http://beckyblanton.com writer, photographer, designer Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:54:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I wrote this ebook over a year ago, but the information in it is still good. Please download it and give it away, share it, pass it along to churches, organizations or individuals who help or work with the homeless. There is so much more that can be done. Again, I ... http://beckyblanton.com/2012/01/101-ways-to-really-help-the-homeless/ If you're a freelancer you know it can be hard to avoid distractions, not just the ones you create for yourself, but the ones that others create for you. Apart from your own procrastination and frittering away time surfing, playing and having performance panic attacks, the categories and clients that most ... http://beckyblanton.com/2012/01/whats-a-good-time/ Man, oh man. Was I ever looking forward to being able to sing Suze Orman's praises to the sky over her new "The Approved Card" debit card. Not happening though. NOT YET. As part of a FREE ebook I'm writing for the homeless on money matters, and on starting a ... http://beckyblanton.com/2012/01/the-approved-card-by-suze-orman/ Somewhere over I'm not sure what ocean on a flight from Jerusalem to the United States last night/early this morning a Hasidic Jew named Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg happened to notice a stranger, another passenger on the flight, reading a newspaper called "The Jerusalem Post." If you look carefully in ... http://beckyblanton.com/2012/01/its-a-small-small-world/ [caption id="attachment_3267" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Becky Blanton shaking hands with Dan Pink after her TED Global 2009 talk at Oxford in England in 2009"][/caption] After, "Are you still homeless?" the question I get asked most is, "How can I get invited to speak at TED?" Actually, "How can I get invited to ... http://beckyblanton.com/2012/01/how-to-get-invited-to-speak-at-ted/ I was listening to some kids (ages 9-12 I guess) talking at the table next to me in Subway the other night. Their mother was talking about all they needed to do for the upcoming weekend and the oldest said confidently, "Don't worry mom. It's only Friday night. We've got ... http://beckyblanton.com/2012/01/do-you-really-have-that-much-time/ It's a favorite! And it's FREE! If you're ready to start your movement, business, cause or whatever off right this year, you need to know how to write headlines that grab attention. So check it out. Learn how to grab attention from the people who get it every day ... http://beckyblanton.com/2012/01/copywriting-tips-from-the-homeless/ I work with a lot of really brilliant and amazing people. Some of them are friends, some are clients, some are both. There are days I wake up and wonder how I got so lucky. They're not all "Oprah or Dr. Phil level" famous, but they should be. They're just really, really, ... http://beckyblanton.com/2012/01/guilt-expectations-and-standards/ In October I caught a mild respiratory virus. Nothing big. I had a runny nose, some sniffles, a few aches. It came and went in a few days and I thought nothing of it. Two weeks later however, I developed a  sinus infection. Not a big deal. I have sinus ... http://beckyblanton.com/2011/12/pneumonia-sucks-and-so-do-some-people/ The official definition of a third world country has to do with the country's political stance or alignment with either capitalism or communism (first and second world) or non-aligned with either (third world). Since the overriding common characteristics of both second and third world countries is poverty and economic dependence on ... http://beckyblanton.com/2011/12/the-needy-third-world-village-in-orange-county/ One of the trickiest things about personal boundaries for most people is understanding that other people have boundaries too. I've noticed that people really love setting and enforcing their own boundaries, but when someone else's boundaries conflict with theirs, they go ballistic. They either accuse the other person of trying to ... http://beckyblanton.com/2011/12/other-people-have-boundaries-too/ For the past decade I've been battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyaliga and skin problems ranging from Chronic Hives to mild psoriasis. This month I added pneumonia on top of all that. I finally understand what old people mean when they say, "I'm tired and ready to die." I had nothing ... http://beckyblanton.com/2011/12/juicing-life/ I was sitting on the couch at my friend Patty Newbold's house when I got the news I was selected to speak at TED Global 2009. She smiled for the entire time I sat there screaming, "I'm talking at TED! I'm talking at TED!" Then when the fear, shock and ... http://beckyblanton.com/2011/11/if-you-loved-my-ted-global-talk-thank-patty-newbold/ What has millions of Americans as upset and concerned about the events at Penn State and the inactions of FORMER head coach Joe Paterno, FORMER assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and then grad assistant Mike McQueary is the reaction of Penn State students in support of their unethical failure. Hundreds, if ... http://beckyblanton.com/2011/11/how-the-entitled-generation-plans-to-destroy-america/ "I like you, but we're not friends." Ever want to say that? I do. I get requests from people on social networks, G+, Facebook, Triiibes.com, LinkedIn and so on all the time to be "friends." 90% of them I say "Yes" to, unless there's some obvious reason not to like, ... http://beckyblanton.com/2011/11/i-like-you-but-were-not-friends/