Photo by Morgan Sessions

The world is changing…sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. But if we are looking in the right places we will always find evidence of the change we’d hoped to see.

We can participate in the change we want to see and be in the world by following Sheryl Sandberg’s advice in Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead and leaning in towards our own vision.

Women’s leadership is needed in corporations, communities and government, and it is also needed at home.

Many women, like myself, run a home-based business. We are creatives and entrepreneurs. We don’t necessarily miss the workplace, crave the throng of working with others, or wish to make a political splash.

Our businesses are more personal. They have to do with helping people, often women, discover and flex personal power in order to be of better service in the world.

I’d like to carve out a little space in my blog to celebrate women who have done their “homework” so to speak and worked on themselves so that they could have more to offer themselves, their families, and the world. When you are a woman, it’s so easy to put everyone else first and forget to take care of yourself. I would go so far as to say that women are often raised to believe that putting everyone else first  is their mission in life. We are also often raised to feel guilty when we don’t put everyone else first.

This is going to become a regular feature in this blog. My hope is to remind women to put ourselves and our own needs first, so we can better express ourselves and contribute to the world at large. This month’s author is someone who specializes in helping women put themselves first, Dr. Christiane Northrup, M.D.

Since I am also a writing and platform coach. See what you can learn about your own career by checking out some of the highlights of Dr. Northrup’s career. It’s helpful to have role models but you don’t have to pursue a carbon copy of someone else’s career to feel like you are succeeding. In fact, I would encourage you to pursue the career you are meant to have rather than a career that resembles anyone else’s. You’ll know it’s yours because it will feel right when you are pursuing it. Every step you take will make your stronger, wiser, and more at peace with yourself and the world.

Christiane Northrup, M.D., board-certified ob/gyn, former Assistant Clinical Professor of ObGyn at Maine Medical Center , New York Times best-selling author, is a visionary pioneer and the foremost authority on everything that can go right with the female body! Dr. Northrup is a leading proponent of medicine that acknowledges the unity of mind, body, emotions, and spirit; internationally known for her empowering approach to women’s health and wellness, she teaches women how to thrive at every stage of life. Dr. Northrup stays in touch with her large community worldwide through her Internet radio show Flourish!, Facebook, Twitter, her monthly e-letter, and her Web site, www.drnorthrup.com. Click on the titles to learn more:

I like to listen to Dr. Northrup on Hay House Radio when I am working out. I like her tone, message, and style. I always feel we think alike and this makes me feel like I am in wise company.

If you like what you see in Dr. Northrup’s work, you may also be interested in a couple of my works that are similar in tone and message.

The Art Of Making Time For Yourself, A Collection Of Advice For Moms

Also in PDF and other formats around the globe

And…

Creative Knowing, 50 Self-reflection Questions For Women

If you enjoy self-discovery, you may enjoy participating in Creativity Writing Challenge that begins on the first Monday of each month through June 2015. The next one begins Monday, April 6th at midnight. Click on the badge to learn more. This is a perfect daily activity for spring. Hope you can join in the self-discovery!

Photo by Hartmut Tobies

I am a little slow on the uptake sometimes. Forgive me. I might be a little anemic these days, which always makes me a little bit mentally slow. It kinda sneaks up on me sometimes. Anyway…

The point is I now have three distinct video classes, and it did not occur to me until three folks asked to distinguish between two of them, because their titles were probably too similar.

Doink.

So I went ahead and changed the title of my first Udemy class from Writer Platform Success: Discover Strengths & Grow Confident to Writer Platform Bingo: Assess Your Strengths & Skills.

The natural order for the classes is:

1. Power Up Your Platform Like A Pro & Become Better Known Now Discount Link
2. Writer Platform Bingo: Assess Your Strengths & Skills Discount Link
3. Build A Better Bio To Market Yourself Easily Day & Night Discount Link

Power Up Your Platform is an overview of what platform means, a discussion of what it might specifically mean to you and your business, examples of the most crucial items to build to reach a global audience, an overview of how to incorporate multiple income streams into your business, and the seven qualities of thriving platforms. (I said that this course was introductory, but it’s really both introductory and comprehensive in terms of looking at your platform long-term whether you have one yet or not.)

