or in the high arts is towards participation in a process. Marshall is sometimes confusing of utterance, but there is nothing ambiguous about this one. The “environment” in which something beautiful is experienced determines its artistic effect. Storytellers know this lesson very well, from both positive and negative experience. Remember that flapping tent, that piercing draught, those jagged seats? Concert producers ignore it at their financial peril.

Ruth Finnegan (1990): Both human creativity and the social context in which it is formed and expressed are fundamental. This viewpoint is founded in the joyful recognition of an art that is both an expressive and a socially significant aspect of human action. Ruth is talking about oral poetry, but everything she says applies equally to the rest of storytelling. The effect of ancient oral traditions derives partly from the fact that they are “oralaural,” and thus affect the mind of the listener in particular ways, partly because by being so they are able to integrate with natural forms and flows of social life. Many storytelling events are organized around this principle, but concerts, being often more formal, can overlook its potential. A social dimension (preferably with food) is perhaps not essential to a good concert — exceptional virtuosity of performance can fill the hole — but it certainly helps.

Walter Ong (1982): All sensation takes place in time, but sound has a special relationship to time unlike that of other fields that register in human sensation. Sound exists only when it is going out of existence. It is not simply perishable, but essentially evanescent. Spoken words are events, actions.This reality poses the frontier for storytelling aesthetics. We are artists in narrative sound, but to reach for the heights is to abandon some comfortable supports, such as essentially literary folkloric traditions (not all of them are like that), and theatrical visual embellishments. A storytelling concert which neglects its sound may be adequate, but can never be inspired. If we want new, paying audiences we must be inspired.

Joseph Conrad (1897): It is only through the complete, unswerving devotion to the perfect blending of form and substance … an unremitting, never-discouraged care for the shape and ring of sentences … that the light of magic suggestiveness may be brought to play for an evanescent instant over the commonplace surface of words : of the old, old words, worn thin, defaced by ages of careless usage. Walter Ong states the principle, Conrad shows the way. The Muses are fanatics about detail, driving us to an infinite capacity for taking pains.

W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman (1930): History (or art) is not what you thought. It is what you can remember. All other history (or art) defeats itself. What matters ultimately is not the art as a thing, object, event or experience, but people’s memory of it, the effect that persists in the inner self. As Walter Ong says, “You know what you can remember.”

Of course these are not the only foundations on which storytelling art can be created, but they are essential to storytelling concert art and thus, we believe, to the cultivation of new audiences necessary for growth. The first generation of the storytelling revival has done wonders, but the second, so far, has not. Without them the art will wither. To create wonders and live by them — to perform often under favorable artistic conditions for adequate pay — we must produce wonderful art in wonderful environments, and where else can we create them consistently, week after week, all year long, but in concerts?

To become great storytelling concert artists we must, like those in other fields, voyage deep into study, practice, discipline, dedication, risk, and alteration of self. It seems a daunting prospect, but well worth the effort.

Original source: http://www.creativekeys.net/StorytellingPower/article1076.html

Leslie and I have been exploring for some years the idea of the storytelling concert as a work of art in its own right, greater than the sum of its constituent stories. The ideas in the article flow out of that work. Paul Conway, Voyageur Storytelling, Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ontario
www.voyageurstorytelling.ca

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Countering Your Inner Critic

In order to be fully who you are and to experience your full potential, it is essential that you have a loving relationship with yourself.

A key factor in strengthening your relationship with yourself and cultivating a positive attitude is to give yourself loving thoughts and words. It has been my experience that most of us have very few loving thoughts for ourselves but we seem to have an abundance of negative thoughts.

When I speak of the “inner critic” with my clients there is an immediate resonance and understanding about who or what that is. It is that negative voice inside our heads. When we hear it we all know who it is and we all know we really should not listen to it, but that inner critic still manages to jump out and slay our self–esteem and cast doubt on our ability and wisdom.

The inner critic usually rises up when we are feeling vulnerable or when we know we have made a mistake. We tend to be very hard on ourselves and hold our selves to impossibly high standards that we do not expect of others. We would never get away with speaking to others the way we speak to ourselves.

First Steps

The first step to countering the inner critic is awareness. You are 80% of the way there when you are aware of that voice and when it is appearing. Awareness of negative thoughts allows you to shut them down when they appear and then turn them around.

Our thoughts create our reality. Our life goes in the direction of our thoughts and words. We are the ones to give meaning to the facts and circumstances of our lives. We are at choice as to how we interpret or what meaning we give to these facts and circumstances. We can give them a positive meaning or a negative meaning. What you focus on grows, so that if all of your thoughts are negative, that is what you are going to experience. Shifting to a positive perspective that supports you opens up possibility in your life.

I remember when my first son was born. All of a sudden I was seeing babies everywhere! Why was this? It was not because there was suddenly a baby boom in my area, it was because I started to focus my attention on babies. What you focus on grows.

