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How did you get to be where you are today? This is an interesting story, really. I was climbing the corporate ladder of a large and successful corporation in Atlanta, but there was always this creativity bursting inside of me. I hated spending my time in a cubicle! I felt stifled and restrained. I couldn’t stand the bland gray walls and carpeting. I’d find excuses to get up and walk around. They probably thought I had a severe bladder condition because I’d use the “restroom” excuse so often. I’d begun writing creatively for a local radio show, which had since become syndicated. I wrote a few poems that were shared on air, and soon wrote The Dash. The radio personality shared it and the feedback was so tremendous that I began to realize that my writing style seemed to touch hearts and lives. I gained so much personal satisfaction from that realization that I started a web site and began writing more and more. Like a snowball rolling down hill, everything gained momentum.
Have you ever been fired? No, I’ve never ben fired. I’ve always maintained a good work ethic. It was drilled into my brothers and I from my workaholic father. I (we) have always tried to give more than 100% to whatever positions we’ve held, wherever we’ve been employed. So much so, that when I tried to quit the corporate world, my boss slowly slid my written resignation back towards me on the desk where I was sitting opposite, and flatly refused to accept it. I resigned anyway to pursuit my passion and further my writing career.
What are your real passions? I’m finding that my interests and passions change with the decades, as do I, as does life. For instance, when my children were younger, naturally motherhood was my passion. Now that they are moving on to live their own “dashes” and follow their own dreams as independent women, other passions that had been on the back burner can now be brought to the forefront. Creative writing is first and foremost what “floats my boat.” I love pouring my thoughts onto paper, and love even more when those thoughts are comprehended and accepted by the reader just how I had intended.
If you won the lotto what would you do? This is a GREAT question and indeed one that most of us have considered at one time or another. I’ve always believed that I wanted to have an effect on lives…but particular lives, instead of causes as a whole. Maybe it’s selfish, but instead of giving to a huge corporation, I wanted to make a difference in my own way by creating an organization where I could take on the resurrection of “dashes” gone awry or astray, either due to the actions of a person, society, or just bad life luck. I wanted to create a foundation whereby people could “apply” for assistance, and be monitored for improvement by the foundation’s staff. If the applicants were not 100% participants in their desire to improve their “dashes,” then they would be cut from the program and someone else, or another family would take their place. Specifically, I’ve always thought how difficult it is for someone who is down on his/her luck to find a job and be a productive citizen again when they have no clean clothes, no shower, razor to shave, transportation, etc.? In my lotto fantasy scenario, I would pay month-to-month rent on a residence, transportation, food, etc. and give them a chance to help themselves, find a job, a home…opportunities to turn their dash around. It’s amazing what an important role pride plays in such a scenario. In my opinion, giving someone back his/her pride can go along way towards once again living a productive and happy life. But again, if they didn’t make the effort and show serious interest in helping me help them, then it would be a goodbye and onto the next person or family in need. I’d even created a working title for my program: Help Me Help You.
What do you hope to accomplish in the future? When I first realized that I had initially been granted somewhat of a “platform” in this dash message and its millions of admirers, I wanted to help everything. I wanted to solve world hunger, aid the homeless, support wounded warriors and find a home for every homeless pet. I soon realized that the thinner you spread your abilities, the less effective your efforts will be. I want to age gracefully, not in the vanity sense, but graceful in the aspect of sharing kindness and love. And within this “platform” of those who are inspired by my work, there lies an opportunity to touch, even influence, lives, attitudes and hearts. That is the way in which, apparently, I’m able to best accomplish change in my lifetime…through my words. Words that touch hearts have a domino effect, and the continuous addition of links, one by one, to a chain of kindness can be endless.
Linda Ellis also appeared on The Best Ever You Show and read her poem! To Listen on free replay: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/besteveryou/2012/05/31/linda-ellis-the-dash-1
What do you like to do in your personal life? Once again, this is ever-changing, ever-evolving. My life’s direction has taken many twists and turns, and instead of trying to steer it in opposing “steadfast” directions toward previously established goals, I’ve learned to lean into each turn. I’ve learned to write my goals and ambitions in pencil, not ink. I have been a spontaneous person my while life. I like to perform what I call, “spontaneous acts of freedom.” There’s a part in my book where I write about being “listless.” Not in the sense of lazy or lethargic, but as in having days with no lists by which to abide, directing our every move and action. I love to write. I love being with people who make me smile. I LOVE spending time with my daughters. I love hanging out with my dogs and cats. I like to garden…to plant and cultivate something and watch those efforts produce beauty is very fulfilling to me.
Please give us one or two shameless plugs. Follow me on Facebook: LindaEllisAuthor
and Twitter: @liveyourdash
Please give us one plug for someone else or your favorite cause or charity. I was recently touched by the story of Jaymie Lynn Jamison and subsequently spoke for the Jaymie Jamison Foundation for Hope whose primary goal is to raise awareness of gynecological cancers.www.jaymiejamisonfoundation.com
What do you do to help stay your best ever? I learned the hard way that computers and smartphones can take over your existence…and “steal” your minutes. Before I knew it, I had become completely engrossed in my occupation, and writing is not exactly physically demanding. So, I found crafty ways of incorporating exercise into my routine, instead of “scheduling” a specific time when I forced myself to exercise. Inspiration is intermittent and unexpected and if I do not sit down to write the moment I am inspired by a subject, I lose that particular vision forever. So, I exercise regularly, just not “routinely.”
How do you help other people be their best? So many people have told me that I have a gift… a way of putting words together that makes the readers feel I’ve written a particular piece just for them. At first, I humbly overlooked the compliment as one person’s personal opinion…but then many people started to tell me the exact same thing. So, I began to believe it and therefore, use this “gift” to inspire others. My strategy is to find and focus on my own failings, deficiencies, weaknesses and fears. Then, I ask myself, “How can I best improve my attitude and outlook to help me turn these negatives into positives?’ When I find the answers that best suit me, I share them and they are often the answers or solutions that suit others as well.
What is your favorite book to recommend to someone else to read? You mean, besides mine? Ha ha! I’m currently enjoying: The Thinking Life: How to Thrive in the Age of Distraction by P.M. Forni
Tell us a secret ;) I am not a morning person. Never have been. Never will be. LOL!
For More Info: http://www.lindaellis.net