Michelle Tupy's Blog, page 3

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adventure calls courtesy of the king of maps

I love maps.  I always have.  Growing up in a small Australian sheep shearing community with less than 1,000 people, I constantly dreamt of my escape.  In my room I had a small desk with the world map laminated on the top.  I spent many hours looking at the map (instead of doing my homework), imagining that I could one day visit these mysterious countries I had only read about in my books or seen on television.  My childhood heroes were Amelia Earhart, Gertrude Bell, Nelly Bly, Louise Boyd and Mary Kingsley.  Strong women – independent pioneers – I wanted to be like them, to travel the world without fear.

Africa, South America, Asia, Europe; you name it – they called.  As a child, if you had asked me what I was going to be when I grew up, I had no idea.  All I knew was that I was going to visit each and every one of these continents given the chance – to me they were all well within my reach.

My mother always taught me to be strong and independent like so many other women pioneers before me.  This was my life’s challenge – laid out by the women who dared to do.  I was entranced by movies like Roman Holiday, African Queen, The Last Emperor, Death On The Nile – exotic destinations filled my every waking moment…

Fast forward 30 years and here I am living in Cusco, Peru – a far cry from country NSW.  Yet some things never change – I still have a map in my room although this time it is a beautiful hand drawn creation of South America courtesy of the King of Maps.  My children are entranced by it, asking me question after question and I hope it inspires them as much as my little map did when I was young.

I am using my map for inspiration for my next journey – a road trip across South America.  Cusco is the starting point and I have no idea where the end point will be.  Destinations unknown…it’s all in the journey. 

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Maps allow us to dream and plan and conquer our fears.  The landscapes are in our imaginations, the locations peppered on the map for us to seek out and explore.  And as beautiful as this map of mine is at present, hung on the wall; I know it will become all the more beautiful when I have embarked on our journey allowing my family and I to seek out our lust for adventure and enhance our knowledge of the world.

Preface to And Off We Went

Adventure calls courtesy of the king of maps

I love maps.  I always have.  Growing up in a small Australian sheep shearing community with less than 1,000 people, I constantly dreamt of my escape.  In my room I had a small desk with the world map laminated on the top.  I spent many hours looking at the map (instead of doing my homework), imagining that I could one day visit these mysterious countries I had only read about in my books or seen on television.  My childhood heroes were Amelia Earhart, Gertrude Bell, Nelly Bly, Louise Boyd and Mary Kingsley.  Strong women – independent pioneers – I wanted to be like them, to travel the world without fear.

Africa, South America, Asia, Europe; you name it – they called.  As a child, if you had asked me what I was going to be when I grew up, I had no idea.  All I knew was that I was going to visit each and every one of these continents given the chance – to me they were all well within my reach.

My mother always taught me to be strong and independent like so many other women pioneers before me.  This was my life’s challenge – laid out by the women who dared to do.  I was entranced by movies like Roman Holiday, African Queen, The Last Emperor, Death On The Nile – exotic destinations filled my every waking moment…

Fast forward 30 years and here I am living in Cusco, Peru – a far cry from country NSW.  Yet some things never change – I still have a map in my room although this time it is a beautiful hand drawn creation of South America courtesy of the King of Maps.  My children are entranced by it, asking me question after question and I hope it inspires them as much as my little map did when I was young.

I am using my map for inspiration for my next journey – a road trip across South America.  Cusco is the starting point and I have no idea where the end point will be.  Destinations unknown…it’s all in the journey. 

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Maps allow us to dream and plan and conquer our fears.  The landscapes are in our imaginations, the locations peppered on the map for us to seek out and explore.  And as beautiful as this map of mine is at present, hung on the wall; I know it will become all the more beautiful when I have embarked on our journey allowing my family and I to seek out our lust for adventure and enhance our knowledge of the world.

i joined a writer's club

I thought I would take the plunge and join a writer's group just to motivate myself with some of my personal writing.  Our first week's project was to write a poem which I will happily share with you here.

The poem, in villanelle form, will be published in my book "Love Alters" and I think it will sit nicely amongst all the amazing love stories.

So here goes!  The poem is entitled "Love Alters".


Love alters and awakens an ache,

An expectation and a desire within,

A blank canvas upon which to give and take,


We start to compromise and forsake,

Craving that which is inexpressible,

Love alters and awakens an ache,


Hope conspires to keep us awake,

Emotions dip between fear and fascination,

A blank canvas upon which to give and take,


Doubt; feeling we have made a mistake,

Giving in to trust as we open our heart,

Love alters and awakens an ache,


A beautiful struggle, love allows us to make

a world with unconditional happiness for all,

A blank canvas upon which to give and take,


Strength and fragility surround us like a lake,

a world with unconditional happiness for all,

A blank canvas upon which to give and take,


Strength and fragility surround us like a lake,

One smile can change the course of a day,

Love alters and awakens an ache,

A blank canvas upon which to take.


