“I hope I have convinced you—the only thing that separates successful people from the ones who aren’t is the willingness to work very, very hard.” —Helen Gurley Brown

Happy Monday! Don’t you just love the start of a new workweek? A whole five days to accomplish goals, fill in the blanks, and fulfill some dreams.

I know, you are probably about to gag right now because, let’s face it—Mondays pretty much suck!

So, put a smile on your face, grab some coffee, and get ready for an amazing week. And if that doesn’t do it, let some of the crazy stuff Helen Gurley Brown has done motivate and amuse you this morning.

-          Helen got breast implants five years ago…when she was 73!

-          Her favorite quote is: “Sex is one of the three best things we have, and I don’t know the other two.”

-          Her favorite motto: “Good girls go to heaven; bad girls go everywhere.”

As crazy as Helen may seem, she is not a sex junkie, but rather a work junkie. She loves to work and obviously has worked very hard throughout her life. In her seventies, she is still working out twice a day, doesn’t drink or smoke, and has been a faithful wife to her husband of 35 years. She is a self-made woman whom Gloria Steinem called a feminist “pioneer.” When she got the pink slip from Cosmopolitan magazine in 1996, she didn’t go off into retirement; instead, she became editor of their international editions and has made them all profitable.

You may not like some of the messages that Helen conveyed through Cosmopolitan magazine over the years, but she is a gutsy lady with a ton of charisma and swagger, and I think she is a woman who rocks!

Here are a few links to Helen’s works:

Her memoir, I’m Wild Again

The book that started it all, the cult classic, Sex and the Single Girl

Coffee Cup Image: Alessandro Paiva

This list of top Rules for Writers was copied from Erica Jong’s official Web site. I’m on a little bit of an Erica Jong roll, as she was our Woman Who Rocks on September 2.

Erica, I hope you don’t mind that I’m sharing your writing rules. These rules are just too much fun and such good advice that I really wanted to share them. By the way, you don’t have to be writing a novel for this to apply; it can go for any kind of writing.

Erica’s 20 Rules for Writers

1. Have faith, not cynicism

2. Dare to dream

3. Take your mind off publication

4. Write for joy

5. Get the reader to turn the page

6. Forget politics (let your real politics shine through)

7. Forget intellect

8. Forget ego

9. Be a beginner

10. Accept change

11. Don’t think your mind needs altering

12. Don’t expect approval for telling the truth—

(Parents, politicians, colleagues, friends, etc.)

13. Use everything

14. Remember that writing is heroism

15. Let sex (the body, the physical world) in!

16. Forget critics

17. Tell your truth, not the world’s

18. Remember to be earthbound

19. Remember to be wild!

20. Write for the child (in yourself and others)

There are no rules

Erica Jong

Thanks, Erica, for daring me to dream. I’m going to print these out and tape them to my wall as I continue to write my Web novel, No Songs for Men. I promise to be wild and to write for joy, and the part about being a beginner will not be an issue!

Because there are no rules for writers, do you have any good tips or suggestions for writing? If so, please share in a comment below.

Image: abcdz2000

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“I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me. I have accepted fear as a part of life, specifically the fear of change, the fear of the unknown, and I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back, turn back, you’ll die if you venture too far. –Erica Jong

I’m working on Episode 6 of No Songs for Men, and it is all about Roxanne coming to terms with her fear of performing in public and her self-doubt about her musical talents.  I was looking for a good quote about fear and found this ditty from Erica Jong and just had to share it. Erica is not a stranger to MariaMedia, her first quote appeared on May 14.

Fear is such a big part of our lives. It’s easy to say “I’m not going to be afraid,” but somehow all those nagging doubts just creep back into our cerebellum. I love the fact that Erica is hip to the fact that those fears are going to be there, but the key is not to let them control you. Keep getting in the face of fear, smack it in the face, get that adrenaline pumping, and do something that really scares you today!

Woman Who Rocks: Erica Jong

Occupation: Novelist, poet, and essayist

Why She Rocks: Erica has used her incredible writing skills to bring about a feminist consciousness in women around the world.

Nickname: I couldn’t really find a nickname for Erica, but she did come up with a great term: the zipless fuck, which basically means having sex without any attachments. A sexual encounter free of all remorse and guilt–the perfect one-night stand.

