Historical Tidbit: The Lost Colony of Roanoke

Do you know...about the lost colony of Roanoke?

Of course you do! It's one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in the history of, er, unsolved mysteries.

Map of area, including Roanoke
Island, drawn by John White
(Source)

The facts: 

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Historical Tidbit: Madame C.J. Walker

Sarah Breedlove (Source)

Did you know...that the first self-made female millionaire in America was a black woman?

It's true! Sarah Breedlove was born as the one of six children in December of 1867. She was the first in her family to be born free, after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. At age 14, she got married to escape the abuse of her brother-in-law, with whom she was living. Six years later, her husband died. She was twenty years old, with a 2-year-old daughter to care for. She moved to St. Louis, where three of her brothers lived, and got work as a washer woman, earning less than $1 a day. She was determined to earn enough money to get her daughter a formal education, though.

Like most people in her day, she expected hair loss due to poor diet and living conditions. She learned about hair and hygiene from her brothers, who all worked in barber shops. She sold hair car products on commission for Annie Turnbo Malone, a haircare enterpreneur, and soon after emerged as Madame C.J. Walker, "an independent hairdresser and retailer of cosmetic creams." (Source)

C.J. Walker's grave (Source)

Sarah remarried, had her stepdaughter run the mail order part of the business, while she and her husband traveled the country, expanding. Eventually she began training other women, especially African Americans, in the concepts of beauty products, sales, and business models. Her business expanded beyond the United States to Cuba, Jamaica, Panama, Costa Rica, and Haiti.

She eventually got involved in politics, gave massive amounts of money to charity, and upon her death was considered the wealthiest African American in the country. It is unclear whether she was actually worth more than a million dollars at the time of her death, but in by today's standards, she would have been many times over. (For more details on her amazing life, see this link.)

There is so much entitlement in the world today; a massive movement of people who believe that certain people, especially minorities, ought to be given absolutely everything. But Sarah Breedlove defies that model. She was born during Civil War times, and came up very humbly in the world, with little chance for education or wealth. Yet, she pulled herself up by her bootstraps and became one of the wealthiest, most successful women of her day. The entitlement movement won't tell this story because it flies in the face of their most sacred dogma. Yet, Sarah Breedlove (a.k.a. Madame C.J. Walker) is a heroine of not only success and wealth, but education, women's empowerment, and the overall betterment of society. 

Now, most people who read my blog probably aren't members of this Entitlement Movement I speak of. (After all, we wouldn't be aspiring writers and authors if we didn't believe we have a chance to attain our dreams.) But, for the record, it's my belief that if more people were like Sarah Breedlove, our society would have vastly fewer problems than we are currently facing.

Remember, knowledge of our past is our inheritance. What we do with that knowledge will shape our destinies...

What do you think of C.J. Walker? Have you ever heard her story before?

Citadels of Fire

In a world where danger hides in plain sight and no one aspires to more than what they were born to, Inga must find the courage to break the oppressive chains she’s been bound with since birth. 

As a maid in the infamous Kremlin, life in 16th-century Russia is bleak and treacherous. That is, until Taras arrives. Convinced that his mother’s death when he was a boy was no mere accident, he returned from England to discover what really happened. While there, he gains favor from the Tsar later known as Ivan the Terrible, the most brutal and notorious ruler ever to sit upon the throne of Russia. Ivan allows him to take a servant, and to save Inga from a brutal boyar intent on raping her, Taras requests Inga to stay in his chambers.

Up against the social confines of the time, the shadowy conspiracies that cloak their history, and the sexual politics of the Russian Imperial court, Inga and Taras must discover their past, plan for their future, and survive the brutality that permeates life within the four walls that tower over them all, or they may end up like so many citizens of ancient Russia: nothing but flesh and bone mortar for the stones of the Kremlin wall.

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Funny Friday: Never Argue With Children!

Just had to post this. Hope it brightens up your Friday! :D

Never argue with children that know their bible stories, right? :D Have a great weekend, Everyone!

What's your reaction to this smart little cookie?

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Thoughts for Thursday: Taking a Stand

Thoughts for Thursday is a new feature hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill.  In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!

This week's theme is Taking a Stand!

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Book Review: The Success Principles

Source

So my brother, Lucas, who is all about self-help, success, and motivational speaking, gave me this book six months ago. I might have even started it around Christmas time and I'm just now finishing! (Dah!) Don't let that fool you, though. It has nothing to do with how good the book was or wasn't. This might just be one of the most inspiring, motivational book I've ever read.

This is a non-fiction book. Jack Canfield is the ridiculously successful co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. But he's more than just an author. He's an entrepreneur and motivational speaker, among many other things. He lays out 52 principles he's gathered over the years that are essential for success. (Hence the title of the book.)

These principles encompass everything from attitude adjustment to taking risks to changing your mindset to having faith. The reader not only gets valuable information from someone who's done it all and been enormously successful, but he tells stories and gives real life examples so we can see the principles in action.

Some of my favorite quotes (There's about a billion, but here are a few):

"Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses."--George Washington Carver

"You only have control over three things in your life--the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take." (pg. 109) 

"The world doesn't owe you anything. You have to create it." (pg. 13)

My favorite principles (Again, they're ALL awesome, but...):

1. Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life 

25. Drop out of the "Ain't it Awful" Club and Surround Yourself with Successful People 

55. Be a Class Act 

58. Pay Yourself First 

63. Start Now!...Just Do It!

If you've ever wanted to begin a new endeavor, run a business (yes, your writing counts!) learn a new skill, or simply find success at anything you are doing or want to do, this book will be invaluable. I'd recommend it for absolutely everyone. After all, what is life without its pinnacle successes?

Has anyone else read The Success Principles? Which is your favorite principle?

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Teaser Tuesday: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Source

This week's teasers come from Robert Galbraith's (J.K. Rowling's) The Cuckoo's Calling.

"Like Wardle, he had needed no uniform; he had been constantly cloaked in officaldom and prestige. Now, he was a limping man in a creased shirt, trading on old acquaintances, trying to do deals with policemen who would once have been glad to take his calls." (pg. 43-44)

What are you reading this week?

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2014 St. George Book Festival and Other Announcements

Happy Monday, Everyone! 

I hope you're all gearing up for a productive and prosperous week. 

For today, I'm just doing some announcements. The fall, as always, will be a busy one for me, as I'll be attending plenty of conferences and bookish events.

August 30 I have an author signing at the Hastings in Harrisville, Utah. It's a modest little place, but the Hastings company is always willing to support local authors, so I do my best to help them out in return.

September 12-13 is the League of Utah Writers' annual conference. As of right now, I'm not presenting that I know of. Just going to socialize, network, and learn lots of new things from some phenomenal presenters. It's being held in Layton, Utah this year, which is like ten minutes from my house. (Yea!)

October 4 is an author signing event also hosted by Hastings, but it will be a whole slew of local authors coming together for the same event. More details to come as it gets closer.

October 24-25 is the 2014 St. George Book Festival. I'll be attending as a Keynote/Guest Author and running one of the workshops on the 24th. Very excited for this one as I've never attended before.

So, if you're anywhere in or around Utah and can possibly make it to any of the events, I'd love to meet you! Of course I'll post reminders as the fall draws near. Have a great week, Everyone! Get out there and take steps toward your own success!

What events do you have lined up for the fall?

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