Substack 101

*Dedicated to Granny Nancy*

This week’s substack is a little different ;) shorter but I think fun in its own way and a few little thinking thoughts & some good news as well. I’ve taken the number 101 and used it all the way through my newsletter and mini podcast this week….Of course I can’t but begin Substack 101 without mentioning the lady I associate most with 101 - The fab Granny Nancy - who celebrated her 101st birthday back in 2014. I’m including a little photo of her here in memory of that day and to celebrate her once again for being such a smiling human for a century and one and all the rest of course :) There is only one woman that deserves the opening spot of Substack 101 x #loveyouforeverandalwaysgran

Hope you enjoy this weeks words and sending you hope, healing, happiness and fun in your weekend ahead one and all. Thanks so much for supporting me in a million ways x

Three things you might not know about me in 101 words

The ‘Libra’ Lou

I was born on the 1^st of October and my Libra status has been something I have leaned on all my life. I am a true libra personality. On one occasion in my earlier life, I was asked if I wanted tea or coffee…I responded with, ‘toffee please?’ Because as you might know, us Libra’s want it all! Granny was also a Libra personality. I can be focused and serious but I can also be childlike and will always try find fun in life. The middle ground is somewhere I try to reach when problems arise. I do also love toffee ;)

The ‘Keep Looking Up’ Lou

I am obsessed with the sky, no matter the hour or the colour. I will stand outside in the middle of the night looking up to the moon and the stars and equally you can find me up at dawn as the birds begin to wake to watch the sun rise. I love the sky and how it is constantly changing, and I am in awe of the sunsetting like I haven’t watched it a million times before. I encouraged my virtual community to take notice of the sky back in March 2020 & everyday since we have looked up together.

The ‘Writing’ Lou:

Even though most of my career has been orientated around writing, my English teacher in secondary school failed every assignment I gave in between the ages of 15-18. Who knew all that red pen was not going to stop me becoming a journalist & now an author. I also completed a degree in English. To this day, nobody knows how I achieved it. The most shocked person with this achievement is still me! I guess this section is to remind you, that even if you fail at something, or if someone thinks you might not have the skills, to KEEP GOING!

101 words about 5 different topics that matter to me

Friendship:

I think friendship is one of the most important relationships that me and you can be involved in on this earth. Without friendship, what do we have? We have a world that doesn’t care about each other and a world that will be left with more darkness than light. For me, friendship is a life jacket that one can apply to another and equally receive when troubled waters rise their heads. Friendship is a gift that you can give without hesitation to someone you love or to a total stranger & the win is the same – infecting hope & light!

Hope:

Hope is one of the most precious gifts us humans can offer each other. Hope is something the downtrodden need, the bewildered no longer believe in and the scared and sad have lost sight in. We, the hopeful few, can enter a dark cave and with one candle instantly bring hope back into the life of another. In this world, we need more hope. We need more people who offer hope. We need more candles to be lit and we need more light in what can be a very dark world. Be the light & change the world forever!

Acceptance:

Now this is a tricky one. From observing my grandmother live to 107 years of age, she was my living inspiration regarding acceptance. Acceptance is a habit of the mind. It’s a way of living. And I think I’ve got much better at it in recent years. Acceptance of the things that will happen me and you is really hard to do but if you just think about this word for this moment, I already know you have made a great move in building strength inside you! We will never win against fate so best to arm ourselves with acceptance.

Forgiveness:

Another tricky one in the books here. Forgiveness – it’s a big one. To forgive and equally powerfully – to be forgiven. This one I struggle with myself. But what I’ve learned – the hard way always – is we must look at both sides. Nobody is perfect in this world and to let go pain, hurt and anger is vitally important for us to live a full and content life as best we can. We all make mistakes, I’ve made loads of them and the day we cannot forgive the other is a day we carry that hurt forward. Two words – LET GO!

Peace:

Peace is something we don’t think enough about in this hectic, fast moving life I feel. But peace really is magic. Peace is something we can all attain once we tap into our inner self. The big questions here are: ‘What does peace mean to you? And….how can you change your day to bring more peace to your table?’ Are you working toward it or maybe you have already attained it. The tricky element here is that at any stage, someone can enter you life or something can happened and instantly dismantle your peace so I guess for me the big question is, how can I work on myself to retain the quiet inside my soul when everywhere is noisey.

101 words about the biggest news of 2023 for me:

Last Friday evening on the seventh day of the seventh month of July at 7pm, I received an email that read as the following:

We are delighted to inform you that your book has been longlisted for The Carousel Aware Prize for Independent Authors (The CAP Awards).

So for the remainder of this section I will now repeat the word wohoo to fill in the 101 words: woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo woohoo because this is very woohoo news

Until next week, meet you in the same place at the same time my dearest substack family :)

Lou xx

You can buy the Granny Nancy book here

You can book one to one motivational sessions with Lou under the ‘Coaching menu’ here