Life Span: March 26, 1942 –

Major Accomplishments and Honors:

Erica has published eight novels, six volumes of poetry, six nonfiction books, and a ton of articles that have appeared in publications like the New York Times, Elle, Vogue, and the New York Times Book Review.

Her first novel, Fear of Flying was an international best seller, with 18 million copies sold worldwide.

Some of her honors include the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature; Poetry magazine’s Bess Hokin Prize; from France, the Deauville Award for Literary Excellence; and from Italy she received the Sigmund Freud Award for Literature.

Erica has lectured, taught, and read her work around the world.

In 2007 Columbia University in New York acquired her literary archive.

Fun Facts:

• This is a direct quote from Erica: “Because my first successful book was thought to be about sex, sex, sex, I got stuck being the happy ho of literature, and that image has been hard to dodge—especially in sex-crazed, puritanical America.”
• Her standard poodle’s name is Belinda Barkowitz.
• Erica is a poet at heart who believes that words can save the world.
• Her name is mentioned in the Bob Dylan song “Highlands.”

What You Need to Know: Even though Fear of Flying was first published in 1973, the story and feminist message is still relevant today. I selected this book as one of my book club picks and loved reading it. I guarantee your club will have an enlightening and interesting conversation on the role of women, our relationships with men, and our search for purpose. The heroine of the book, Isadora Wing, plays a key role in the three subsequent novels that Erica penned—How to Save Your Own Life, Parachutes and Kisses, and Any Woman’s Blues. I have not read these last three yet, but they are on my reading list.

Web site: The official Erica Jong Web site

The Erica Jong Experience: Are you an aspiring writer, student, or part of a book club? Erica has a whole web page with tips for you at http://www.ericajong.com/tipswriters.htm. How cool is that? It’s a great place to get inspiration and encouragement, and you can read her “20 Tips for Writers.”

Even Erica’s memoirs, published in 2006, became a national bestseller and you can read all about her life as a writer inSeducing the Demon: Writing for My Life.

Check out her poetry Becoming Light: Poems New and Selected

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“I have a problem about being nearly sixty. I keep waking up in the morning and thinking I’m thirty-one.” —Elizabeth Janeway

Well, that is kind of funny, because I keep waking up and thinking I’m still 25. Hey, whatever works for you to help you stay young! Elizabeth led a full life until her death at age 91. She also contributed our quote of the day on August 20, 2010.

Woman Who Rocks: Elizabeth Janeway

Occupation: American author, critic, and feminist

Why She Rocks: Elizabeth grew up during the depression and had to drop out of Swarthmore College to help support her family. She did so by writing bargain-basement advertising sales slogans. She did end up getting her college degree from Barnard College a few years later and was so determined to become a writer that she took the same creative writing class repeatedly to hone her craft. I love the fact that winning a competition sponsored by Story magazine encouraged her to keep going, and she went on to write seven novels. Throughout her career she served as a reviewer and critic for the New York Times and Ms. Magazine. While she was a critic at the New York Times, she helped champion controversial literary works of her time, like Lolita.

Some of Elizabeth’s early works focused on the struggles of women dealing with modern society, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that she began writing about feminist topics. Her works—Man’s World, Women’s Place: A Study of Social Mythology (1971), Between Myth and Morning: Women Awakening (1974), Powers of the Weak (1980), and Improper Behavior (1987)—gained her a critical voice for women stifled by the home or workplace. She was a major supporter of the women’s movement and abortion rights.

Some of her best friends included Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan.

Nickname: She was called a modern Jane Austen and a precocious writer

Life Span: October 7, 1913 – January 15, 2005

Major Accomplishments and Honors:

Her 1945 novel, Daisy Kenyon, was made into a motion picture, starring Joan Crawford.

Elizabeth served as the president of the Authors Guild from 1965 to 1969, working toward copyright protection for authors.

Barnard College, her alma mater, granted Elizabeth their highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction, at their 1981 graduation ceremonies.

She served as a judge for the National Book Awards and the Pulitzer Prize.

Elizabeth served as director of the National Organization for Women’s legal and education fund.

Fun Facts: Elizabeth described her husband as “the most intelligent man I have ever met.” She was married to Eliot Janeway who was the economic adviser to Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson (there aren’t many woman I know who would say that about their husbands!).

As part of their social circle, Jane and Eliot hung out with several U.S. Supreme Court justices, and I think it is hilarious that Jane recommended Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying to Justice William O. Douglas. By the way, I’m with Jane; I highly recommend Fear of Flying. It is one of my favorite books.

