How to Win Grants

If you are looking for a grant to cover your temporary mortgage or medical expenses, Change Inc., is a very helpful source. I have received a grant from them in the past when I was out of a job temporarily. If anyone wants their contact information, please post a comment or write to me at info@giftedhandswriting.com Emergency grants can make a big difference. Also check out my book titled "Start Your Own Grant Writing Business" at www.giftedhandswriting.com

Life without a television over the past six months has been an enlightening experience. It has helped me to go back to basics and appreciats keep e a more simple lifestyle. I spend more quality time with my family and don't seem to get irritated at life's trivial chores around the house. I actually talk and listen. We sit at the table for dinner, rather than having TV dinners.I don't miss the media gloom of depressing information. At the same time, the INternet keeps me posted of waht is going on. I wonder how much of it is actually true and how much of it is exaggerated. I have not time to analyze. I am busy writing another book, my fourth. Truly excited.
Here is a tip- always keep busy nd plant a new seed every day. Do write to me at info@giftedhandswriting.com

Preethi Burkholder's latest book

I am having a booth, featuring my latest book "Finding the Money: The Complete Financial Aid Guide for Musicians, Actors, Students, and Artists." It will be held on MAy o3rd, in Duxbury, MA. If you are from MA, or any one of the surrounding New ENgland states, please drop by and take a look at my book. Here is the contact info:

Duxbury Performing Arts Center
www.duxbury.k12.ma.us73 Alden StDuxbury, MA 02332(781) 934-7612

Sure, you can buy a copy through my website too. www.giftedhandswriting.com Follow me on Twitter- PReethiB. I am on linked in too. Preethi Burkholder.

What "Entrepreneur" Means to Me

 For many years, I didn't understand  what "entrepreneur" meant. I was not sure how to pronounce it either. I thought it had something to do with business, but was not sure. Now that I am turning out to be an entrepreneur myself, I am defining the terms as follows: an entrepreneur is someone who starts a business, someone who has a desire to stand on her feet rather than relying on others to take care of her needs, someone with a vision, a person who

I am an entrepreneur.

The world of business consists of two groups: the creative and the practical.  These two groups view the world from very different perspectives.  The creative people have an instinct, gut-level appreciation for presentation, uniqueness, and delivery of service.  The practical people on the other hand have an instinct, gut-level appreciation for numbers and analysis.  Within the creative and practical groups of people are leaders and followers.   Take it from Tuco in the movie The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly who says “There are two types of people in this world, my friend.  Those with the gun and those who dig.”  Those with the gun set the overall direction and those who dig sweat and do the work.  An entrepreneur is a leader who is able to balance the creative and practical elements and create a following to sell a product or service.

In an ideal world you would have to have a blend of both worlds in order to start your own successfully; but this rarely happens.  Most people are “lop-sided” into one of these categories and continue to become successful entrepreneurs.  They make up for the deficit by hiring professionals, seeking advice from others, and through self learning.  It doesn’t matter whether you are creative or practical, a leader or a follower.  You can become a successful entrepreneur if you have motivation, a willingness to learn, and a positive spirit.  

Take this quiz to see what traits you have. You don't have to possess all these traits; having a few is a great place to start. If you have none, don't panic. It is never too late to start acquiring them.

Traits of an Entrepreneur

1.  The power of a positive attitude - No matter how many entrepreneurial characteristics you have or develop, they won’t do any good unless you combine them with a positive attitude.  Entrepreneurs are optimists – they have to be, in order to see opportunities where others see only problems.

2.  Vision – the ability to see the end results of your goals while working to achieve them.

3.  Confidence – the belief that you can do what you set out to do.

4.  Perseverance – the refusal to quit; the willingness to keep goals in sight and work toward them, despite obstacles.

5.  Drive – the desire to work hard to accomplish one’s goals, not giving up.

6.  Honesty – the commitment to tell the truth and deal with people fairly.

7.  Discipline – the ability to stay focused and stick to schedules and deadlines.

8.  Adaptability – the ability to cope with new situations and find creative solutions to problems.

9.  Competitiveness – the willingness to compete with others.

10.  Organization – the ability to structure one’s life and keep tasks and information in order.

11.  Persuasiveness – the knack for convincing people to see your point of view and get them interested in your ideas; the ability to persuade another to buy your product or service.

12.  Risk Taking – the courage to expose oneself to possible losses; the ability to tread unknown waters.

13.  Understanding – the ability to listen and empathize with other people.

14.  Dream – the drive to achieve a dream that others thought was impossible.

15.  Practice effective time management – must be able to manage time wisely and efficiently.

16.  Stress management – must be able to manage stress well.

17.  Hard worker – must have a strong work ethic.

18.  Motivation – must have the ability to motivate others and one’s self.

19.  Comfortable with change – must be able to go with the flow of things and be willing to change.

20.  Resilience – being able to recover from dire times and not give up

Preethi Burkholder, www.giftedhandswriting.com  info@giftedhandswriting.com

Mental Clutter and Your Life's Health

Life would be too easy if we could just simply hand over our entire problems to someone else and all we had to do was enjoy the easy things to have fun. No one can take care of your things all the way. They probably can, to a certain extent. The real power however comes, when you take responsibility for your life.  

Mental clutter is made up of worries and bad feelings. Regrets of the past and worries about the future can easily overshadow the present moment. Self-doubt can also take up a lot of space in the mind. When an excess of these types of thoughts take over in the brain, it can be stressful, upsetting, and sometimes, even paralyzing. Lingering thoughts that are hanging around creating a depressive atmosphere creates mental anguish.

When things get difficult, the easiest solution seems to wrap ourselves in denial. This is the last thing you should do, as this adds to the mental clutter. Denial is probably one of the reasons why your mental clutter has accumulated. Come face to face with things. They don’t bite, but you have got to start dealing with the things that were shoved under the rug. 

My name is Preethi Burkholder, from www.giftedhandswriting.com This is my first blog post. I want to focus on a topic that has affected me directly - the recession. I also want to tell you what I am doing to make the best of it and find opportunities buried in it.

There are days in our lives, that we wished had never dawned. Then, there are moments in our lives, that we wish, would pass away quickly. There are seconds in our lives, that we wish had never happened. Every time you feel depressed and discouraged at your state of hopelessness, tell these four words aloud, five times: “This too, shall pass.” Tomorrow is a new day.

The recession has thrown many of us in deep graves. It threw me into a deep grave. I was doing three jobs - one full time and two part time. I lost all three jobs within two weeks. The amazing thing is after the initial shock which lasted about a day, I had more stamina than ever to do what I had always wanted to do. And that was to start my own online writing company from home. I am loving it.

The recession is throwing many of us out of bounce. Losing jobs, losing our homes, marriages breaking up as a result of financial strains, losing health insurance, and the inability to find new employment are just a few examples.

Recessions don’t last forever. America has gone in and out of recession many, many times. Usually, they are not here to stay. Of course, this principle does not apply to every country. Some countries are in perpetual recession. Even the word recession maybe too optimistic for some countries in the developing world. They are in such states of poverty that it is hard to imagine that there are people on this planet living in such poor conditions. America however, has always been resilient.

Don't get disheartened. Find a way to harness this negative energy that the media is throwing, into a positive one. You will make it.