Monica Saigal Bhide's Blog, page 9

Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

BEHAVE

My young son, then four, was being very naughty. His books were strewn all over the floor, his crayons all over the counter, and he was whining about not having anything to do. I listened to him for a while and then in my sternest voice, I said to him, “You really need to behave.” He blinked his big eyes at me and then proceeded to whine some more about being bored and wanting to go out in the pouring rain. Again, I admonished him to “behave or you will be going into a big time out.”

This continued, on and off, for about three days. At my wits end, I resorted to the deepest threat I could think of: “You really have to behave or you will be in BIG trouble.” He looked at me with his innocent eyes and said, “But Mama, what does ‘behave’ mean?”

 

That little encounter has made me realize that people may not always understand what it is that I am asking or requesting of them. I have to be clear and explain what things mean. I can’t assume that “behave” means the same thing to you as it does to me. It doesn’t only apply to a little child. If someone is not responding in a desired way, perhaps they just do not understand what is expected of them.

 

Think about it.

The post Behavior appeared first on Monica Bhide | Recipes, Stories, Inspiration.

Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

ENRICH YOUR LIFE

 

If you have ever heard me speak at an event or have taken any of my classes, you will know that I am very partial to Pink Floyd, in particular these lyrics: “All you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.” I love them so much that I have a T-shirt with these lines.

I don’t think anything can be truer than these lyrics when it comes to enriching our lives. The more we learn, the more we see, the more we understand the world around us. In fact, I remember years ago, my grandmother used to say that if you are bored with life, change the sky that you see. Well, she meant to travel around and learn. There is so much we don’t know, so much we assume, so much to learn. Travel doesn’t have to take us to exotic lands (although, I have to admit, that is fun) but can just be to a new little city around the corner, to the mountains, to the lakes nearby—anything that helps shift perspective.

I like to read a lot but I used to find myself reading the same types of books—spy thrillers or medical thrillers. I loved them and especially loved reading a lot of trashy novels. So I made a deal with myself—for every book that I read that was trashy, I would read one that I would never have picked. I asked people for recommendations and read books I would not normally touch—books on malaria, a book on the origin of color, a book on understanding the science behind intentions. I find myself more and more curious about life after reading these and, can I tell you, it keeps me humble and makes me realize how little I know.

 

What new thing is on your list to do—all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be …

The post Enrich your life appeared first on Monica Bhide | Recipes, Stories, Inspiration.

Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

 

EXPLORE

I debated titling this week’s post: The Butt Out Post. Well, clearly, better sense prevailed! But it is what I want to talk about this morning: getting our butts out of our chairs. This is really a big and, sadly, underperformed function that every creative person needs to focus on when pursing a dream project. Especially when the project hits a snag or there is a dull moment and you feel compelled to clean the bathrooms for the sixth time that day instead of dealing with the issues on your project.

 

When I coach writers who are unable to write, I always tell them to leave their writing space—at least for a while. Go out and explore. Pick up your favorite chocolate bar and head to the newest museum/bookstore/clothing store in your area (or even better, outside your area) and just spend some time looking around. It is a great way to nurture the writer side of you that is looking for new experiences to write about. Maybe while wandering the children’s museum you notice the brand-new system installed in the bathroom to dry your hands, or the poor way a cross mother handles her son, or the fact that the entire menu being served at the museum cafeteria is now organic—I am making some of this up, but these are things you would have never known if you had not gone out. One point here: this is something to do on your own, not with a kid or friend in tow. You want to give your mind the ability to think and look for new things, not gossip about Clooney’s new movie or worry about your baby’s diaper.

 

This exploring does something important. It frees your mind to focus on your problem without “worrying about it.” Sounds crazy, I know, but this is the equivalent of I was in the shower, and suddenly the answer hit me!

 

Going out and exploring, finding new sources of inspiration, finding how big the world really is and how much we still have to learn is, in my opinion, a powerful antidote to repeated bathroom cleaning to avoid working on your dream project.

 

 

The post Explore! appeared first on Monica Bhide | Recipes, Stories, Inspiration.

Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

LEARN

 

Earlier this year I took a class on how to be a psychic. I am working on a fictional story where the lead character is a medium and I wanted to learn the lingo. Next week, I am taking a class on travel writing. Ah, you think I am showing off how much I am willing to learn? On the contrary, I am telling you how little I know!

 

When I first embarked on my new dream career, I knew there was a lot I needed to learn, as I did not even know the basics. Once I learned the basics, I thought, I would be on my way. But I would not dream of a taking writing class or learning anything new. (I had several degrees under my belt and my thought was that I was done with learning.)