Writer Platform Bingo is an assessment tool with 24 questions to help you discover the details about your strengths and skills, so you can leverage that information in your online platform and use it to create a bio as well as other crucial platform copy. (This course is comprehensive. It’s a comprehensive look at your own platform progress.)

Build A Better Bio is a how-to overview of the three most important types of bios to draft and polish, as well as suggestions for how to leverage your bio on social media. (This course is comprehensive. It’s an in-depth, how-to look at all the bios you need for an online platform.)

I just want to make sure that folks realize that these three courses do not repeat the same material. In fact, these courses all build on and compliment each other. That’s the whole idea!

I will figure out a way to weave this information into the course descriptions of each, so this is all more clear.

Thanks for letting me clarify! And special thanks to those three folks who asked for more info!

Photo by Maja Petric

Here is a list of reasons why I am more excited than ever about platform, platform development, and platform building for creative types who want to establish a global reach and serve the world with the best of what they have to offer.

1. There has never been a better time to be a creative person who wants to grow a passion for serving others into a business (notice I did not merely say “passion,” I more specifically said, “a passion for serving others”). Your dreams of serving the world are important. Listen to them!

2. There have never been more incredibly cool and affordable tools at our fingertips for creating a platform and amplifying our individual self-expression. I find cool new tools every single day!

3. There have never been more reputable businesses available to partner with to help creatives produce quality, share our work with the world, and earn money doing what we love to do. It’s truly an incredible time to be a creative person on a mission.

4. There have never been so many credible, reputable role models available (like myself or Jane Friedman or Seth Godin). Don’t be tempted by any of those other too-much, too-quickly types.

5. There has never been a better time to stop trying to fit into old models of business and to start creating your own original model of doing business instead. This is probably the best news of all for those who would rather serve their fans than spend all their time trying to please authority figures and gatekeepers. You should not be focusing your energy on pleasing gatekeepers; you should be focusing your energy on doing amazing work. And then if you end up partnering with others down the road, then that’s great.

6. The world has never needed new ideas more than it does now. The global mind is evolving at an incredibly rapid pace. And evolution typically creates crisis after crisis as the stage is set for the new that is to come. The world is not a mess; the world is changing. You can either jump in and be a part of a smoother transition or you can try to cling to what is known and familiar. But I predict the old will be ripped out of your hands eventually, whether your relinquish it or not, and no matter how tightly you hold on. Because progress does not care about tradition. Evolution is not sympathetic to your nostalgia. The world is making progress by leaps and bounds. You can be a part of it. Jump in! Being a part of progress feels exhilarating.

7. The Internet makes us all neighbors if we want to be. Not everyone can be as fortunate as we are in the US. However, it’s so easy to connect with folks on the other side of the world these days, and to find people to admire and appreciate elsewhere. Have you taken the time to think about what a global tribe might mean for your business? If not, I sure hope you will start thinking about it today.

I am now offering three video classes that can transform the way you see your business impacting the world. I hope you will take advantage of these special discounts especially for Christina Katz insiders:

Power Up Your Platform Like A Pro

HURRY! Only $10 Until Midnight March 31st.

Writer Platform Bingo

Build A Better Bio

Only $25 thru ChristinaKatz.com!

Click here to learn more about my new video course!

I have coached many folks on platform development over the years. And, as the years have passed, my ideas have evolved and gotten more helpful.

If you need a memory refresher of some of my popular pieces on platform, take a look:

Grow For It, Activate & Reactivate Your Perennial Platform Power for Author Magazine, June 2013

50 Simple Ways To Build Your Platform in 5 Minutes A Day for Writer’s Digest magazine, March/April 2011

Elements of a Successful Fiction Platform for Writer’s Digest magazine, November/December 2010

How to Build a Marketing Platform for Writer’s Digest magazine, May/June 2009

I think this new level of helpfulness is apparent in my new course, Power Up Your Platform Like A Pro. And this new course is fun, colorful and entertaining, as well.

