inspiration, connections and news you can use from Jo Parfitt, author, speaker, publisher and mentor

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Jo Parfitt's May Inspirer - The Apple Question Sent Wednesday, May 2, 2012 The May Inspirer The Apple Question Dear I don't know about you, but I do love an epiphany. Those moments when everything comes together and suddenly you have clarity about something. Look it up in the dictionary and 'epiphany' describes an appearance or manifestation, in the most well known case, of the three wise men. Many also consider this word to convey a sudden intuitive perception or insight often precipitated by a random event. I […]

Jo Parfitt's April Inspirer - Where do you belong? Sent Thursday, April 5, 2012 The April Inspirer Where do you belong? Dear I have just attended the Families in Global Transition conference in Washington DC. I love conferences. Not just any conference, mind. I love those that make me feel completely at home, even when I do not know anyone else who attends. FIGT is a place where complete strangers meet 'best friends'. It was my ninth FIGT, but since I first attended Women on the Move in Paris in 1998, I calculate that I […]

Jo Parfitt's March Inspirer - Asking Experts For Feedback Sent Thursday, March 1, 2012 The March Inspirer Asking Experts for Feedback Dear Asking experts for feedback Have you seen Midnight in Paris? The latest film from Woody Allen? Now, I don't want to give the game away too much, but as a writer, I was captivated by the story. The protagonist, Gil Pender, is in Paris with his fiancée and her family. He is entranced by the city, finding it particularly beautiful in the rain. He is mesmerised by the history of the place and […]

Jo Parfitt's February Inspirer - Writing From the Heart Sent Wednesday, February 1, 2012 The February Inspirer Writing from the Heart Dear It's February. That means Valentine's Day. I don't think I have ever written about love in my inspirer before so I decided to rise to the challenge and give the topic a go today. Rumi wrote: Let the beauty you love be what you do. Which makes me think of those friends of mine (you know who you are, and your names begin with J) who are suffering from writer's block. You know, when I have found […]

Jo Parfitt's New Year Inspirer - The Pathless Wood Sent Monday, January 2, 2012 The New Year Inspirer The Pathless Wood Dear As a new year begins and many of us plan of our new year's resolutions, most of us will focus on dreams or goals and how we may achieve them. This year, however, I have a strong feeling that this is not right for me this time. Last night, on New Year's Day, we decided to watch a film. Josh, 19, chose Into the Wild, a true story about the spiritual journey of a college graduate, with the […]

Jo Parfitt's December Inspirer - Coming Clean Sent Thursday, December 1, 2011 The December Inspirer Coming Clean Dear In October, as you know, I went to the WIN conference in Rome. I love this event so much that I have attended nine times in the fourteen years it has been going. I wrote about this year's experience for Andrea over at ExpatWomen, and it was published yesterday. To find out what WIN meant to us all this year, please take a look at my article. And if you want to see more evidence of what goes on then you […]

Jo Parfitt's November Inspirer - The Key to Collaboration Sent Tuesday, November 1, 2011 The November Inspirer The Key to Collaboration Dear It's been a busy time since my last newsletter. A time in which the name Steve Jobs has been on the lips of many. I heard of his death while at the WIN conference in Rome and since then have found myself mentioning many times, as I am sure you have too. For me, I will be eternally grateful for his beautiful, easy-to-use computers. I have lost count of how many I have owned over the years, but do […]

Jo Parfitt's October Inspirer - The Writer's Whip Sent Monday, October 3, 2011 The October Inspirer The Writer's Whip Dear The name Parfitt means perfect. It is at this point that I confess that I was not born Parfitt, but acquired the name when I married Ian. Those of you who read my Inspirer in April, will remember how I told you that I discovered how it was my ability to not be perfect all the time that had made me resilient. And so the breakfast dishes linger by the sink til supper time, I […]

Jo Parfitt's September Inspirer - Shameless Self-promotion Sent Thursday, September 1, 2011 The September Inspirer Shameless self-promotion Dear I bet some of you are shuddering at the very title of this piece. Not terribly British, is it, to boast? The Australians call it Tall Poppy Syndrome, the Dutch advise that we don't stick our heads above the parapet. The Norwegians call it janteloven (Jante'sLaw), which, in a nutshell, means don't think you're special or that you are better than us. (Source Wikipedia) But the trouble is that I […]

Jo Parfitt's August Inspirer - Give Yourself a Break Sent Monday, August 1, 2011 The August Inspirer Give Yourself a Break Dear Last month I had a vivid dream. I dreamed I had travelled abroad (again) to run a workshop (again) that had been arranged for me by someone I hardly knew (again). As usual, I had asked the kind organizer to source me enough students to recover my expenses plus my usual fee. Duly, students arrived in the training room. Doing a quick calculation I realized there were not […]