 

I don’t think I could have been more wrong if I’d tried. As I began to tackle the more difficult aspects of writing, I began to realize how little I knew about writing—or about much else. I recall in my earlier days working on a piece about mushrooms and being ashamed of how little I knew about them. Then I worked on story about sake and realized that I knew even less about sake than I did about mushrooms.

 

I now routinely take classes, read more books than I ever have before, ask a lot of questions, and no longer attempt to hide my ignorance. It helps me be creative and keep the passion for learning alive.

 

If we stop learning, how will we grow?

 

The post Learn!! appeared first on Monica Bhide | Recipes, Stories, Inspiration.

Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

 

BE PERSISTENT

 

A key factor in any endeavor is to pursue it like there is no tomorrow. Sounds simplistic? Common sense? Well—it is. It is as simple as that. I have often said, and met, many people in this world with a lot of talent who can really talk a good talk. But I don’t see their bylines, their terrific companies, their great products, or read the great American novel that they want to publish. Why? Either they have no time, can’t create time, or have some other excuse. I know all their excuses and reasons because I have personally used almost every single excuse in the book about why I was not following my dream. I paid lip service to my dream saying that I would do it all someday.

If I was going to make my dream come true, I had to do, not say.

I began to print sayings on action and hung them on my wall. Post-it notes with “Do, do do” began to cover parts of my worktable.

It is easy to be persistent when all is going well. When the sun is shining outside your window and when your boss says he loves your work, or a friend calls to announce a new baby/promotion/etc. The key really is to be persistence when life seems to be going in the wrong direction and there seems to be nothing you can do.

I was on a plane recently and happened to glance at the SkyMall magazine. I saw the Destiny Tiles they are selling: “Watch your thoughts they become words; Watch your words they become actions; Watch your actions they become habits; Watch your habits they become character; watch your character it becomes your destiny.”

 

It made me realize that persistence needs to be a character trait. But let me define persistence: it is not about following up on things, it is about following through. Persistence is about owning your intentions and not letting any outside force or the stronger inside force move you away from what you need to accomplish.

 

Keep going. It is the only way forward.

 

The post Be Persistent appeared first on Monica Bhide | Recipes, Stories, Inspiration.

Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

SET HIGH STANDARDS

Several years ago, I had visited my older son’s first grade class. There was a handwritten sign on one of the walls. A young child had written it, and it has stayed with me since that day. The sign read: “You are always telling me to do my best. I am trying. But what if my best is not good enough?”

 

I ponder this all the time. What if this piece I am writing is not good enough? What if my next book is not good enough? What if I do my best and it is not good enough?

 

The real question to me is: who is judging?

 

I am my own worst critic so my opinion, in one sense, is immaterial. I have created a trusted group of advisors and I occasionally run things by them to see if the project in question is “good enough.” Their feedback, which I trust, has helped me move forward on many occasions. Please remember that this is not random reader feedback, this is the feedback of people who understand and have experience in my industry.

 

And what if they say it is not good enough? Now, that gives me choices (after I weep a few tears)—I can learn how to fix it, I can decide to do nothing, I can move forward as is. The point is that now I am making an educated decision as to what is “good enough.”

 

What do you say?

The post Set high standards! appeared first on Monica Bhide | Recipes, Stories, Inspiration.

Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

 

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PASSIONATE PEOPLE

I surround myself with friends who wear their passions, their dramas on their sleeves and regale me with stories of the exotic, the experiential, the practical, and the mystical. They are always “on fire.”

Let me introduce you to my friend Jim. He used to hold a high-profile position in the Defense Department and now works for a private firm offering creative business solutions to clients. He is one of those people who frequently tell “I caught a fish this big” stories, with one big difference: his stories are all true. Whether he’s been in Baghdad or Philadelphia, when he talks, his stories command attention. His larger-than-life stories are told with the eagerness of a curious child. More than anything else, though, what attracts me to his stories is the passion with which he tells them. Here is a man who has the right to be jaded, and maybe should be, based on all the horrific scenes he has witnessed in war-torn zones around the world. Yet he isn’t. His curiosity about life is contagious.

