How To Everything

 4:07 AM

I've never been much of a sleeper. I get by on about five hours, though. I prefer six. Every now and again I come home exhausted and I will plop down on my bed and try to nap. I usually end up staring at the ceiling and then answering emails or reading.

There was a time when I didn't let these extra hours go to waste. If I couldn't sleep, like this morning, I would get up and do something. I would usually write. I have written over twenty books, at least as many screenplays, hundreds of poems and short stories and essays. 

As my new business, which requires that I start very early, has grown, I've abandoned my productive ways. I lay in bed and ponder when I can't sleep. Pondering is nice. Action is nicer.

We were closed for Spring Break last week. I woke up early and wrote every day. I completed a collection of nine short stories that I plan to eventually publish. I also got a lot done around the house as we are in the middle of a renovation. I spent time with my wife. I walked my dogs. I had dinner with friends. I cleaned my pizza oven. I got stuff done. I also read two books.

I listen to audio books. It's a great time-saver and it's easy on my eyes, which are 50 years old and counting. I still do read the old fashioned way, which is not easy on the eyes, but is something I can't live without and a big reason I am a moderately successful person.

I have two very close friends. One, I've known for about twenty years, the other for nearly forty. The three of us keep in contact via a group text. I admit I am often lost as they spend a great deal of time discussing the TV shows they are watching. I watch TV, but not nearly enough to keep up with the average American. I try to be productive instead.

I have no patience for people who whine about not having time to do anything with their lives, but are up to date with the latest shows, or can tell you who in America's got talent. Not crazy about people who say they're broke but can tell you what to order at all the trendy restaurants. Those people drive the nicest cars, have the best clothes and the latest gadgets.

I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy nice things, I am saying you need to invest in yourself. You need to care about your life as much as you care about the lives of others. You need to treat your limited time with respect. You must treat time like the valuable, non-renewable resource it is. You must invest in yourself, rather than just treat yourself.

I hear too many people whining about how hard it is to get ahead, then watch them drive off in a car they can barely afford to an overpriced rented home to watch four hours of TV while overpaying for mediocre food that was Ubered to their home. Never once do they think to take time to learn a skill or read a book or get a part time job or start a business or a side hustle.

I have no pity for you. Live with your choices. In fact, we all live with our choices, so start making better ones.

I'm a little grumpy this morning. It's been a while since I've gotten out of my warm bed to write this early.

Adolfo Jimenez is an entrepreneur, author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published ten books, which you can find here. Adolfo is the co-owner of The Cafeteria Company, a commissary outsourcing firm. He also co-owns Soup -n- Sam, Le Velo Macaron, and Starlight Catering.

Breadcrumbs

It's been a crazy few days. My wife came home sick as a dog on Monday. Vomiting, passing out, incoherent. Sure, it sounds like just another Friday night in Casa Jimenez, but I assure you, this was something else.  We ended up in the ER. She's okay now, at home, recovering from kidney stones and dehydration. It was scary.

This morning was the first time I've written since Monday. I am a believer in writing every day, whether for an hour or five hours. The important thing is to do the work. Do it every day. This is important, particularly if you want your story to feel like one smooth piece, instead of jagged pieces forced together. Who doesn't want smooth instead of jagged crap?

Hemingway used to say that it's important to leave a little in the tank at the end of the day. In other words, don't write until you have nothing left. Stop while there is still something in your mind to write. This helps to keep the flow going. I did this on Monday morning, not knowing what the day and the two days that followed would bring me and I'm glad I did. This morning (Thursday) I picked up right where I left off. I'm back on track.

Don't work yourself to exhaustion. It doesn't help you. Save a little so you have the fuel to get rolling the next morning.

Now get back to work!



Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida with his family.  He has published eight books, which you can find here. 

<script data-ad-client="ca-pub-8729603388037550" async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

Happy New Year

I'm not Barbara Walters, but this is still 2020.

It's been a long day after a long night, but I wanted to jump on here and wish you all a great New Year.

Got any goals?
Any big plans?

If not, get some. Do it. Do it now! It's that simple!

I'll be back soon with something (hopefully) worth reading.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

<script data-ad-client="ca-pub-8729603388037550" async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

Embracing Change

I am not a full time writer. I write every morning and sometimes in the evenings. I have a day job. It's a stressful job. It pays well and I make a nice living.  My job demands a lot of me and I have to deliver or I won't have it.

