Book Review - Hop, Skip, Jump by Marney K. Makridakis

Hop, Skip, Jump

Marney K. Makridakis
File Size: 36452 KB
Print Length: 296 pages
Publisher: New World Library (October 27, 2014)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00OMAMRQ4

Hop, Skip, Jump: 75 Ways to Playfully Manifest a Meaningful Life is a delightful new book from Marney K. Makridakis. The book invites us to look at the work we do every day in a different light, encouraging readers to have more fun while working. Each chapter has information about how play helps us be more productive and more focused. For example, in chapter four, she points out the importance of appreciating what we have today and not just striving for success in the future. She asks the question, "Why wait until you retire to do something you love?"

Marney believes in a world where work feels like play, and she wrote this book to help others find a way to balance work and play. I've always been a firm believer in the benefit of play. I played with my children a lot when they were young and was delighted when I had grandchildren. Then I had another good reason to buy toys and get down on the floor to push little toy trucks around. It is those moments of delightful enjoyment that I think Marnie is asking people to consider putting into their life.

All of the benefits of play Marney points out are valid, but I think the greatest is just the absolute joy that you feel when you've let go and let your child come out for a little while.

To explain the title just a little bit, hop is in reference to the fact that when you play that usually involves some sort of an action. Marney says it happens when you take something from inside and create it on the outside. So, when she asks people to hop, what she wants them to do is to change the way they formulate goals. One of her examples was, "I want to lose weight." She suggests changing that statement to, "I will play to lose weight." She's asking people to hop to a different way of thinking.

The concept of skipping involves being open to trying different things, and, in essence, skipping over to something new. Marney says, "Moving your body is a great way to move your dream," and "Movement begets movement." She also suggests that when you feel you are in a lull, move your body. There are lots of things you can do like go to a local playground to play with kids. That was one of my favorite things to do when my kids were little. Other suggestions were to go outside and garden, take a walk, or play with your dog.

The final section of the book is the jump phase, and this is the time that we are supposed to move our dream into action and focus on completion. Marney points out here that the jump phase can be a little scary because we're looking at the completion of the goal that we set and the work to get there seems so huge. She suggests breaking the things you have to do to accomplish the goal into small segments and focusing on one at a time, looking for the ways to start practicing being more playful. 

This book is packed with ideas and suggestions for ways to counter the critic that lives within each of us to start thinking in new ways instead of doubting ourselves. It is written in a friendly, fun way and the boxed quotes and sidebars are packed with tidbits of wisdom and humor that help readers incorporate the overall message of the book. Readers of all backgrounds and places in life would enjoy this book. 

And now I'm going outside to throw the ball for my dog.

Surprise Tuesday Post

In honor of Veterans Day, I thought I would do a special post, thanking all the men and women who have served, and are still serving, in the military. Those of you who have followed my blog for some time, may recall that I have mentioned before that on my father's side of the family, men served in every war and conflict since the Spanish American war. Many of them are buried in the cemetery that my great, great, great grandfather donated to the small Methodist Church in Fairmont, West Virginia. What a thrill it was to see all the headstones some years ago when I visited.

Mt. Zion UMC cemetery

Patriotism and service to the country is very important to me, and I always want to stand up and salute on days like today. So hang on just a moment while I do that.

Okay, I'm back. And now I want to personally thank members of my more immediate family for their service: My brother, Michael, for his years in Vietnam; my son, David, for his part in Desert Storm, and my daughter, Dany, for her years in the army. She was the lucky one who never saw combat, but she was a good soldier, making the rank of captain before discharge.

Now I'd like to let you know about a Veterans Day special that Marney K. Makridakis is offering for her new book.  

Simply order Hop, Skip, Jump TODAY, November 11, and get an instant $15 Artella eGift Certificate for each copy purchased, which is even more than the price of the book. Go to http://www.artellaland.com/play.html to order your copy and take a fun quiz to find out if you Hop, Skip, or Jump! :-) 

So today is the best day to order multiple copies of this fun book as holiday presents, and get $15 back for each one. The eGift certificates can even be transferred to others as holiday gifts, too. What a terrific deal on a book that helps us have more fun.

In the spirit of fun, I am going to make time to play ball with my dog today and hug a cat. What will you do for fun? 

Who Says Work Can't be Fun?

I have been a fan of the fun and whimsical approach to creativity that Marney Makridakis has created with Artella Land, an online community for artists, writers, creative entrepreneurs. I was first introduced to Marney when I reviewed her previous book, Creating Time, and she now has a new book coming out November 11, Hop, Skip, Jump 75 Ways to Playfully Manifest a Meaningful Life.

Marney is the founder of the ARTbundance approach to self-discovery through creativity. Since 2009, the ARTbundance Certification Training Program (ACT) has trained over 300 coaches and practitioners in her techniques, and is the result of her deep desire to help creatively minded people design a successful business rooted in true passion, personal joy, and creative meaning.

A graduate of Duke University, Marney playfully hops, skips, and jumps in Dallas, Texas, with her wonderful husband and their wise and adventurous young son, Kai. She names these things as being essential to her creative well-being: the color orange, poetic novels, singing loudly, daily naps, the love of a good man, and hero worship of Mary Poppins.