If you focus your attention on what you are doing right and on what you can do well, you will start to see more and more evidence for what you do well. If you think you are capable, you will start to see more opportunity in your life. If you focus on only the negative and what you are doing wrong, you will just get back more of the same.

Stop making yourself wrong. Welcome mistakes as learning opportunities. Focus on what is good in your life and on what you do well and see what changes for you.

Changing how we speak to ourselves takes time and practice. It involves developing a new pattern of behavior – a new way of relating to ourselves. At first it will take conscious effort but over time you will internalize this new pattern and it will become a healthy habit.

Moving Forward

Loving yourself involves knowing who you are.

* It is about knowing your strengths and claiming your power by focusing on positive thoughts and actions that strengthen you rather than diminish you.

* It is about having faith in yourself, loving yourself, welcoming mistakes, and forgiving yourself.

* It is about being grateful and aware of all that is good in your life right now and building on that.

* It is about treating yourself with the respect that you would give others and acknowledging your right to be loved and to love.

* It is about holding an awareness of the unique strengths you bring and the contribution that you can make.

We are all equal and worthy and have so much to offer each other and our world. Embrace and celebrate who you are! Step into your greatness and bring the gift of who you are to the world.

Coaching Questions

* What loving thoughts do you give to yourself?

* What words do you say to yourself to inspire and uplift your Soul?

* What do you love about yourself?

* What do you consider to be your strengths and talents?

* What loving things do you do for yourself?

Actions

1. Observe your thoughts over the next week and note in general how many are positive and how many are negative. Notice what you say or do that diminishes who you are (For example, do you always dismiss the compliments you receive?)

* One day over the next week, write down your thoughts, both positive and negative, in a notebook. At the end of the day, note how many are positive and support you and how many are negative and diminish you.

Look for any themes. Are you negative about your physical appearance, your work performance?

* Now be aware of your negative thoughts and turn them around to a positive each time it happens – whether you believe it or not! Next time someone compliments you on what you are wearing, don’t say “What this old thing?” instead say “Thank you!”

* If you make a mistake, don’t beat yourself up; instead write down what you did right and what you need to do differently next time. Counter a critical thought such as “I can’t do anything right” with “I did the best I could right now and I will do better next time”

* If you are feeling stressed, take a few deep breathes to ground and center yourself. You will be amazed at the power of the breath!

2. Ask three friends to write down what they think are your strengths and send them to you. Place these notes in a special box or container. Pull them out and read them whenever you are feeling low or need a pick me up.

Focusing on your strengths, rather than your weakness, will serve to boost your confidence and develop a stronger self–image. Do not focus on what you do not know or cannot do, rather focus on what you do know and what you can do.

If you would like to learn more about developing a loving relationship with yourself and strengthening your personal foundation, I recommend you visit my website
( http://www.futureperfect.ca ) and check out my 6 week self-help course Reclaiming Self: A Path to Wholeness and Integrity.

Copyright © 2005 Jan Hornford
Future Perfect Coaching http://www.futureperfect.ca/

Jan Hornford is a Life Coach & Retreat Leader whose passion is to help individuals re-connect with their own wisdom and power and to support them to create the life they want. Her retreats offer the opportunity to experience joyful self-care, connection, and possibility.

For more information, please take a look at her website: http://www.futureperfect.ca Or, call her: 403-313-4064 For more information about life coaching and Jan's free 4 week self-help course: "Living Authentically: Honouring Your Truth in Everyday Life" visit: http://www.futureperfect.ca/life-coaching

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Consider the Many Uses of Storytelling

It is a bit daunting that when I tell people that I am a storyteller, the reaction is often, “Oh, do you read stories to children?” I do tell stories to children and teens and families and adults. And many of the original bones of those stories are in books. But, no, I don’t read them and I tell them in my own way. This form of storytelling is used to enlighten and entertain, but there are a plethora of other uses for storytelling. In this article I am going to discuss several of the many.

Storytelling may be used to forge relationships and build community. When we know someone’s story, we can’t help but like them. It doesn’t matter if we are different ethnically, culturally, financially or chronologically. We all have stories that resonate and show us how alike we actually are. Neighborhoods work as neighborhoods when those who live near each other sit together on porches or lean over the back fences and tell each other stories. Communities can be held together through their stories – by sharing how they developed, what hurdles they have overcome, how they have improved their homes and streets, and how they have raised their children and their children’s children.

Storytelling may be used for public relations and marketing. Everyone loves a good story. Tell me a good story about your company, your business, your organization, your school, and I will be more inclined to buy from you, hire you, join you or enroll in you. It’s a group’s story that reveals – or should reveal – their character, their mission, their goals and their vision. If you can spur your group to work on developing their story – and every group has one – you will find that employees and/or members will take pride in telling your story to others. It gives them something to “sink their teeth into” so to speak.