She signed the contract with her publisher for her first book, Girls, on the way to the hospital to deliver her second child. She has said that if her delivery were not a few days late, she would have never finished the book.

Star Trek Voyager’s Captain Janeway was originally named Elizabeth. The name was changed right away to avoid any legal issues when they show’s producers figured out that a prominent woman already held the name Elizabeth Janeway.

The Elizabeth Janeway Experience: Here are a few links to the book Elizabeth wrote on the women’s movement and the classic Fear of Flying.

Fear of Flying

Mans World Womans Place: A Study in Social Mythology

Between Myth and Morning Women Awakening

Daisy Kenyon

Photo: Dmitry Mayatskyy

“I kind of have a happy magnet. I can’t stand being depressed, so I work my ass off to get out of it as soon as possible.” —Sarah McLachlan

Woman Who Rocks: Sarah McLachlan

Occupation: Singer, songwriter, and musician

Why She Rocks: Well, obviously because she is an amazing singer and songwriter. But more important than that, she has done so much to promote women in music through the creation of Lilith Fair, a celebration of women in music. I can’t think of a better way to support and encourage women than through this amazing music festival. Since its inception, the Lilith Fair has raised over $7 million for charities and also helped launch the careers of several female recording artists.

Sarah also uses her celebrity to help raise money for charitable causes, one of which is the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which Sarah lent her voice and talent to a commercial to raise funds to protect animals from abuse. Since 2006, this commercial has helped raise $30 million in revenue for the SPCA.

She also has formed and funds the Sarah McLachlan Music Outreach program, which offers inner-city kids in the Vancouver area the chance to take music lessons (guitar, piano, percussion, or vocal) taught by professional musicians. The program is having a major impact on these kids and is greatly needed since so many school music programs have been eliminated.

Life Span: January 28, 1968 –

Major Accomplishments and Honors:

• She has sold over 40 million records worldwide.
• Her album Surfacing won two Grammy Awards (out of four nominations) and two Juno Awards.
• She founded Lilith Fair, an amazing concert event that showcases the talents of women in music. In 1997 it was the top grossing of any touring festival and one of the highest-grossing concerts of the year. Lilith Fair is the most successful all-female music festival in history!

Fun Facts: Sarah is a surfer babe! She started surfing when she was 30 and absolutely loves it. In a recent Yoga Journal article by Kaitlin Quistgaard, she said, “I stood up, and I rode a wave, and that was it. I was hooked. I think about it every single day, and I wish I could do it every single day.”

Her high school yearbook predicted that she was going to become a major rock star and they were right!

What You Need to Know: Sarah does really cool stuff. For example, when she released her album Afterglow in 2003, instead of creating a typical music video, she used the $150,000 budget and donated it to charitable causes around the world. She then used the video to explain how the communities that received the money had benefitted.

Web site: The official Sarah McLachlan fan site; the official Lilith Fair Web site.

The Sarah McLachlan Experience: It’s been seven years since her last release, so if you’ve been waiting, check out Sarah’s latest album, Laws of Illusion. During those seven years, she married, raised two children, and separated, so the album is chock-full of material from her experiences over these past years. If you want a sampling of all her best, check out Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan.

Here’s my favorite Sarah song: “Sweet Surrender.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

“It’s hard to imagine a civilization without onions.” —Julia Child

Julia, I am with you on that one! Thanks for summing up civilization for us with the most versatile member of the root vegetable family. There’s nothing like a good onion to spice up a dish or a salad. Onions, you either love them or hate them! I’ll go on the record to say that I am an onion lover, not an onion hater.

Last night we had grilled onions and green peppers on Italian sausage sandwiches (mine was the veggie version from Morningstar Farms). Like the Italians say, delizioso.

The onions were pretty special too. I bought them from a local farmer at a farm market, so they were fresh and still had dirt on them, and the green stems were still sticking out. There is something so satisfying about buying fresh, unprocessed food, and it’s not just the superb taste. These onions were a special variety that was supposed to be even sweeter than Vidalia onions and they were. I’m going to have to go back to the market this weekend and ask the farmer the name of this onion variety (sorry, I’m bad at forgetting names; from people to root vegetables, the names just never stick), because it was yummy.

What do you think civilization would be without ______fill in the blank______? Come on, let’s get creative with the comments today!