As a Christina Katz insider, you have just a couple of more days to register for this course for only $10. I hope you will take advantage of the offer so we can work together or work together again soon!

If you need to stick close to home this year, why not take some online classes instead of attending a conference? Despite what you may think, it’s not the end of your career. There’s always next year and plenty of other options to suit your busy lifestyle. Photo by Israel Sundseth

Attending writing conferences is great when you have the time, money, and inclination to learn a lot of information all at once.

But sometimes life demands more of our time, money, and energy, and we may find ourselves in a situation where we have to sit out a writing conference this year or choose a steady stream of online classes instead of conference attendance for budgeting reasons.

So while I certainly appreciate writing conferences, and enjoy attending them and speaking at them, I am at a point in my parenting process, where attending them is not as practical as it was when my daughter was younger. But the news is not all bad. Considering how much online learning is available these days, if I have described the type of year you are having in any way, shape or form, don’t sweat it. Sitting out a conference this year does not have to cost you your writing career growth.

Go ahead and give yourself permission to learn the way that best suits your lifestyle at this time. This may sound like radical advice, but the fact is that online learning is booming and a greater variety of quality learning experiences have never existed like they do today.

I am a big proponent of writing conferences, or any type of professional conferences, but even when I was regularly speaking and teaching at them over the course of many years, I noticed that there was a high cash outlay for attendees and an awful lot of rah-rah. By this I mean that folks would leave the conference all hyped up only to come quickly crashing back down into their day-to-day reality, which could sometimes feel like a pretty big letdown in comparison.

It was by attending many conferences over many years that I became a bigger advocate of just doing the work, day by day, and building towards gradual success whether you attend conferences or not. This is how I became and how I remain successful and this is how all of my most successful students have done the same.

I am a big fan of stage-relevant learning. Stage-relevant learning simply means taking the next class or level of classes that suits where you are professionally in your writing career. Stage-relevant career growth means you customize your educational choices as you grow your career to take advantage of whatever choices make the most sense for you at this time.

It may mean, instead of attending a conference this year that you spread your learning out throughout the year, and chip away at it seasonally or monthly. So instead of trying to absorb a manufactured sense of rah-rah all in one weekend, your highs come from actual accomplishments in real time. And the lows only come when you don’t stick to your regular productivity.

Call me crazy, but I believe that people who want to write should actually write. I believe that they feel best about themselves when they set goals and reach them and then set higher goals and reach them. Attending conferences won’t get your writing done. But taking charge of your writing career growth will.

Don’t get me wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with attending a writing conference. I can’t wait until my schedule allows me to start attending them again. But if you are forking over a lot of dough in conference fees, travel arrangements, and food, I would weigh this against the kind of success you might be able to achieve taking regular online classes and working with a coach or mentor over the course of a year.

And if you can do both, awesome! But even then, be sure to carefully select the conference that is the best choice for where you are in your career right now and where you want to go next.

All this and more! Please subscribe to The Prosperous Writer Blog and sign up for The Prosperous Writer Newsletter, so you won’t miss any important updates.

Click on this badge to learn more!

In case you had not noticed, I am on a mission to make sure that creative types who want to start a business understand what platform means and how a solid platform can boost their global influence.

For years, I have been focused on training writers to understand platform. And the platform principles are the same no matter what type of creative business person you are. So I’ve created a platform fundamentals class that is suitable for artists, writers, entrepreneurs, creatives, teachers, coaches, authors, consultants, speakers, and small business owners.

Because I want to raise all boats. I don’t want to leave anyone behind. So this means making platform accessible and actionable for every type of creative business person.

For the next five days, until midnight on March 31st, I am running a pre-launch special on my brand new 100% video course, Power Up Your Platform Like A Pro.

Because you follow this blog, I want you to be the first to know about my new class and I also want you to get the best deal possible.

I appreciate your support and please know you are welcome to share this limited-time offer with friends and colleagues. But hurry! It won’t last and there are only so many coupons available.

As a Christina Katz insider, you always get first dibs and best prices on all of my offerings.

If you are new around here, and you’d like to become an insider, just subscribe to my blog, my e-zine or both.