Storytelling may be used for teaching. When I was in school, I hated History. It was all names, dates and places. Now, I even give a workshop on “How to Bring History to Life through Storytelling.” If only my teachers had told the rich and wonderful stories from the past, I would have loved and learned history with a passion – I do today. There are several professional storytellers who have been commissioned to tell a region’s history, a business’ history, an event’s history using stories to bring the history to life. I also know tellers and teachers who use storytelling to teach science, math, art and English. At the National Storytelling Network Conference I met a woman who works for the Denver Police Department and goes to schools telling teaching stories about safety and security. It is much easier to reach the youngsters through stories that by spouting rules and regulations.

Storytelling is a healing and therapeutic art. It is being used more and more today to help the young and old work through their problems. After 9/11 one of my favorite storytellers from New York City, Laura Simms, called out for stories that would help the youngsters who were students in the New York schools. She gathered many shared stories and published them, so that they could be told again and again. These are stories where characters face and overcome dreadful odds. They are stories that show that we can all be heroes and heroines. Other storytellers use stories to help those who are incarcerated, to help unwed mothers, the homeless and others who need to work through what seem to be insurmountable challenges. The power of well chosen stories can do that for us.

Storytelling can encourage hidden talent. A storyteller in Ohio, Donna Fetzer, holds what she calls, “Story Theater.” She brings children up onto the stage to become characters in her stories. She carries with her props, costumes and hats, along with a good measure of creativity and fun. Even the shy can’t resist taking part. And before you know it, the groups are putting on performances for their families and friends. Other tellers take up school residencies and work in the school on a daily basis helping the children become young and polished storytellers who give a storytelling concert to cap the residency.

Storytelling can be used as a gift. I know another teller, Kathleen Pichola, who creates stories to be given for special dates. For example, she gathers items and memories from the past and pulls them all together into a unique and special story for someone’s birthday. She will often practice a new story to give to a friend or a person who has helped her in some way.

Some other uses for storytelling – and I am just scratching the surface – include:

• Family stories at the dinner table, picnics, reunions and holidays.
• Stories used by speakers to enliven their presentations.
• Stories used on websites or in web-blogs.
• Newspaper and magazine stories that catch and hold our interest.
• Just every day stories that chronicle what has happened to us – both good and bad.

You get the idea. How can you make use of storytelling? Let me count the ways. And do send me your ideas and uses. I love receiving your This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

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Confidence For Speaking In Public

A survey of America revealed that people are more frightened of speaking in public than of dying!

How incredible is that? To be more frightened of talking to a few people than of having your life ended.

It’s particularly surprising when you realise just how easily you can overcome your fear of public speaking. Using a program such as Unlimited Confidence can teach you tools to overcome this fear and be able to speak out when you need to.

When you talk about public speaking, people instantly think of standing on a stage in front of a huge audience presenting a lecture. However, public speaking is much more than just that. It could giving a speech at a wedding, doing a presentation at work, speaking out in a meeting, or for a club or society you belong to.

Being able to speak in public will help you to feel better about yourself and can help you get ahead in your career too. If you think about it, as you get higher up the ladder in your career, so you find you have to talk to more people and present; so this level of confidence becomes even more important.

This fear manifests physically before having to speak. It starts off as an anxiety, and then becomes a dry mouth, trembling muscles, rapid breathing, and a need to run to the bathroom. In worst cases it can involve sheer panic and the desire to run away.

So how can you get rid of this fear and feel more comfortable with speaking in front of people?

Firstly, you can practise. The more you do something the more confidence and comfortable you become doing it. You can join a group such as Toastmasters International which allows you to develop your communication and leadership skills. You can also volunteer to speak in front of any group of people too.

The Unlimited Confidence course teaches you some valuable tools to help you become more confident not only speaking in public, but in any situation. You will learn how to

* Instantly boost your confidence in seconds without anyone knowing what you are doing
* Learn how to use body language to convey confidence
* Discover how you can attach confidence to absolutely anything
* And many more practical and effective techniques

You will also learn in this course how to use mental rehearsal to program yourself for more confidence, and this can be applied very easily to public speaking. You probably currently run a mental movie of you falling on your face and embarrassing yourself when you speak in front of a group. If instead of running that movie you saw yourself speaking really well, the audience enjoying it and you get applauded at the end, what do you think would happen?

Of course, I am sure you could think of a number of different areas of your life you could apply this technique to, couldn’t you?

Speaking in front of people is actually extremely easy with just a few small changes to the way you think – and you never know, you might even enjoy it!

Article Source: http://www.redsofts.com/articles/

Jason E. Johns is a personal success coach specializing in helping you become more confident through an innovative and compassionate approach. Discover how you can become full of confidence at his self confidence website, UnlimitedConfidence.com

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