In this day and age of the Internet, hyperlinks, wikis and the like…there is NO excuse for blatant plagiarism.  Granted, “There is no new thing under the sun”…we learned this even from way back during Biblical times…

So if you get your inspiration from a particular writer, or blog post, and basically you re-quote them…just give ‘em their ‘due’ ~a hyperlink, a credit. to say the least.  Most blog vehicles such as ‘WordPress’ allow you to “Send Trackbacks and Pingbacks” (also called Linkbacks) easily just by checking a box on the page where you are composing your post.  Easy way to send credit back especially if you put in hyperlinks in your article.

The next “Pearl” is to be true to yourself.   The quote below from Shakespeare is set like a gem, the father telling his son, who is about to leave for France to be true to himself.

”This above all: to thine ownself be true,
 And it must follow, as the night the day,
 Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
                         -Shakespeare-Hamlet 

So how, H O W in this day and time can anyone hope for a unique perspective, an undiscovered gem of a concept of their own?   Write about something you’re passionate about.  If you’re not sure what that is…take the time to find out.  What inspires you, what makes you smile?  Don’t just dream…think about what makes you dream.  Take the time to dig in and check every nook and crannie (even if it’s only in your own mind) and write about that. 

The last “Pearl” I want to set before you today is: Think highly of yourself.  I am not telling you to artificially inflate your ego or anything like that.  You need to know that what you have to give, share, post, blog…has worth.   And you need to think accordingly.

I want to linkback here to a Red Head Writing article: ” The Bitch Slap: Self-Deprecation is Crap”.  Simple concept, but it was a wakeup call to me.  I cannot tell you how many times working in a support role…I poo pooed someone giving me a genuine compliment…so many times that the compliments stopped coming…for so long that people forgot who did the work ~as long as the work “just appeared” regularly. 

I guess the real wake up and slap in the face was when I was eventually laid-off because no one knew what I actually did…  Then the ultimate slap was when someone who was not being laid-off actually said to my face, “Well, you don’t have anyone here to protect you anymore.”  That was true.  I did it to myself.  Hindsight is always 20/20.

So embrace yourself, whatever it takes for you to think highly of yourself and just say “Thank you” when someone shines a light on you or your work.

~Kathy