I have been hard at work on the principles for this class for nine years. And now, you can access them all in one colorful, entertaining course that is helpful whether you are building your first platform or your fifth.

Course Description:

Are you tired of feeling confused about what platform means?

If so, you are not alone.

Or, maybe you understand platform, but you are not interested in spending your valuable time and energy investing in platform development.

Maybe you feel you have more pressing things to do?

I get it. But we are living in an increasingly global economy and the size, scope, depth and breadth of your platform impacts your prosperity on a daily basis. And because your platform success today affects your business profits tomorrow, no intelligent professional can really afford to ignore platform altogether… [Read More]

Thank you for taking this opportunity to Power Up Your Platform Like A Pro! I look forward to working with you in this and in all of my video courses. We just keep trying to make them better and better!

Thanks for your support and for spreading the word!

In order to write a good bio, you have to love what you do and be able to describe it in detail.

And in order to communicate what you do, you are going to have to be willing to examine what you have done, so you can come up with the details that describe what you do today.

And some of us, don’t want to do the self-analysis that it takes to come up with the details we need to communicate well.

But if you don’t, your bio is going to sound generic. It’s going to sound just like everyone else in your field, because you  are probably unconsciously imitating what you think your bio should sound like.

Don’t do that. First of all, you are allowed to enjoy what you do.

And if you don’t love what you do, then why not tweak what you do until you love it?

We think that those kinds of changes always have to be 180 degree changes, but sometimes, how you spend your time just needs a little tweak, not a major overhaul.

So if you are afraid to look at what you do closely because you don’t love it, think again. Take a look and see if you can come up with ways to spend more professional time doing the work you love.

Because when you love what you do, we will be able to hear it in your bio and you will become more magnetic.

This concludes my blog series on Building A Better Bio. Check out my Build A Better Bio Course here.

~ 401 K Plan by M Kasahara

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This is part six of a seven-part series on bio writing for every level professional.

You have one chance to hook the reader and that’s the first line of your bio.

When you are writing your bio, don’t bury the lead.

Don’t make us wait until the middle of your bio paragraph to tell us precisely what you do.

We need to know what you do right out of the gate. Hit us with reason to keep reading right away.

Whatever you do, don’t keep us in suspense. Don’t imagine that folks are going to keep reading for the big reveal.

So cover the important aspects of who, what, when, where, why, and how you do your work. And use a compelling description of your impact on the world to hook is right in the first line.

Don’t make the reader work. Don’t ask the reader to try and figure out if you can be helpful to them. Hook the reader, and hook the reader good, and then share the rest of the details about what you do.

I always recommend working on the lead of anything you write last. It’s just easy to write the meat first and even the conclusion, and then swing back around and create a catchy hook.

Learn more about bio writing in my latest online video course, Build A Better Bio, which can train you to write the three most important types of bio you will need in an online career in just 30 minutes. Learn more here.

~ Photo by Quabluna

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Jargon ruins your bio’s effectiveness.

In other words, if you write a bio, and no one but insiders in your industry can understand what you are saying, then this is not an effective bio.

Because an effective bio draws people in. And jargon drives folks away.

So if you accidentally put jargon into your bio when drafting, that’s fine. It’s no big deal. Happens to the best of us.

But edit the jargon out by the time you are done rewriting your bio and replace it with everyday language that anyone can understand.

And then your bio will do what it is supposed to do, which is communicate who you are and what you offer to people who do not know you yet.

Folks who are often guilty of this habit seem to be lifestyle coaches, tech industry folks, and spiritual/religious folks. To them I would simply say, do you want to be exclusive in your use of language or inviting?

If you are being exclusive, then you may be screening out folks who might otherwise be interested in you and what you do.

So don’t make your bio into a filter. That’s what jargon does and that’s not the point. Your bio should broadcast you and your strengths to the largest possibly audience, and pull in new leads.

Learn more about bio writing in my latest online video course, Build A Better Bio, which can train you to write the three most important types of bio you will need in an online career in just 30 minutes. Learn more here.

~ Photo by M Kasahara

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