To celebrate the release of the new book, Marney is offering special gifts and bonuses. The first one is really easy:

Simply order Hop, Skip, Jump on November 11 and get an instant $15 Artella eGift Certificate for each copy purchased, which is even more than the price of the book! The eGift Certificate is good on any Artella eProduct; no minimum purchase required.  So it's the best day to order multiple copies as holiday presents, and get $15 back for each one; and the eGift certificates can even be transferred to others as holiday gifts, too.

The next one takes a little time, but is well worth it.  

When it comes to productivity and play, are you more likely to HOP, SKIP, or JUMP? Take the quiz and get your custom Productivity Pack!

I took the quiz and found out my style is in the middle. I like to skip. That is a pretty good assessment as I am known for skipping around from project to project, so maybe my productivity pack will give me some tips for using that style to get better results.

I received a review copy of the new book and will be doing a review in the next few weeks. I'm already loving the book because it encourages us to be in closer contact with the child within and find time to play. 

I  am honored to be listed on Artella Land’s roster of 75 featured blogs. 

A to Z Challenge - N is for Norman

Today I thought I would feature another female playwright who has amassed considerable critical acclaim.

Marsha Norman was born in Kentucky in 1947, and she got her start writing for the Actor's Theatre of Louisville. It was there that her first play, Getting Out, was produced. At the time, Norman had been working with disturbed adolescents at the Central State Hospital in Kentucky, and she drew on that experience to write a play about a woman who has been in prison and how she deals with life afterward.

 I found that bit of information interesting, as I drew on my background as a hospital chaplain when I wrote my first play, There Is A Time. Sometimes experiences or certain people just beg to be dramatized.

After her success with her first play, Norman moved to New York, but she continued to write for the Louisville theatre. She produced a full-length play, Circus Valentine in 1979. Another play, 'night, Mother, became her biggest success on Broadway and in film. This play dealt with the topic of suicide and won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as other notable awards including the Drama Desk Award.

Her next dramatic play was not as well received. In fact, Traveller in the Dark received such negative  reviews from the New York critics, Norman stopped writing serious drama and wrote for musical theatre. She wrote the book and lyrics for the musical version of The Secret Garden, for which she won a Tony Award for Best Book in 1991. Other notable contributions to musical theatre included writing the book and lyrics for the musical The Red Shoes, as well as the libretto for the musical version of The Color Purple which opened in 2005.

When my first play was produced here in our community theatre, I was blown away by the experience of seeing my story come to life. I'm sure Marsha Norman must have felt the same way when her first production was mounted, and maybe she still does feel a special thrill on opening night even after all her success.

On another note, today I am a guest on Terry Odell's terrific blog, Terry's Place, where I share one of my most embarrassing moments while doing research, as well as what I would feed Abraham Lincoln if we could have dinner together. Hop on over if you have a moment, and check out Terry's books while you are there. She is a terrific writer.

Also, I want to remind everyone about the free teleclass coming up this week. What is your creative "tango tenacity" that can help you address your time challenges? During the teleclass you will receive tips and advice that will help you gain a new perspective on using time. "Time Tango 2013" will be held on April 18 by Marney Makridakis, bestselling author of the book, Creating Time.  SIGN UP HERE 
 

Time Tango 2013 - Free Teleclass

Last year I read the book, Creating Time, and was introduced to a new way of looking at time and how we utilize it. The book offers quite an interesting and innovative approach to something we all deal with every day - how can we best make use of time?

Now there is a one-year celebration of the release of her book and the beginning of Artella Land, ARTbundance, where people continue to learn more about living comfortably and creatively with time. The following is a message from Marney Makridakis, the author of the book and founder of Artella Land. 

In April 2012, thousands of people and dozens of creative leaders got together for The Creating Time Mega Event !

Together, we co-created a powerful community dedicated to exploring a new vision of time.



To celebrate the one-year anniversary of The Creating Time Mega Event and the launch of the #1 Amazon Bestseller Creating Time, I invite you to join me for "Time Tango 2013": a fun, free teleclass on Thursday April 18 to help you use your creativity to find even more ways to dance with time!

• Do you wish you had more time to do the things you love?
  
  
• Do you want to have a better relationship with time?
  
  
• Do you get the sense that time is holding you back?
  
  
• Do you blame time for keeping you from your creative dreams?
  
  

"Time Tango 2013" is here to help!    SIGN UP HERE

A to Z Challenge - I is for Inge

William Inge is another American playwright for whom I have a great deal of respect. He was born in Kansas in 1913 and died in 1973.His body of work is impressive, and like many highly creative people he was often plagued by doubts. When one of his best known plays, Come Back, Little Sheba was in pre-production in New York, he worried that it would not be a success on Broadway.

The play was written while Inge was teaching at  Washington University in St. Louis  and went on to run on Broadway for 190 performances in 1950, winning Tony Awards for Shirley Booth and Sidney Blackmer. The 1952 film adaptation won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Shirley Booth.

