Today we have another guest post, on an area that’s come up a lot on the blog in recent times, the issue of gender, and particularly our perceptions of women. It’s by Jo Royal, an Assistant Pastor and blogger from Basingstoke. She has a lot to say on the issue, let us know what you think…

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She’s a very strong woman!’

Last week, this statement cropped up in three separate conversations regarding different women.  Strong women.  And each time, I cringed.

I used to be a ‘strong’ woman.

I lifted weights at the gym regularly, practiced Judo weekly, and had a pretty good success rate with arm wrestling.

There’s nothing wrong with being a strong woman.

But, this wasn’t what they meant, was it?

No, the focus of their strength had nothing to do with their muscles, but their character.

What is a strong character? (more…)

Regular readers will have seen part 1 of my interview with writer and blogger Jeff Goins earlier in the week, where we discussed his journey so far, his new book and the difference between writing a book and writing a blog. Today we move on to discuss the creative process overall and how Jeff experiences that. So here goes.

James Prescott:Jeff, what have been your biggest struggles overall when it comes to creativity – not just on your book, but overall, and how have you dealt with them?

Jeff Goins: Yeah, I definitely appreciate what that struggle is. The biggest struggle I feel and experience as a creative person is finding my harmony in the tension of what Seth Godin calls ‘shipping’, getting your art out there to the world, and getting it to good enough.

I tend to have these two opposing extremes when it comes to my emotions. One side is perfectionism, like nothing feels good enough, and that’s what keeps me working on something for months and months and years and never sharing it with a soul, because I’m afraid – of failure and what people would think, and there is something holding me back from sharing this with the world.   (more…)

Recently I had the privilege of interviewing author and blogger Jeff Goins. In the space of the last 12 months, Jeff has grown his blog ‘Goins: Writer’ from almost nothing to getting thousands of readers daily. He guest posts for various blogs and periodicals, and recently signed his first book contract. His first book, ‘Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams into your Beautiful Life’ (Moody Publishers), will be published later this year.

As someone who is passionate about writing and creativity, I felt he had a lot to offer both myself and you, my readers, on these subjects, so asked him if he’d like to be interviewed, and he graciously accepted.

In this blog post and the next, I’ll be sharing our discussions here. I hope they bless you as much as they have me.

James Prescott: Hey Jeff, its good to see you. Thanks for accepting my invitation

Jeff Goins: Hey James, no problem, my pleasure.

JP: For those who might not have encountered you before, tell us a bit about who you are, what drives you, what you’re passionate about, what you do. (more…)