Write Thinking

Perspectives from a writer & life coach indulging her desire to intersect those two passions

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Location: Hoboken, New Jersey, United States

I am a practicing life coach who is currently writing a life coaching column called Game Plan for Foxbusiness.com: http://nancola.com/pages/press.html. I am also working on a book about the power and magic of life coaching.

Monday, April 30, 2007

Funny evening

Went to the taping of The Colbert Report this evening. What a hoot. A very cool experience. Made only more interesting when I realized a couple from North Carolina in the front row didn't seem to understand that Stephen Colbert is in character and is not to be taken literally.

A great experience all around.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Self-congratulatory

Today I wrote some dialogue that I loved so much I couldn't stop reading it.

If you don't love your own art, who will?

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Freedom Writers

Decided to have a Blockbuster night. Rented Freedom Writers.

Now if that movie doesn't inspire you, what in the world will? I was humbled and moved. As the credits rolled, I found myself thinking about how to live up to a teacher who had the guts to persistently fend off naysaying and flat-out rejection and effect real change. And of course it particularly spoke to me because she uses writing as a tool to reach her students.

Bless her for using her gift. The Freedom Writers Foundation is on my radar now.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Friday night

Formula for success:

an old friend
paella
vibrant conversation
cosmopolitans

Yep. That's a winner.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Law of attraction

Sometimes you just know you've attracted a really good person into your life.

Don't you just love that?

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Go figure

I don't watch The View, but I must marvel at how many men do.

Sassy women sure do get attention.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Sleek silhouette

I bought shoes today that are a collaboration by an architect and a shoemaker. They are indescribable. A conversation starter. Just a work of art in design and function.

What a find.

And hey, I finally have shoes to go with my wrap dress.

Don't mess with me.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Irreverence

Seen on a t-shirt:

Well-behaved women rarely make history

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Release

Went to Sunday service at the Sacred Center for Spiritual Living today. It had been a while.

It was like exhaling.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Shopping buzz

Had some fun shopping in the city today. Kind of took window shopping up a notch, which means not really shopping to buy, just to get a taste of what's out there.

(OK, I did purchase a pair of really great earrings, but they were 50 percent off and they have a seashell in the middle!)

I dig the whole dress trend. The A-line is big, big, big and it's fabulous. I could have purchased a half dozen on the spot, from a gorgeous Anna Sui in Lord & Taylor to a variety of frocks in H&M. And I am so drawn to all the geometric patterns out there.

Yep. Manhattan was all crackly today and it felt good to move with the current.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Respite

A woman told me a story today. She lives in a building in Manhattan. Her neighbor plays the violin, like really plays the violin. This morning the woman was leaving her apartment, complete with briefcase, and the neighbor and two other musicians with string instruments were rehearsing.

The woman paused to listen to the beautiful music. An hour later, she realized she was still standing there, still holding her briefcase, truly captivated. She left for work, but not before leaving a note on her neighbor's door asking for the date of her next concert.

This is New York.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Go deep

Surely at some point someone will dig way below the surface of this sick gunman's actions and try to figure out what circumstances led to his evolution into such a disturbing state. In the meantime, we will be subjected to analysts' Monday morning quarterbacking, black-and-white thinking and sheer ignorance about mental illness.

So sad.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Sweet treat

Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's, which is approximately a half block from my front door. Irresistable. Tried a new flavor -- Cinnamon Bun -- and it's a winner.

Thanks, boys.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Rampage

Another senseless shooting.

Another endless stream of people trying to make sense of it, solve it, prevent another.

Very noble. Very human.

But impossible.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Book joy

I have spent the last two hours working on my book and I am excited by this:

It has direction and shape.

Yeeha.

Friday, April 13, 2007

You say tomato

Had my very favorite tomato sauce (aside from my mother's) today. Vincent's in Little Italy. Just ziti with sauce. It's so rich and red and thick. A party in my mouth.

My friend ordered almost the identical dish, except he had the medium sauce to my sweet.

Sublime.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Warm thoughts

It would be such a treat to wear my spring clothes. Come on, Mother Nature. Work with me here. I've got a white trench waiting to be worn. My toes are looking to emerge with a snazzy pedicure.

Bring spring.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

News & views

Tonight the news is all about issues of vindication, redemption, forgiveness, boundaries, principles.

Makes me go deep into my own soul.

It's quite extraordinary, really.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Heart matters

As a former sports writer who covered Rutgers women's basketball for the better part of a decade, my heart goes out to coach Vivian Stringer. Her team's astounding accomplishment has been overshadowed by senseless remarks uttered by a pair of miserable human beings.

As a life coach, though, the question that has been plaguing me is not whether a man should be fired or whether there is a double standard or even why finger pointing has reached kindergarten levels here. As a life coach, I am disturbed by what is in people's hearts. Free speech allows us to say nasty, hurtful things about a bunch of smart, athletic young women.

The question is, why would we want to?

Monday, April 09, 2007

Ahhhhhhhhh ...

The Empire State Building is lit in yellow-white-yellow tonight. The website says it's for spring/Easter.

While we're not exactly enjoying springlike temperatures, it's soothing to see those colors in the sky. Reminds me of a daisy.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Kid at heart

Came home from Mom's with a tote bag full of food. Ham, yams, stew, chicken soup, little meatloaves. My freezer is so happy right now it can hardly contain itself.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Not so taxing

Good news from my accountant today. Nothing like a tax refund to put a little spring in my step.

I am filled with gratitude and abundance.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Hoopla

Tough to watch Rutgers hand Tennessee a victory in the national title game. Not enough pressure. Not enough rebounds. Not enough swagger. Not enough belief.

Not enough.

Hats off to the legendary Pat Summitt for consistently coaching teams that are more than enough. And, hey, Candace Parker is just plain fun to watch.

That's all.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Smile

I followed my gut today with good result.

I love when that happens.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Chocolate holiday

I can't help but be saddened by the outcry over an artist's rendition of Jesus sculpted in chocolate. The exhibit was shut down before it even opened in a midtown Manhattan hotel.

Why is having artistic expression suppressed a triumph? It was not being funded by tax dollars. No one was forced to go look at it. This thin-skinned response is supposed to be about faith?

This sculpture is a statement about the commercialization of a religious holiday. Is it not clever to create something that intersects the two most prevalent images at Easter? Never fear. In case anyone has missed it, there are lots of pieces in, say, the Louvre or the Metropolitan Museum of Art that depict any number of reverential, suffering poses of Jesus.

This is the greatest country in the world, but we need to thicken our skin and buck up. If your employer rips your religion or your race or your gender, that's a problem. If someone creates a piece of art that offends you, it's called freedom. Don't look at it. Don't patronize the hotel that was going to display it. Pray that it melts.

True faith is not rattled by a piece of art.