Friday Feature: Life is Good, 6 Ways to Make Someone's Even Better

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Remember when common courtesy was, well, common? For some people, it still is. Sometimes, it's so easy to do something nice; other times, it's just as easy to forget to.

To kick off this summer weekend, here are Six Ways to Pay it Forward, brought to you by the folks at Life is Good, because after all, we can choose to make it that way.

Have a good weekend.

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!

This morning, I got to talk to a class full of undergrads. Not terribly unusual, as I do this two mornings (and three afternoons) each week. But today, I got to appear not as Professor Hess, but as Lisa Lawmaster Hess, author. 

It was fun appearing as my alter ego. I packed up my whole book signing set-up, complete with no-flame candles and promotional display, and set the stage before I spoke. (I even wore my Casting the First Stone tee shirt). No PowerPoints, no theories -- just off the cuff, sharing what I’ve learned so far in my writing experience.

Here, in no particular, are a few of those things:

1. The opportunity to write uninterrupted for long periods of time is rare. Seize it whenever it arises.
2. Alternatively, it is possible to write in tiny snippets of time if necessary. Use those too.
3. Life is a balancing act. If you want something, you have to go after it, and it’s your job to figure out how to make it all work.
4. A writing career requires a mix of practicality and unadulterated daydreaming. Be practical if you must, but always keep the dream in sight.
5. If you pay it forward as a member of the writing community, you will never be sorry.

Thanks so much to my fellow Jersey girl and professor, Lori Myers who gave me this opportunity to step away from the craziness of the close of the semester and just talk to young, aspiring writers for an hour on a gloomy, rainy day. In spite of the weather, the experience (and the students) were energizing and inspiring. 

What a great way to spend a morning! Now it's time to sip a Starbucks and morph back into Professor Hess...just in time to teach a general psychology class.