February

It's been a long time since I wrote a poem. This one's inspired by a challenge a dear friend's husband set her because she was feeling blue in the dragging on winter, and when she told me, lines just swam in my head as if it needed to come out. Though I live in Australian summer right now, my house is always freezing in winter (old Australian builds), so I empathise with those of you living in winter time!

February: the days are short but the winter drags on,

Our minds wander, drifting, longing for the cold to be done,

And we shuffle like ghosts as time blends day with day,

Motivation fades, creativity too—gone, just drifted away.

It's times like this that I wish for long summer days,

Instead my city's so dull, muted, nothing but greys,

Then I see my love’s red cheeks, our children’s bright noses,

And we laugh at the colour - so red, like Ma's summer roses.

I try to stay present, embrace these walks through the park,

Rugged up in coats, gloves, long boots, against the chill of the dark,

With our bellies full of comforting hot winter food,

Blowing our breath like dragons to brighten our mood.

Some days we kick boots through leaves sodden with rain,

Yet others we crunch over them as they freeze over again,

Some days we hide under blankets, snug in warm, cosy hugs,

Hands wrapped around hot cacao in huge steaming mugs.

We pass time as best we can—music, art, trying new food,

Anything to keep at bay that long, dark winter's mood,

But need we spend winter hiding in small, heated rooms,

Or should we enjoy kicking through leaves, dancing to our own winter tunes?

Writing by Voice

Okay. Fitting in quality writing time is the challenge. Here's a solution.

Voice memos. Dictating into the program and (ideally) watching incredible word count fly. (SOME weird mistranslations, but that's okay. Easy to fix in editing rounds.)

But, anyone else like me and find it embarrassing or awkward to speak it aloud? And whenever I say it, my ideas don't flow so well as when typing?

Here's the truth

Voice memos are a different skill to typing, and it’s totally normal to feel awkward at first. But it’s a learnable skill, and if it helps increase your word count, it might be worth experimenting with!

Maybe start super casually, like:

Narrating ideas, not prose → Instead of trying to “write” out loud, just brain-dump ideas: “Okay, in this scene, the character is feeling X because of Y, and maybe she does Z…”

Speaking in fragments → You don’t need full sentences. Even half-formed thoughts can help you get unstuck later.

Doing it in private first → If embarrassment is a barrier, try it when no one’s around just to get used to your voice.

No pressure to make it perfect—it’s just another tool to test out. You might end up hating it, or it might surprise you.

I'm going to try it out. Try to overcome the awkwardness and see if I can make my ideas flow smoother spoken too. (Might help with my awkwardness talking in reels or things too!)

Would love to hear if anyone else tries it out too and how they go.

#AmWriting #VoiceMemos #AuthorLife

No Limits: A New Life Principle for Growth and Inspiration

There are no limits on me.

This is one of my new principles for life.

You know, the phrases and mantras you set to help you make decisions and navigate your way of living. The ones that keep you going when things feel tough. When you don’t know what you do.

And I came across this at a swimming lesson.

I was sick as a child, and that made me allergic to the water in British swimming pools. They overloaded the chlorine so much that even walking past a swimming pool building made me feel nauseated. And when the door opened for someone to go in—BAM! It felt like being hit with a wall of chlorine.

So I never learnt to swim.

Now I’m 30, I’m getting lessons (and very happy to say the Australian pools use less chlorine, and my skin is better so it doesn’t react so much).

Why does this relate to my new principle for life?

Well, in the few minutes at the end of the lesson, I had a quick chat with the other lady having lessons that day. She seemed to be doing so well to me, and I asked about the sports watch she was wearing. Turns out, though she was fairly new to swimming, she’d decided she was going to go all out and train to complete a triathlon.

I was amazed!

‘So you can already run and cycle?’

‘Not yet. But I’m also trying that.’

This year she had just decided she was going to start her fitness journey, learn to swim, and why not while she was at it give herself a big goal to motivate her?

A triathlon.

‘I just realised there are no limits on me, so why not do it? I can do whatever I want to try, really. If I’m going to learn how to swim, why not try for a triathlon?’

🤯

Why indeed.

A momentary meeting with a soulmate.

(The real kind, not the Hallmark movie romantic kind, but the people we meet every day—even just fleetingly—who provide sparks of ‘Oh, I was meant to meet you.’)

Because it’s true.

There are no limits on us. Save the ones we put on ourselves.

Sometimes we end up in environments that hold us down. Sometimes monetary situations, people, roles. But that’s not forever. It’s a period. And though no one ever knows how long that period might be, thinking about your limits and where you want to go can help you through whatever you’re struggling with.

So you can’t swim—YET. Who says you can’t learn and complete a triathlon? You may as well go all out if you’re learning. (If you want, you might not want to, and that’s okay.)

You might want to start writing. Why put a limit on it? One book? Rather, just say you want to write as much as you can. No limits. You might end up writing several.

Now, it’s that time of year we all reflect on how our year has been so far, or our whole life, and think about goals for next year. I started doing this a little, but found no specific goals came to mind.

Of course I want to keep drafting and publishing as many books as I can. Of course I want to continue in my goals towards financial freedom. Of course I want to keep growing towards a life of good health and vitality and fitness. Of course I want to continue growing as a good parent.

But nothing really sat with me as ‘I WANT TO DO X’.

And I realised it was because I was still reflecting on this limits thing.

There are no limits on me.

I can do whatever I want (really, within reason, of course).

I don’t know what this year will bring, but I know I’ll keep working towards all of my goals. But a lot can happen in a year, and for that reason, instead, I’ve decided to take things as they come, and look forward to exponential growth.

1 thing a day towards my goals is 365 things done in a year. That’s a lot.

Focusing on small daily habits helps you grow as a person incredibly. Exponentially. How can you plan for that? Except to take it day by day and enjoy it.

Perhaps now is the time we don’t think of goals, but instead think about the consistency we want to bring to 2025.

What are our life values?

Family? Fitness? Writing? Creativity? Learning? Language? Communication? The list goes on, but pick three.

Now look in your daily schedule and plan in even just 15 mins a day of each of those. Calendar it in. Make it a date for yourself. A must do. As much as possible.

From there, I like to track each day whether I do it. I love watching the little xs line up as I cross it off as complete each day.

Do I get around to doing it each and every day?

No. Life happens.

But I love watching it grow as much as it can. 4x a week. 5x a week. Sometimes 6x a week!

More than if I never put it in my calendar and hoped I remembered.

There are no limits on me. And that’s exciting. And it makes me want to do as much as I can towards my goals and dreams, because I’m so curious where it will end up.

Look again in 6 months.

1 year.

2 years.

Imagine where it can be in 5 years if you do a little bit every day.

The world will try to impose limits on you. But what if you chose to see those limits as temporary, and your potential as boundless?

Start small. Stay curious. And watch where you end up—because with no limits, the possibilities are endless. And the future is so exciting.

(And I WILL complete more book drafting this year! For those who are waiting for Dynasty Codes 3: Noble Blood and the next Haru & Yuka adventure, thank you so much for your patience! 🙏)

How about you? What are your values for 2025? What daily habits will help you bring them to life? Got any exciting creative projects in the works or that you’d like to begin?