“I want to travel to Australia and spend time with this tribe on this remote island,” he tells me. Why? It has nothing to do with what he does at work. “The world is so big, there is so much to learn. I want to be out there learning. How do they do what they do? Can it help us? How does biology help us? How does physics? I want to be out there and learn. You never know what a tribe is doing well that could help us deal with the problem of eradicating a disease or hunger or … I want to learn.” And that he does, occasionally running away to Japan, or to Arizona to study the border patrol solution and learn how to apply those principles in other areas. One evening with Jim and you want to fly to the Himalayas and see what it takes to climb them, or to Vegas and see how the Bellagio really runs—he just has a lust for life and its adventures.

If I need the history of anything, I listen to my friend Rami. Janet has taught me how to enjoy nature by learning about the leaves, flowers, and little creatures that inhabit our neighborhood. My friend Nazu, a writer, spends her free time as a clown doctor; her stories always teach me humility. All of these friends have full-time jobs, but that is not what defines them; what sets them apart is their passion—this is what makes them different. Their varied ethnicities and backgrounds lend completely different flavors and seasonings to their tales. Their ardent fervor for life lifts my spirits and refills my creative reservoir with wonderment. They are not all Pollyannas but they do all have positive energy that I find uplifting.

 

It’s true that while just one conversation with any of these people results in the birth of innumerable ideas. More importantly, it reignites my own passion for my work.

 

Who are some of the passionate people in your life?

The post Passionate People! appeared first on Monica Bhide | Recipes, Stories, Inspiration.

Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

 

HAVE FAITH

A few years ago, a dear friend told me to buy a book called A Fortune-Teller Told Me. It is a book about a jet-setting reporter, Tiziano Terzani, who was advised by an Asian fortune-teller not to fly for a year or he would surely die. The reporter was told that he had to do all his traveling by car or train or boat. Instead of ignoring the fortune-teller, the author embraced the prediction. He did not fly and chose to do his work by crisscrossing Asia without ever setting foot off solid ground. Then, of course, predictably, he wrote a book about his adventures.

 

I enjoyed the book. It is very interesting read.

 

But something about the fortune-teller stayed with me.

 

I kept thinking about all the “fortune-tellers” in my own life. I have had people tell me all kinds of things ranging from “you are going to be a complete disaster as a writer” to “you are going to win amazing awards for your writing.” The people who make these “predictions” are not psychic or gifted astrologers, but rather they are people who genuinely care about me and my well-being.

 

Whether I like it or not, they are my personal fortune-tellers.

 

So the question arises, whom should I listen to? The gloom-and-doom teller or the all-things-are-glorious teller?

 

I happen to think both are wrong, but in my heart of hearts I worry … what if they are not? Should I go back to my day job? Should I start clearing shelves to hold all the awards I am going to win?

 

It is very hard to not let other people define who we are and who we want to be. The author of the book I mentioned above was one of the lucky few. The prediction he received helped him. Most don’t. They are exactly opposite: they are truly detrimental to success. At least that is what I feel. Let’s say I take the gloomy prediction about my career seriously. Then I have done myself a disservice by not even trying. And if I take the glorious prediction, then I am setting myself up for having my hopes and expectations crushed if the fortune-teller is wrong.

 

The only one who can predict the future is: NO ONE.

 

Many smart and savvy people can predict what could possibly happen, but with a 100% certainty? No way.

 

We have to live with these fortune-tellers, but not with their prophecies. We have to learn to live in the realm of possibility, of hope, of faith. We have to create our own fortunes.

 

I was thinking about this as I was driving this morning. I stopped at a light and read the sticker on the car in front of me: “True faith will always be rewarded.” Now, that is the fortune you can take to the bank.

The post Have faith! appeared first on Monica Bhide | Recipes, Stories, Inspiration.

I am so delighted to giveaway a box of books for this final giveaway before summer!  Included are –

1. I really enjoy reading Robyn Webb’s work: She is smart and funny and I ALWAYS learn something. Who knew that avocado should be paired with grassy wines? Or how to make the perfect asparagus or how to match the perfect spice with carrots? Robyn knows it all, knows it well and shares it with great generosity.

A nutritionist by background, she is also the author of several successful cookbooks, the latest being “The Diabetes Comfort Food Cookbook: Foods to fill you up not out” (American Diabetic Association, 2011). When I received a copy of the book, I was surprised to see how luscious the cover looked! I honestly did not expect a book, with a focus on diabetes, to have such luscious looking recipes.

I highly recommend this book:

It has recipes that you can actually make and that are good for you. We have cooked Spanish dates with bacon(!!), the Jamaican chicken thighs and the baked potato soup and loved them all.
Robyn’s approach is smart and practical.