I have a mortgage, a car payment and two kids in private school. I am not a popular enough writer yet to support all that. So, I work.

I just started working from home. Same job, same responsibility, same goals. No suit and tie! Life is good.

I've always written at home. I have a small desk in my bedroom. I wake up early and get to work. In the old days, I worked until it was time to shower and shave and head to the office. Now, I write, then I walk my new puppy. I come back, shower, maybe shave, and I get to work... in a different room in my house.

It's important to separate my creative life from my commercial life. I don't like to think about writing when I'm doing anything else, and I don't want to think of other things during my writing time. I get better results this way. The point is that you should compartmentalize. You'll get better results.



Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida with his family.  He has published eight books, which you can find here. 

<script data-ad-client="ca-pub-8729603388037550" async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

Who matters as much as Why - A Quickie Post.

Why are you writing?

Who are you writing for?

If you are writing for anyone other than yourself, you are writing for the wrong reason. You are the only person who will definitely read every word you write, so make sure they are words you love and can be proud of? Or, at the very least, make sure they are words you can live with.


Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida with his family.  He has published eight books, which can be seen here. 

<script data-ad-client="ca-pub-8729603388037550" async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

The Business

This is a confession.

Too late. You're here now. You must listen to my tale of woe. To do otherwise, to turn away, would be indecent. You are a decent person... aren't you?

There are two sides to being a writer. There is the hard part, which is the actual writing. Then there is the harder part, which is selling yourself. I like sharing my experiences. I really do. What I don't like is the business of selling those experiences once they are bound in a book or put in an e-book.

Don't get me wrong, I want to sell the books. I want to sell millions of copies of my books. In my other life,  I sell for a living. I understand the science and the art of sales. I've just never learned how to sell myself and my creations, and that is exactly what selling books is. It is an author selling bits of himself.

Every story I've written is personal, even if not autobiographical. They came from inside of me. It's easier to write about these things than it is to talk about them.

So, I've spent the greater part of the weekend, studying and creating a marketing plan. I am all over social media and I am compiling a list of independent bookstores and book clubs that I will be visiting. If you're reading this, and I am ever in your neighborhood, please stop by and say hello.

I think I may continue the theme I've started here. It ought to be fun. Who knows? I may end up not hating the business of selling my writing after all!

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

<script data-ad-client="ca-pub-8729603388037550" async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

A Clean, Well-Lighted (Quiet) Place

You need a place to write. Writing is a job like any other job. What happens if you don't show up for work? You lose your job. You are unemployed. You are pounding the pavement. There may seem to be no consequences for you as a writer if you choose not to write because no one will fire you, but if you don't make time to write, you will not make it as a writer. I know that seems obvious, but sometimes the obvious things are the hardest to see.

Too many people are in love with the idea of being a writer. They want to tell people they are working on a novel or two. They want to be seen in Starbucks, staring off into the distance with their laptop at the ready, standing by to capture their genius. They want to do the writerly things. They just don't actually want to write.

I have a close friend who is an incredibly talented individual, who could own Hollywood (the real Hollywood, not the South Florida shithole where I live) but he doesn't do the things that he would have to do in order to succeed. His reasons are personal and real and I don't bust his balls about it anymore. I used to, but I'm not his agent. I have no place telling him what to do. It's his life, not mine.

The point is that you have to do what you have to do if you want to succeed. Fuck the attention. The thing about being a writer is that attention ruins everything. Don't believe me? Ask Hemingway. Never mind, he's dead. Read The Snows of Kilimanjaro and he'll explain how every day of comfort and betraying who he was contributed to the end of his career as a writer. He was telling the story of a man named Harry, but he was seeing his future.

So find a clean, well lighted place to write. Or find a noisy, dim place to write. Just find a place and do your thing and do it.



Adolfo Jimenez is a writer living against his will in Hollywood, Florida.  His latest release is Scenes from a 1979 Ford Fairmont, a short book of poems. Get it on Amazon!

Check him out here!

Productivity

How do you do it all?

Has anyone ever asked you that? Have you ever met someone and wondered how they do it all? There's a simple answer: they don't. They prioritize. No one does everything.