While you’re pondering the question, here are a few great works from Julia:

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1

My Life in France

Stop by every weekday for the daily quote from Women Who Rock. Your daily serving of fun, attitude, and brilliance courtesy of an amazing woman!  Check out the Women Rock category at the Cool Stuff Shoppe for great books, DVDs and merchandise from these great women. Thank you for clicking on the ads when you visit to help fund this site!

“If one is going to change things, one has to make a fuss and catch the eye of the world.” —Elizabeth Janeway

Elizabeth Janeway was a successful American author and critic who lived to be 91 years young. She was an amazing woman, and we’re going to hear more from her with a complete Women Who Rock profile next week.

Aah, change. You gotta love it. To say I’ve undergone a great deal of change in the past year would be an understatement. I’ve changed careers, the way I approach work and life, become a yoga fanatic, started writing a Web novel No Songs for Men—and am loving every minute of it.

I’m kind of a change junkie. I thrive on it. Love to mix things up and do something I’m afraid of doing every day (thanks, Eleanor Roosevelt, for that lovely quote). So, I couldn’t leave a good thing alone here at MariaMedia; I had to change things up, and today I’m officially announcing that the Daily Downward Dog (D.D.D) is going to be moving to a new home at http://www.dailydownwarddog.com. It’s time for the D.D.D. to spread its wings and morph into the kick-ass yoga-inspired Web site it needs to be.

I’ve been making quite a fuss over the new D.D.D. these past few months, and now I really hope to catch the eye of the world with the new D.D.D.

Actually, the song “Changes” by David Bowie is one of my all-time favorite songs. So, on that note, I’ll leave you with some video footage of David performing this classic live. Look out, you rock ’n‘ rollers, the D.D.D. has changed!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Image: Gabriel Pico

Stop by every weekday for the daily quote from Women Who Rock. Your daily serving of fun, attitude, and brilliance courtesy of an amazing woman!  Check out the Women Rock category at the Cool Stuff Shoppe for great books, DVDs and merchandise from these great women. Thank you for clicking on the ads when you visit to help fund this site!

“There is only one proper way to wear a beautiful dress: to forget you are wearing it.”
—Delphine de Girardin

I thought this advice would be helpful for all of you who have to get gussied up for a big event. When you put on that party dress, accessorize it with a little attitude, and the rest will come naturally. If you believe you are elegant, you will be. Dress with attitude…I like it!

Woman Who Rocks: Delphine de Girardin

Occupation: French author

Life Span: January 24, 1804 – June 29, 1855

Why She Rocks: She published a number of comedies, novels, and short stories and exercised considerable personal influence on the literary society of her time. Under the pseudonym Charles de Launay, she published what may have been the first gossip column, with the hugely successful Lettres parisiennes.

Nickname: Her pen name was Vicomte Delaunay.

Fun Facts: In 1827 she was enthusiastically welcomed by the literati of Rome and crowned in the capitol.

What You Need to Know: Her living room salon was a pretty cool place to hang out. You never knew if you would bump into Honoré de Balzac, Alfred de Musset, or Victor Hugo.

Image: Kostya Kisleyko

Stop by every weekday for the daily quote from Women Who Rock. Your daily serving of fun, attitude, and brilliance courtesy of an amazing woman!  Check out the Women Rock category at the Cool Stuff Shoppe for great books, DVDs and merchandise from these great women. Thank you for clicking on the ads when you visit to help fund this site!

“I never practice; I always play.”

—Wanda Landowska

Way to go, Wanda; nice ’tude! If you don’t know Wanda Landowska, she was the happening harpsichordist of her day and is a big reason why the harpsichord became so popular in the early 20th century.

Wanda was born in Poland in 1879 and very early on dreamed of playing the music of Bach and Mozart. By the time she was 14, she had graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory of Music, and began her career as a concert pianist. One of her biggest musical triumphs was her rendition of Bach’s intricate English Suite in E Minor. Her mastery of Bach’s music earned her the nickname of “The Bachante” by the famous conductor Arthur Nikisch.

Wanda was a pint-sized woman (just 4′ 10″) who decided in her early twenties to bring about the revival of the harpischord and the music of Bach. Half-harp, half-piano, this double keyboard instrument is extremely difficult to play and Landowska went about working with the Playel piano company in Paris to create a special harpsichord that was just like the one Bach used. She transported that harpsichord around the globe and dazzled audiences with her brilliant playing.