 

 

2. My lovely friend, Mollie Cox Bryan’s pie book- Mrs. Rowe’s Little Book of Southern Pies . Mollie is a dear friend and a food and fiction writer. Her books have won so many awards! This was the first book I ever purchased on pies. Never in a million years did I think I could bake a pie.. and guess what? I did and it tasted damn good!! 

About Mollie -  “Mollie Cox Bryan is a food writer and cookbook author with a penchant for murder.  Her stories have many forms: cookbooks, articles, essays, poetry and fiction.  Mollie grew up near Pittsburgh, Pa., and attended Point Park University, where she received a B.A. in Journalism and Communications. Her first real job out of college was as a paste-up artist at a small newspaper, where she was allowed to write “on her own time” and she did. She was recently honored with an Agatha Award nomination for her first novel, SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS.” Reprinted from her website

 

 

3. The third book is my beautiful friend, Kendra Bailey Morriss’s The Southern Slow Cooker - it is filled with delightful and flavor-filled recipes. I loved this blurb from Martha Foose about this book - “Kendra’s Buttermilk, Corn, and Chive Spoonbread is just one of the really good reasons to grab this book. These recipes are packed with real Southern flavor, and still take into account the realities of home cooks’ busy schedules. With plenty of cooking tips and drink pairings to boot, The Southern Slow Cooker will inform slow cooker newbies and inspire old pros who are looking for some new tricks.”

—Martha Foose, author of Screen Doors and Sweet Tea and A Southerly Course

About Kendra – “Is a cookbook author, personal chef, culinary instructor, cooking show host, speaker and culinary consultant.  Her specialties include public speaking (food, cooking, wine/spirits, cookbooks and food writing), corporate recipe development, on-air cooking demonstrations, corporate and private cooking classes, and cooking demonstrations for trade shows, conferences and public events.

Her writing and recipes have been featured in Parade Magazine, USA Weekend,Parents magazine, Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks, NPR, CNN’s Eatocracy, Garden and Gun magazine, Saveur.com, Taste of the South magazine, The Learning Channel, Chili Pepper magazine, Food Republic, The Washington Post, Associated Press, AOL, Orbitz, WE Network, Virginia Living magazine,Richmond Magazine, Style Weekly, and the Richmond Times Dispatch (where I was a food and recipe columnist for four years).” From her website.

4. And finally – I will include a copy of my new book, A Life of Spice!

 

 

In order to enter, here is what you need to do – (no purchase necessary) –

1. Help us spread the word about this giveaway – any way you choose – tell friends!

2. Leave a comment here and tell us why YOU should win!

 I will pick a winner on June 11th, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. 

Rules -

1. US residents only. NO P.O.Box please

2. One winner will be selected at random. If you win and do not respond (within a week of) when I contact you, I will choose a different winner.

3. I will ship you both books by media mail.

4. No purchase needed to enter.

 

PLEASE NOTE – I have purchased these books myself. No publisher or publicist or author has paid for these copies.

 

The post Giveaway: Box of Culinary Books! appeared first on Monica Bhide | Recipes, Stories, Inspiration.

Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

 

INSPIRE

 

As many parents will attest, we do a lot of waiting. I wait at the soccer practices, I wait at the car pool line, I wait at the play dates. My waiting time is supposed to be my learning time—I read, catch up on my podcasts but mostly I spend it staring into space.

On one such waiting occasion, I was standing in a harshly lit corridor at a local community center waiting for my son to come out of his class. It felt like I was in, quite possibly, one of the most boring spots on earth. I had forgotten to bring a book and the place did not get any Internet coverage, so I was just standing there, wondering what to do.

Then I heard it: loud blaring music coming from the end of the corridor. I turned to see a young man place a stereo on the ground, and then he began to dance. From the grace of his movements, I could tell he was trained. His movements were fluid, his body seemed to glide through the air, his hands moved around with trained accuracy and with the gentleness of a bud opening to the world. As mesmerized as I was with his dancing, what caught my eye was his face. He seemed to be one with his dance, with his music. He smiled as he danced, his expressions changed as the beats changed.

He was so absorbed in his dance and in the music, he did not even see my son and his friends who had gathered around me to watch him. He just danced, almost in a trance. He glowed. The kids went up to him after he finished dancing and applauded loudly. He was the local dance instructor and now had so many new kids who wanted to sign up for his class after seeing him dance.

 

As we drove home, I kept thinking, how lucky the dancer was to reach that state—“dance like no one is watching” and how it resulted in more students for him.

 

Passion inspires.

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