I have five priorities:

1) Family
2) Working (being a provider)
3) Writing
4) Reading
5) Alone time

I manage to get all of these. My family is, obviously, the most important thing in my life. Everything I do to take care of them and to earn their respect. So, I guess the first one is easy since everything I do is, in some way, for them.

I work hard. I earn a living. Not millions, but a solid income that provides food and shelter and vacation twice a year with the occasional weekend getaway.

I write because it's what I want to do with my life. I would love to make a living as a writer. As yet, I don't. Once I do, I'll quit my job. So, while writing is something I love, I treat it like work. It's not a hobby. It's not something I squeeze in between reruns and social engagements. I write. Period.

Reading is important to me as an individual and as a writer. I think we all need to read more. It gives me sanity. It makes me a better writer, and more importantly, a better man.

Alone time is key to mental survival. I drive myself to work and home every day. This is alone time. I often call my parents in the morning (okay every morning) to say hello but the drive home is mine. I listen to audio books or music or the sounds of the world. I drive a convertible and when the weather permits, driving with the top down is great therapy for me.

This is my daily routine. How do I find the time?

I wake up early, around five AM. I write for a couple of hours then I read. Phone calls in the car to mom and dad. I try not to work more hours than necessary. I'm not lazy, I just go to work and I work. I make every minute count (for the most part.) I take a lunch break every day. Often alone, sometimes with a friend. When solo, I read while I munch. I listen to a book in my car on the way home and have dinner with the family. I read as I digest. Later when the kids are asleep I make the sweet love to my wife (sometimes, I'm old) and sleep about six hours.

No, I don't watch TV. A little once in a while. Sometimes on the weekends, but I don't keep up with the Kartrashians. I don't watch the bachelor at the whorehouse, and I certainly don't watch news. Life is depressing enough

So, decide what matters. Make a list of what matters. Toss out everything that doesn't matter.

Get.
Shit.
Done.

Keep writing,

Adolfo

The Importance of Having a Dog

I love my dog. His name is Baxter. He's a good boy, yes he is. Sorry. I get carried away. Baxter is a silky terrier. He's a happy hyper little guy and he's a great source of exercise. I walk him in the morning and in the evening. It's good for him and it's good for me.

My doctor told me a couple of years ago that I'm allergic to dogs but Baxter was already in my life and he wasn't going anywhere. You never leave a man behind. It's funny because I would never call myself an animal lover. But I do love this little dog of mine,

I didn't write this to encourage people to adopt dogs although it's a nice thing to do. The point is that it's good to get out and do something distracting now and then. I take about 60-90 minutes a day to walk with my buddy. It's time well spent. I walk, which is healthy, and I listen to audiobooks on my iPhone, which is increasing my skills, my knowledge, and my value.

All because of this little dog, who by the way is a crimefighter. He goes out at night and defends Gotham City from the forces of evil. Oops! I wasn't supposed to tell you that. Pretend you didn't hear me!


Adolfo Jimenez is an executive coach, entrepreneur, book club nerd, and family man living in Hollywood, FL. He is the owner of Le Velo Macaron

You can find him on Instagram and LinkedIn

The Small Hours

Sleep is important. I will not deny that. I've never been a good sleeper. Even as a baby. My mother still complains that she barely slept at all the first five years of my life. She doesn't say the same thing about my sister. I'm a terrible person to vacation with because I don't sleep in. I'm the guy sounding the bugle at dawn (maybe earlier.) I want to get on with life.

If you need sleep, then sleep. I'm not advocating against it. But if you're like me, and you are blessed with the ability to function on less sleep than most people, you should not waste that gift. Yes, I believe getting by on less sleep is a blessing. I also believe it is a gift, because more time to live your life is a wonderful thing,

I spend that time as best I can, although sometimes I'm a little too foggy to be productive. It's a good time to meditate, walk your dog, get a little extra reading done, or just get a jump on work.

My point is that this extra time is a gift and it should be used. Don't waste it on news or other negativity that'll set a negative tone for the rest of your day. Get the ball rolling in the right direction by using those small hours wisely.




Adolfo Jimenez is an executive coach, entrepreneur, book club nerd, and family man living in Hollywood, FL. He is the owner of Le Velo Macaron

You can find him on Instagram and LinkedIn