During his years of teaching in St. Louis, 1946 to 1949, Inge joined Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and it was there he met the wife of one of the members. Her name was Lola and Inge based the character of Lola in Come Back Little Sheba on her.

Many of the plays Inge wrote featured small town life and were set in places in the heartland, and he was often called the "Playwright of the Midwest". Maybe that is one reason I like his work so much. I am very much a small town girl. Another of his  notable plays was Picnic, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize.

Inge wrote two novels, both set in the fictional town of Freedom, Kansas. Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff   explores the reactions to a high-school teacher who loses her job because she has an affair with the school's black janitor. The play was adapted for film in 1979, and the movie starred Anne Heywood as Evelyn Wyckoff. I have not read the book or seen the movie, but it sounds like a story I would enjoy. I do like exploring social issues.

During the early 1970s, Inge lived in Los Angeles and taught playwriting at the Irvine campus of the University of California. His later works were not as successful as his earlier ones and he became severely depressed, worried that he would never be able to write well again. He committed suicide at the age of 60.

In reading about Inge, I found that there is a book available, Four Plays, a collection of some of his better known work. Guess what is on my wish list.

 

On another note - Last year about this time, I participated in the blog tour for Marney Makridakis’ best selling book Creating Time. It features ways to manage time in fun and creative ways and I enjoyed the book very much. Now we’re all celebrating the one year anniversary with a fabulously fun teleclass event on Thursday, April 18 called "Time Tango 2013".  Best of all, it's my kind of price: free! Sign up Here  

Creating Time: Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock and Reclaim Your Life

Today's guest is  Marney K. Makridakis, who wrote an interesting new book and created a whole program around the concept of time.

For writers and other creative people, Creating Time: Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock and Reclaim Your Life, is right up there with The Author's Journey and other books that inspire and gently nudge us to stay on track, or maybe get on the track in the first place.

However, the book is not just geared toward the artistic types. People in all walks of life and with many other careers can find inspiration and some good, practical advice in this book.

The sections of the book take us from exploring our relationship with time and how we measure it through various ways we can create time through gratitude, love, ritual synchronicity, visualization, and my favorite, stillness. Each section is illustrated with lovely art work by the author or by readers who have used her concepts for "creating time."

Among all the jewels of wisdom I found in the book, this one resonated with me. Perhaps because I have less years left in my life than I have lived, and also because of family and friends who have made drastic changes in their lives after receiving a diagnosis of cancer or some other terrible disease that had the potential to end their time all too soon. "The truth of the matter is that life is a 'life-threatening diagnosis' for all of us. We have no way of knowing how much time we have. So we might as well realize how precious each and every moment truly is. We can create time by creating our own urgency to live as if every moment counts, because it does!"

Lest you think that the book is all about stopping to smell the roses or ticking things off a bucket list, be aware that it is much more than that. The chapters present ideas and suggestion for helping us make  a mental shift in how we relate to time, and they all have real-life examples, step-by-step introspective processes, and powerful creative projects that inspire a new sense of time.   

Karen Karsten, a prosperity coach and teacher had an interesting concept of time. "When I think about time as one day, I think of it like a lake, with connections to the earth and the universe. There's total joy in diving into the lake: no waiting for the weekend here!" For her ARTsignment she painted a picture that featured a lake with the hands of a clock in the middle and one swimmer was diving off one of the hands, while a kid was swinging on another. She also had several skeleton keys in the picture because she said the ARTsignment "offered a little key to unlocking time. Come with me to this lake, swim in the stardust, surf with the music of time, unlock time for yourself."

I learned a long time ago how important images are to me for reflection and reminders of things I need to be mindful of, so the idea of creating artwork as I move through the chapters and concepts in this book is not alien to me, although my artwork will not compare to some of the pictures I have hanging above my computer. That's okay, though. Nobody is expected to turn out great masterpieces of visual art. The point is to make something that will remind you of what you learned and want to remember as you complete each section.

Now, just a few words from the author:

Why did you write Creating Time? Like most people, time has been a big challenge for me throughout my adult life, but it escalated after I gave birth to my first child in 2008 and struggled to find the time to “do it all”. I devoured every time- management book I could get my hands on, but found that I was still chasing time. I finally put myself on mission to find a new solution and explored ways that I could apply my best resource (imagination) to my biggest problem (time).

What are the main challenges with time that you've identified, and how does this book address them? To personalize the reader’s process, Creating Time contains a “Time Diagnosis Chart” which identifies 14 of the most popular time complaints and recommends which of the book’s tools are most effective in addressing them. I find it interesting that, while everyone’s specific time complaints are unique, they usually boil down to one very primal theme: I don’t have enough time to live the life I want to live.

What do you most hope that readers take away from this book?I hope that readers will come away with a new sense of a time, as well as practical tools to put this new approach into action, both in their day-to-day lives and into their fuller spectrum of meaning and purpose in life.

If you would like to purchase a copy of the book, click on the cover image on my right sidebar.

CREATING TIME by Marney K. Makridakis

April 17, 2012 •  Personal Growth/Creativity •  288 pages • Trade Paperback in Four Color

Price: $22.95 • ISBN 978-1-60868-111-2