5 Lessons Learned from Martha Stewart on Perseverance

Five Lessons I have learned from Martha Stewart on Perseverance:

1. Keep your head high. It's not what your lessons are but how you handle them. Most of us will never be sent to prison, but if I had to face the indignity of it, I would be hard-pressed to stay poised. Not to mention if I had a business that I had nurtured from the ground up that bore my name, if I had a daughter (which I do), if I had animals that relied on me (which I also do), I would have a hard time letting all of that go. That is precisely what Martha Stewart had to face, and she came out of it with flying colors.
2. Be a good example. I look up to Martha Stewart. She does what she loves. Doing what you love with your life, like writing, is the best way to set a good example. There will always be those younger than you watching how you live your life, so keep that in mind. You will find that people look up to you no matter who you are or what you do, especially when you aren't looking.
3. Keep it simple. Doing things yourself is always better than paying someone else to do it for you. Think homemade brownies, chocolate chip cookies, but also think about your writing. For example, why pay someone lots of money to create a book cover for you when doing it yourself is so fulfilling? But have high expectations for yourself. If you set expectations you will meet them. I write everyday, in any form I choose, even if it's just in my dream journal.
4. Never give up. Even in the face of adversity, Martha Stewart persevered. And her brand is stronger than ever. No matter how much you want to stop writing, don't. All writers want to quit at some point, but all of the successful ones don't.
5. Give back. Martha Stewart's publicly traded company grossed millions of dollars this past year, and she gives lots of that income away. For example, she started The Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai Hospital for geriatric patients. Their website says, "The Martha Stewart Center for Living (MSCL) serves to promote and facilitate access to health care resources for older adults and to enhance the public perception of aging." Think about what cause you would give your money to if money were no object. Then give away ten percent. No matter how much you make off your book sales, ten percent is something. Doing so will also attract more money into your life.