A LIFE ISN’T WORTH LIVING IF NOT IN SERVICE TO OTHERS
I’d like to begin by thanking two of my fellow RWISA Authors who were also on this tour, Joy Nwosu Lo-Bamijoko and Linnea Tanner, who both had the courage to write about, or reference the ills of our world, that many would like to keep deeply hidden. I speak of hatred and systemic racism. Again, thank you both for your courage to write with such substance and I hope that it is still resonating with all who read both of your pieces. I am honored that your words are a continual ring in my ears.
The theme of this year’s REVOLUTION tour is A NEW YEAR – A FRESH START, and with that theme in mind, I’d like to share my thoughts on what a fresh start in this new year looks like for, and, to me.
My quote above, “A life isn’t worth living if not in service to others,” is what gives my life meaning and purpose. RRBC and RWISA came to be because I didn’t see enough service being spread around the web when I came aboard. I noticed a ton of selfish behavior, “me, me, and more me” attitudes, and a strong indifference to lending a hand to help the next person climbing after you, also reach the top. I felt myself drowning in an ocean of “gimme,” and surrounded by a nation of takers. In my mind, I had to do something.
With the inception of RRBC, the rules of the land were (and still are) that members support members. Some came aboard and quickly embraced the concept, either because it was inherently part of their makeup, or because they realized it was the fastest route to gaining support for their own agendas.
And then, there were the others – the takers and the ones from the land of “gimme.” They came aboard in droves – taking all that they could, and once they realized we were on to them, they quickly abandoned their squatter positions. By the way, we do so appreciate their exits as they made room for the uber-supportive members I’ll reference below.
The members on our roster who are constantly being profiled, promoted, pushed, and honored, are the members who show, by their actions, that they are living in service to others. They don’t make excuses, they make a way. They don’t see a tweet and merely re-tweet it, they click the link first to see how they can support their fellow members even more and even better. They don’t re-tweet only tweets with their Twitter handle included. They don’t show up only when they are the ones being profiled, interviewed or whose book is being discussed. And their social media feeds? Well, they are clogged with promotion of others!
Their support doesn’t stop there. These members consistently show up to support in a myriad of ways, including the following…
- following along member blog tours, leaving comments and sharing the posts on social media
- hosting fellow members on their blog tours, such as our “SPOTLIGHT” Authors
- sitting in the audience of member interviews on our RAVE WAVES shows,
- showing up to our book club discussions to support BOOK OF THE MONTH Authors
- purchasing, reading and reviewing fellow member books from the RRBC & RWISA catalogs
- sharing members’ RRBC AUTHOR PAGES and RWISA PROFILE PAGES to social media
- sharing members’ books directly from Amazon, along with the purchase links and book covers
- visiting members’ book trailers on YouTube, leaving comments and sharing to social media
- following members’ blogs and websites and ensuring that they are active in these blogging communities
- and even showing up to participate in club activities, to ensure that our organizations remain fluid and not stagnant and boring.
These are but a few ways that the supportive and active members of RRBC/RWISA ensure that they are exhibiting a life of service to others, especially on social media. We are not an organization interested in supporting those who don’t support others. If you show me that I’m not that important to you, then why would I go out of my way to place you on my special pedestal of support? If you’re not purchasing, reading and reviewing member books here, then guess what, you will never find yourself in the BOOK OF THE MONTH hot seat. Why would we tell others to run out and support you, when you don’t bother to show up to support them? And by the way, showing up is more than just sending out tweets and re-tweets. It takes so much more than that to create success.
2020 was a hard year for all of us, but 2021 rolled right in, giving us a clean slate to write new, more positive chapters in our life stories. Lucky for us all, this new year opened the door wide for us to make positive changes.
So, today, I ask you, what kind of life are you living? When we drop by to support you and we peruse your Twitter feed, will we see that you are in love with you, OR, will we smile when we see how hard you’re pushing someone else? When we look out into the gallery of our RAVE WAVES shows and our monthly book club discussions, will we see your pretty smiley face, OR, will we see only the beautiful faces of those who typically show up with their amazing support? Will you be counted among the many (who do nothing to support others) OR, will you be proudly counted among the few (who do more than their share to push others to the top?) Where will you stand when the roll is counted? With the givers or the takers?
Yes, it’s a new year, and also the most perfect opportunity for a fresh start! If you have been straddling the fence, finding it hard to get down, take that leap of faith and jump right in … somewhere … anywhere you can make a positive difference in the life of someone else. When you support others, you are supported ten-fold within RRBC/RWISA.
Did you make a New Year’s Resolution on December 31, 2020? I didn’t. I made an Intention, and that is, I intend to continue sharing and educating as many as I can on the importance of living a life of service. Less selfishness and more selflessness will continue to be my mission’s slogan.
I’ll ask once more, which road will you take?
Did you enjoy Nonnie’s writing? Then please, help us support her and her work along this REVOLUTION tour! We ask that you click on the author’s RWISA Profile below and visit all of her profile pages – some offering more insight into the member and others showcasing the author’s talent.
Lastly, we ask that you support this member as well as the host of this blog, by sharing this page and the author’s profile pages across all your social media platforms.
What Nonnie has to say about RWISA…
Have you written that book or short story you want the whole world to know about? Are you looking for a great way to promote your creative endeavors? Perhaps you’re seeking to add some prestige to your body of work! If this sounds like you, we invite you to come on over to RAVE WRITERS – INT’L SOCIETY OF AUTHORS, otherwise known as RWISA.
At RWISA, we invite and accept into membership only the very best writers the Indie community has to offer.
If your work is exemplary and speaks for itself, stop by the RWISA website today at RaveWriters.wordpress.com and find out how you can submit your sample of writing for consideration.
We’re an exclusive bunch but we’d love to have you join us!
NOTE: If you’re looking to improve your writing while taking another route to membership into RWISA, while you’re at the site, visit RWISA UNIVERSITY!
Thanks for dropping by and don’t forget to leave the author a comment below! To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the tour’s home page!