A to Z Challenge 2013

Sunday, April 3, 2011

A To Z - All Hail Christine

We're into day three of the challenge and the letter is C.  I didn't even have to think twice about this one though, because there are two great things going on.  First off, Christine Fonseca is putting out another great book called 101 Success Secrets For Gifted Kids.  I am honored to say I am a friend of hers, and as such I figure my C post can be used to help her celebrate and launch this awesome book.  Christine has challenged us to answer the following question:


My advice to a child would be very simple.  Find a smile in everything you do and hold on to it.  Life isn't one big ball of fun at every given moment, but learning to appreciate the fun things in life is what allows us to coast past the times when life gets a bit tougher.  A smile and a laugh helps keep us child-like in our hearts, helps keep us young.  Remembering to take time out to play once in a while keeps us from getting so serious that we're not enjoying our lives.  There are times when we have to work hard, there are times when we have to trudge through uncomfortable or difficult situations, but it is the smile we maintain that allows us to be better people regardless of what we face.

Now don't get me wrong.  I don't mean we should all walk around grinning like idiots.  But I do honestly believe in the power of a positive outlook.  I do believe in the magic of playtime.  And I believe that we only get one spin on this ball of rock.  If we don't take advantage of every moment given to us, there are no do-overs.  So I guess my advice amounts to telling a child to stay a child for as long as they can, even if that just means being a child at heart.  Being a grownup isn't all it's cracked up to be, and there are plenty of us grownups that do it all wrong.

Because I'm having such a ball with this A to Z challenge, I also want to take this opportunity to use a second C word.  I just hit 200 followers, so that means its time for a CONTEST!  I'm going to do a random drawing in two weeks time  (on April 17th) and one of my lucky followers will receive:

A $30 EGift Card from Barnes & Noble

It's not a million bucks, but maybe one of you can use it to get a book or two.  I thought about giving the winner a couple books that I own, but that presents problems.  For starters, that would mean parting with my books.  Yes, I'm selfish and don't EVER want to get rid of my books.  Even if I haven't read a particular book in years, I NEVER want to get rid of one.  Secondly, I'd have to cough up money for shipping and right now, $30 is what I can financially do (especially if I don't want the wife yelling at me for spending money LOL).

I don't have a Facebook page nor do I use Twitter, so here are the ways you can increase your chances of winning:

Long-time Follower                                  +2 points
New Follower (i.e. just joined)                 +1 point
Doing the A to Z Challenge                      +1 point
Tell me the one book you're dying            +1 point
to buy with this prize and why.
Total Points For Me                                +1 point

Place your entry in the comments of this post.  All entries will need to be in by midnight on the 16th (Mountain Standard Time/MST).  I'll then do the random drawing on the morning of the 17th and announce the winner.  I wish everyone luck and hope you spread the word.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Eric! I'm a fellow A-Zer.

Cool contest idea. I recently followed, and if I won, I'd love to get 'The Pinhoe Egg' and/or 'The Magicians of Caprona,' because I really need to have my own copy of the entire Chrestomanci series.

Does Barnes & Noble deliver to Canada?

Chris K.

Matt Conlon said...

Yeah man! Congrats on the 200 followers! I'll get in on this! I'd probably put that $30 card toward a kindle, actually. If she even bluffs that she wouldn't let me (cause I know she would) I'll gladly accept her decision to decline, and put it toward a kindle of my own. :P

I am a long time follower, and I AM doing the challenge... That puts me at 5, if putting it toward a kindle counts!

jkraus8464 said...

Ok I am not a longtime follower but from the looks of the titles of the blog you follow, I think I will be back to your site frequently seeing who you follow and what you have got to say. I have gifted certification in teaching and I agree with you. I always believe that when a door closes a window opens. It ALWAYS happens for me. The glass is always half full and what I make of my life is up to me cause I am in charge.

So points (!) short time follower
A-Z challenge (yes) (!)
THe book I am dying to buy is "The Help" to study voice and differing points of view.
Totaling points for you my friend: (4)

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Congrats, Eric!

It's so hard picking only one book. One near the top of my list would be The Lost Beatles Photographs: The Bon Bonis Archive: 1964-1966. This is a collection of recently rediscovered photographs of the Beatles taken by their tour manager. I saw some of the photographs at a Beatles Fest last year and really loved them.

Long-time follower: 2
A-Z Challenge: 1
Favorite Book: 1
Doing the Math: 1

Grand Total: 5

Kathy said...

Congrats Eric on the 200!! I agree, too it's always best to see the positive....sometimes it can't bee seen until the 'other side' of a crises.Looking forward to more of your A to c challenge posts.
I found you with the ‘surprise me’ button. I’m still new at blogging and a new follower of yours. I'd love to have you check out my take on the A to Z Challenge, comment and follow, if you'd like.
I'm at:
http://oaklawnimages.blogspot.com/
Kathy at Oak Lawn Images

Christine Fonseca said...

Love this - the advice AND the contest! WOO HOO!!!!

Kathryn Hupp-Harris said...

What? No extra points for being a member of the blog chain? Shees.


There are so many books out there that I want to buy. I can't narrow the list down to a single one.

:-) Congrats on the 200 followers. (Send some of them my way.)

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to meet a male blogger. You're few and far between, I guess you know. LOL

So you've reached 200. Congratulations!

I try to buy at least one book a month by a fellow blogger. So I would buy one of two of those.

Happy to meet you during A to Z month. It's fun meeting new people!
Ann Best, Long Journey Home

Unknown said...

Oh, I think your advice is the best I've heard so far. Find a smile and hold onto it. Nice!

Michelle H. said...

Congrats for reaching 200 followers! Whaaaa??? No Facebook and Twitter? Don't you know those are the two hippest life-suckers around? For shame, or I envy your strength for avoiding them. Whichever you prefer.

triles said...

Love the advice! Congrats on going over 200 followers.

I'm looking forward to buying the next (last?) book in the Alchemyst series. My oldest daughter is obsessed with the series, and she is jonesing big time for this book.

Barbara said...

I would buy CassaStar - to support a fellow blogger :)

There's so many more I'd wish to support! I think I should get a Kindle or something! It'll make things so much easier!

ok. so, new follower +1
A-Z +1
book (above) +1
totalled it for you +1
--------------------------4

Hope all your the participants have a great time! Congrats on hitting 200 followers! :)