Tag Archives: robertgreene

More Influential Than the Bible? That Must Be Some Book.

Get this: I read the Bible every day all through high school – until midway through senior year when I decided I had had just about enough of that. I spent half my childhood as a Catholic and the other half as the child of a preacher. Only one other book has had more of a tangible effect on my actions and thought processes since the Bible. No joke.

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“People secretly yearn to be led astray by someone who knows where they are going.” – Robert Greene.

If you’ve been reading my posts here for awhile, you’ve seen the above quote three or four times. I want to tell you a little bit about the book it came from and the man who wrote it. Continue reading

You Will be Tempted to Stop Living, But Don’t

My engagement ended on April 24, 2005. I’m happy to say that this past Monday, I had better things on my mind than the anniversary of that event. I just returned from a great weekend away, met some fantastically bright and charismatic people and I have yet another memory-making weekend to look forward to.

I have journal entries from a year ago, and I just re-read them to see when I started looking forward to the future again. Two things that were crucial in getting my head on straight were the Pity Party, which I have alluded to several times here, and some advice from my uncle . . . which totally restrung how I interact with other people, and led me to seek out the books that changed my life.

I still didn’t get it right after writing the two journal entries below, but the Party and Italian Uncle’s Advice ramped up my sense of self-protection so that when I went back to the ex-fiance for the next round, I didn’t get broken down beyond repair. These entries are here to mark the occasion. As my sisters and I say, Onward and Upward. Continue reading

Lightening, Ms. Jong and Mr. Muse

I was in the salon after work last night, sipping a glass of wine and perusing a magazine. I came across this excerpt from an Erica Jong novel, and I think Ms. Jong wrote this particular chapter specifically for me.

First of all, Ms. Jong included one of my favorite Dante quotes. We’ll get to that. Secondly, she lit a fire under my Muse’s ass, and sent him speed-racing back into my life. [Yes, I know Muses are female, mythologically speaking, but mine is a man, so take a hike, hero.] I’ve felt Mr. Muse’s eyes on the back of my neck since January, and he has finally and ineluctably revealed himself. Thank you, Ms. Jong. Thirdly, her editor has her pegged. I’m having that conversation with my future editor. I guarantee it.

Ms. Jong gave me some pertinent advice for the writing conflict I’ve been dealing with as of late. Here’s what she told me: Continue reading