Perfectionism Can Kill You

Publishers around the world receive thousands of unsolicited manuscripts a week and publish less than 2%. Dashing the hopes of thousands of would-be authors.
We’ve all heard the struggling beginnings of well-known writers. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling received 17 rejections and Stephen King’s best-selling novel, Carrie, was discarded by over 30 publishers. Writers are now taking advantage of the eBook evolution and are no longer at the mercy of publishers.
Fed up with agent and publisher rejections, new and established authors are creating eBooks and selling them on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Apple’s iBookstore and through hundreds of online eBook distributors. They keep most, if not all, of the profits and enjoy the Internet’s global reach and sales potential.
eBooks stands for electronic book, a downloadable file read or printed off compatible electronic devices such as computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and wireless reading devices such as the best selling Amazon Kindle and Apple iPad. What iPod and iTunes did for music and audio, the major online book distributors and their eBook technology will do for readers and writers.
According to the Association of American Publishers, publishing houses recognised the potential of eBooks in 2004 when the medium experienced explosive sales growth. In 2009 the International Digital Publishing Forum’s statistics for a nine month period puts eBook revenue at $109.9 million for traditional publishing houses. A phenomenal 2,646 per cent growth in just seven years.
This figure excludes the thousands of individuals self-publishing and marketing their eBooks and the data only represents trade eBook sales via wholesale channels so in reality retail numbers may be as much as double the above figures due to industry wholesale discounts.
Best selling eBook authors of How to Write and Publish Your Own eBook, Jim Edwards and Joe Vitale, say the three main reasons why people write eBooks are to: share their story with others, build an income or gain prestige amongst customers and peers.
Combined with a simple marketing formula, eBook publishing can be lucrative as evidenced by Vitale,I earned over $45,000 in three months from my marketing eBook. Renowned author Stephen King added to his fortune when he discovered the online world and shook the publishing industry. Within 24 hours of announcing his online short story, which sold for $2.50, more than 400,000 people bought it. It was reported that King made more than a million dollars within three days.
Bestsellers, such as King, help overcome the misconception that eBooks are written because the writer couldn’t get a real deal’ with a publisher. eBook authors range from Eclipse’s, Stephenie Meyer to Aunt Sarah sharing her quilting expertise.
Combined with simple marketing techniques, authors gain the satisfaction of sharing their story while visualising their ascent up the Amazon.com eBook bestseller list.
Madisen Harper is an international bestselling co-author, speaker and life enrichment mentor. Her 15 part course teaches people how to research, write, publish and promote your own eBook or electronic product. Visit http://www.createebooksnow.com/ to find out more and subscribe to get eBook free tips. Perfectionism Can Kill You20452Perfectionism Can Kill YouPerfectionism can kill you.
Bold statement. Sad but true. The frenetic obsession to have the perfect body is literally killing some people. A nose job or a face lift isn’t enough. Once that’s done, then the boobs, lips, hips along with every wrinkle must be enhanced, puffed, sucked out, lifted, stretched and shaped into the ideal body. Uh-oh, there’s another wrinkle and off to the scalpel you go!

There is a name for this emotional disorder – body dysmorphophobia (BDD).The affective person is excessively preoccupied and concerned about perceived defects in his or her body image. In the media as well as in dramatic story lines we see people and characters looking to improve life through a surgeon’s scalpel. There is the real or created desperate housewife looking for a cosmetic makeover. We cringe at the often bizarre facial transformations of celebrities on the red carpet as much as we ogle the dress. This year we have seen a lot of attention paid to cougar women doing whatever it takes to look younger in order to have a second chance at love with someone without an AARP card.

I’m not talking about a small nip here or a tuck there. Heck, I think about a stitch or two when I see my face sliding off my face every morning in the mirror. The thought passes as I get on with my day. It is the person who has more unnecessary cosmetic surgeries than he or she can count on one hand that this article addresses.

With the new phenomenon of medical vacations, or medical tourism, cosmetic surgery is no longer just an option for the desperate affluent. People of modest means can now fly to foreign countries to be surgically shaped into some unrealistic ideal self. There are travel packages that let you cash in frequent flyer miles for cosmetic surgery. Leave those bags under your eyes when you return!

Too often, those performing such delicate operations are not board certified by United States medical standards. Even under optimal conditions, there are risks involved. Sometimes multiple surgeries are required to fix former surgeries with “less than optimal” results.It doesn’t take an enlightened genius to know that the more surgeries performed on a person the greater the risk of something going terribly wrong.

People have died on the operating room table even with the best of care. We hear about celebrities such asArgentinian beauty queen Solange Magnano and Dr. Donda West, Kanye West’s mother, who died as a result of plastic surgery complications. There are countless others beyond the scope of the media spotlight who die in search of the perfect look.

The unfortunate freak-show results of those who jones for one cosmetic procedure after the other like a crack cocaine addict can be seen seemingly everywhere. Watch any talk show or wander down the streets of Rodeo Drive and you’ll see an endless parade of people who have had much more than a little work done. We’ve seen how too many surgeries become a distraction between a celebrity’s talent and his or her history of cosmetic enhancements. We are entertained by looking at their poofy lips rather than by being mesmerized by their performance.

Chronic low self-esteem is characteristic of those with BDD because the perception of one’s self-work is tightly linked with the view of one’s appearance.BDD is considered a major risk factor for suicide with the completed-suicide rate more than double than that of major depression. Phillips & Menard (2006) found completed-rate in patients with BDD to be 45 times higher than that of the general population of the United States.
In addition to low self-esteem other symptoms and behaviors associated with BDD include:

- Anxiety, possible panic attacks- Strong feelings of shame- Dependent personalities- Alcohol and drug abuse to self-medicate; numb emotional pain- Excessive dieting or exercising- Wanting to look like a specific celebrity- Needy, seeking constance reassurance and acceptance of others

While it is easy to point the fault finger at glamorized (and photoshopped) media pressure, BDD occurs in all parts of the world including areas where access to such media frenzy is nearly non-existent. While unlikely the cause of BDD, the public love affair with perceived body perfection can trigger such emotional dysfunction.

BDD is a chronic illness. It is likely to persist, or worsen, if left untreated. There isn’t a surgical procedure in the world that can heal the inner turmoil that creates the obsessive quest for cosmetic – plastic surgery. If you recognize yourself anywhere in this post seek help before you become a cartoon of your former self.

Know that you are made of excellence and potential. Embrace your inner magnificence. There is nothing more beautiful than a person fully expressing and enjoying his or her authenticity.

Valery is an Author, Speaker & bespoke Moxie Master who will teach you how to have the AUTHENTIC confident courage to go after what you REALLY want with unrelenting drive and passion. That’s Moxie! Claim your truth, own your power & command your stage with her unique fast Moxie Up! process available for discerning individuals who demand personal attention. Moxie Up! today with a private confidential complimentary call. http://www.MoxieTherapy.com