Michelle Tupy - www.lovealters.com

I joined a writer's club

I thought I would take the plunge and join a writer's group just to motivate myself with some of my personal writing.  Our first week's project was to write a poem which I will happily share with you here.

The poem, in villanelle form, will be published in my book "Love Alters" and I think it will sit nicely amongst all the amazing love stories.

So here goes!  The poem is entitled "Love Alters".


Love alters and awakens an ache,

An expectation and a desire within,

A blank canvas upon which to give and take,


We start to compromise and forsake,

Craving that which is inexpressible,

Love alters and awakens an ache,


Hope conspires to keep us awake,

Emotions dip between fear and fascination,

A blank canvas upon which to give and take,


Doubt; feeling we have made a mistake,

Giving in to trust as we open our heart,

Love alters and awakens an ache,


A beautiful struggle, love allows us to make

a world with unconditional happiness for all,

A blank canvas upon which to give and take,


Strength and fragility surround us like a lake,

a world with unconditional happiness for all,

A blank canvas upon which to give and take,


Strength and fragility surround us like a lake,

One smile can change the course of a day,

Love alters and awakens an ache,

A blank canvas upon which to take.


Michelle Tupy - www.lovealters.com

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How to discover the true purpose of your blogAn introduction to the different blog platforms availableThe different styles of blog posts and when to use themHow to write exciting and interesting blog postsHow to create ideas for your blog postsHow to structure your blog posts to keep the reader’s attentionWhy it’s vital that you stay true to yourself as you writeHow to use SEO in your posts
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Weekly Worksheets to keep you on track100 blog post ideasEditorial calendar
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interview: michelle tupy from love alters

Q:  For those who are unfamiliar with your project, how would you describe Love Alters to them?

A:  Love Alters is a community based project about romantic love.  In a world where the media is filled with breakups and divorces, we want to show that true love still exists.  We want to share stories which can melt your heart, make you laugh, bring a smile to your face or even make you shed a tear or two.

Q:  How and when did the idea of this project develop?

A:  Like all great projects, they hit you out of nowhere and once they enter your mind, they just won't go away.  I wanted to work on a project which was really positive for all involved, and it just came to me one morning about 3am.  This was the project I needed to work on and so I set to work.  The positive response we have received to date has been overwhelming.

To read the rest of the interview visit Whim Online:  http://issuu.com/whimonlinemagazine/docs/whim_issue_04/40

interview: Michelle tupy from love alters

Q:  For those who are unfamiliar with your project, how would you describe Love Alters to them?

A:  Love Alters is a community based project about romantic love.  In a world where the media is filled with breakups and divorces, we want to show that true love still exists.  We want to share stories which can melt your heart, make you laugh, bring a smile to your face or even make you shed a tear or two.

Q:  How and when did the idea of this project develop?

A:  Like all great projects, they hit you out of nowhere and once they enter your mind, they just won't go away.  I wanted to work on a project which was really positive for all involved, and it just came to me one morning about 3am.  This was the project I needed to work on and so I set to work.  The positive response we have received to date has been overwhelming.

To read the rest of the interview visit Whim Online:  http://issuu.com/whimonlinemagazine/docs/whim_issue_04/40

how will you be remembered?

If you, for whatever reason, decided to go out of business tomorrow, how will you be remembered?  And what will you be remembered for?  These are certainly two very interesting questions to dwell on. 

What is and what should be might be two very different things.

In business, what you are remembered for may often be personal as we have a tendency to sell ourselves as much as the product or service.

If for example you answered think about what else you can offer to your customers that can cause the price factor to be a secondary option.

To read the rest of the article visit Savvy SME:  http://www.savvysme.com.au/article/1324-how-will-you-be-remembered.
Michelle Tupy is a content writer who quite happily spends her time behind the scenes writing Facebook posts, blog posts, articles and ebooks on behalf of busy managers. She is the Blog and Epublishing Manager for Clever Streak (www.cleverstreak.com).

letter writing - a forgotten art

Isn’t it amazing how far technology has come in such a short period of time.  Think of the first computer that entered our home and how about the early model mobile phones that resembled the size and shape of a brick.  Thanks to this advance in technology, we now have an abundance of tools to help us communicate more efficiently and because of this we have adapted the way in which we communicate.  For better or worse; LOL, B4N, C2C, FYEO, GFI…

“I'll write to you. A super-long letter, like in an old-fashioned novel” ― Haruki Murakami, After Dark

In a world of texts, instant messaging and emails has the act of letter writing, and even the basics of spelling and grammar, become a forgotten art?  Should we still bother teaching our kids how to write letters when their communication revolves around more electronic means?

To read the rest of the article visit Savvy SME:  http://www.savvysme.com.au/article/1285-letter-writing--a-forgotten-art.
Michelle Tupy is a content writer who quite happily spends her time behind the scenes writing Facebook posts, blog posts, articles and ebooks on behalf of busy managers. She is the Blog and Epublishing Manager for Clever Streak (www.cleverstreak.com).