When the Germans invaded France in World War II, Wanda was forced to leave behind her home. She sailed to New York with virtually no assets but didn’t waste any time and quickly established herself as a performer and teacher in the United States, where she recorded harpsichord and piano music and toured extensively. In her late seventies you could still find her playing in her home, sporting a purple kimono and gold ballet slippers, while RCA Victor record engineers recorded her interpretations of the music of Mozart. By then her fingers were gnarled, but her playing was still magnificent, and she won critical acclaim for these recordings. Wanda continued to live her dream of playing the piano right up to the time she passed away at the age of 80.

Check her out on YouTube rocking out on the harpsichord.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s a few of Wanda’s recordings:

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

Bach: The Well Tempered Clavier, Book II

Wanda, you rock!

Photo: Ben Goerz

Stop by every weekday for the daily quote from Women Who Rock. Your daily serving of fun, attitude, and brilliance courtesy of an amazing woman!  Check out the Women Rock category at the Cool Stuff Shoppe for great books, DVDs and merchandise from these great women. Thank you for clicking on the ads when you visit to help fund this site!

“[My guru] says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you are fortunate enough. But that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it…” —Elizabeth Gilbert

I wanted to include a quote today by the fabulous Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love. This book is an international best seller, and on August 13 the movie version, starring Julia Roberts, will be released, and I can’t wait to see it.

If you are not familiar with Eat, Pray, Love, it is Elizabeth’s real-life journal of setting off on a year of discovery to heal after a messy divorce. On her journey she travels to Italy to eat and enjoy the pleasures of life (with an emphasis on eating gelato); next, to India to meditate, practice yoga, and do some spiritual searching; and, finally, to Indonesia to find balance. If you can’t find balance in Bali, I’m not sure where you can. I could have found balance just from eating gelato three times daily.

I have to admit that I have not finished reading Eat, Pray, Love, but after reading the first portion of the book about her eating adventures in Italy, she had me at hello. The whole first section of the book describes in great detail her daily gastronomic delights and travels throughout Italy. Warning: Do not read this section of the book on an empty stomach. It made me want to hop on an Alitalia flight to Naples to check out the pizza she describes as being the best in the world. I really liked her restaurant-ordering tactic of asking the waiter to bring out the best dishes. What restaurant owner doesn’t want to be flattered in that way? And you know what they serve you is going to be superb (as long as you don’t have any food allergies). Plus, you don’t have the struggle of trying to decipher a menu in Italian!

Enough about the food. Barring the divorce part, this is a writing assignment I could wholly embrace—a one-year assignment traveling to faraway places I’ve always wanted to visit, eating amazing food, all-you-can-eat gelato, meditation and yoga, all while trying to figure out how to balance my life. Yeah, I could do that!

So, the Maria version of Eat, Pray, Love is Eat, Work, Yoga. Like Elizabeth, I, too, am taking a spiritual journey and making my personal effort all about finding happiness. Happiness in what I eat—by eating healthy, organic, locally grown foods (except for an occasional sushi or gelato binge). Happiness in my work—finding enjoyable work that allows me to indulge my passions for writing and yoga. Happiness in my practice of yoga, which has brought so many amazing things to my life, including a sense of balance and calm (without the long flight to Bali). I’m writing my Eat, Work, Yoga memoir each day at MariaMedia, and I’m really excited to say that in just a few days, I’ll be launching a new Web site to fulfill my passion for yoga: The Daily Downward Dog. Yes, The Daily Downward Dog will be spinning off into a full-blown multimedia experience of its own, so I’ll keep you posted as it launches.

Yeah, my spiritual journey is taking place in beautiful northeast Ohio and consists of eating, working, and practicing yoga, but I am truly blessed and happy, and I’m working diligently each day to maintain the bliss.

P.S. For my male readers (I know there are a few of you out there), check it out…the male version of Eat, Pray, Love came out last year, entitled Drink, Play, F@#k, by Bob Sullivan. The story covers a jilted husband’s journey from his home in New York City to a drinking binge in Ireland, the decadent party life in Las Vegas, and then off to the hedonistic pleasures of Thailand. I love a good parody.

Gelato Photo: Tan Hsin-Ee

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

Drink, Play, F@#k: One Man’s Search for Anything Across Ireland, Las Vegas, and Thailand