Don Bruns Blog

It's almost embarrassing to admit this out loud, but I believe in the Secret.  The Secret was that book that came out several years ago...then I think they made some sort of movie, and it's simply reaffirming that if you want something bad enough, it will be yours.  If you wish for a parking spot right in front...you'll get it.

If you want to own item or attract a person, you can achieve that goal. If you want a better job, if you want to sell someone on a project you're working on, if you want to sell a book...it will happen.  If you want it enough it can be yours.
 
The intensity of the desire has a lot to do with achieving your goal.  I wanted a certain car one time and I attached a photo of that car to my refrigerator, my bathroom mirror and to the dash of the car I was driving.  I really wanted that car.  The photos motivated me to work a little harder, make a little more, and three months later I bought the car. I remember having a laser focus.  I had to have that automobile.
 
I believe that energy attracts, or repels.  The positive side of this is that if you put out enough magnetic energy, you will attract almost anything you want.  But each person has to experiment with their own energy.  I know people who can never make the commitment, no matter how much they think they want something.  People who will never be able to give off the energy to make things happen.  And then there are those people who actually are named for the energy they give off.  "That guy is a chick magnet."  "She's a money magnet."  It's not by luck that they came by those names.
 
I challenge you to focus your energy.  Become a magnet for something that's important in your life. See if it works for you.  I have started businesses, sold books, bought property, surrounded myself with energetic, positive friends and business acquaintances, all by focusing on what was important to me.  
 
I'm not a self help guru.  I just think that we all need to concentrate a little more on getting the most out of life.

My newest book will officially be released this coming Monday, December 6 (just in time for the holidays!) One of the characters in my book is Garcia, an English Sheepdog (who is actually the dog for my publicist). He not only become a key character in my latest book, he's now getting as much publicity as my book!

Here's the scoop on Garcia-

Author's Shaggy Dog Story the Stuff of Laughs, Lessons

Mystery goes to the dogs in award-winning novelist Don Bruns' latest novel

LONGBOAT KEY, Fla., Dec. 1, 2010 -- /PRNewswire/ -- When mystery novelist Don Bruns has an idea for a story, a character or a location, he is the first to admit that it never turns out quite like he pictured it. And his newest release, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, Bruns' ninth mystery novel, is no exception.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/201012... )

A December 6, 2010 hardcover and eBook release from Oceanview Publishing, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff started with Bruns' idea of setting the mystery against the backdrop of a traveling carnival where the rides come off the tracks and people are killed. His protagonists, stumbling, bumbling, and wildly hilarious James Lessor and Skip Moore, are hired to investigate the situation and nearly end up losing their lives.

Bruns started with the idea for the carnival, which grew when he passed a farmer's field one day where wandered a sundry assortment of donkeys, goats, pigs and other unusual animals. This strange cast of animal characters gave Don the idea to add a petting zoo to the carnival.

When he shared his idea with his longtime publicist, she suggested (or rather, begged) that Don make her ten-and-a-half-year-old, blind, 125-pound, Old English Sheepdog, Garcia, a character in the petting zoo. So Bruns added Garcia to the mix, and found that the old dog could learn new tricks.

In writing Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, Bruns quickly realized that Garcia was going to be more than a bit player in his novel. In the end, Garcia literally steals the show and becomes a major force in the story.

When his publicist read the first draft, she immediately decided that the real Garcia needed somehow to be featured in all his shaggy glory and proudly had Garcia photo-shopped into Bruns' author photo.

Admittedly dog-less due to a hectic travel and book signing schedule, Bruns says he enjoys having honorary ownership of Garcia—even if only in a book. In appreciation to Bruns for his newfound fame, Garcia has taken to Twitter to share news about his book and his views on life as Garcia. Given his lack of opposable thumbs, Garcia has enlisted the aid of some friends to help with the typing. Follow him on Twitter @AmazingGarcia.

Bruns, who has auctioned off character names to raise money for charities in the past, says this shaggy dog story has served as an important lesson. According to Bruns, "Fiction writers need to remember that you never know where a story will lead—and you never know where the ideas will come from. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff is a result of an idea, driving by a farm, and an off-the-wall suggestion from my publicist."

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff is dedicated to Bruns' friends, The Smothers Brothers. Bruns commented, "I have always been inspired by their humor, their sense of timing and the joy they brought so many people over the years." When Bruns recently presented Tommy Smothers with his copy of the book, Smothers glanced at the author photo, then at Bruns. His comment? "Well, at least the dog is good looking."