LIVE | unconquered: October 2012

The Opening Word

LIVE unconquered's mission is to change people’s lives, for the better. To help everyone breakthrough to a brighter day, no matter their background, situation, or circumstances. Live Unconquered is about restoring and injecting positivity and optimism into your life – all day of everyday so that you can make the most of it. It’s about having faith; in a better day, in what you’re doing, in where you are going, and most importantly yourself – no matter your religious affiliation. Lu will also take on psoriasis/ psoriatic arthritis advocacy under its umbrella as well, in the form of E. A. R. S. - to educate, create awareness, promote research, and develop support in anyway possible.

Daily Mission Checklist
Develop as a person everyday.
Help someone else grow as a person, everyday.
Be a source of constant inspiration in your environment.
Provide light to areas mired in darkness.
Lead by example and with constant integrity.
Continually bask in education and knowledge.
Appreciate all things – good and bad.
Be respectful not only to others, but to yourself.
Establish and maintain a position of forgiveness.

Six Pillars of Development
Wisdom
Strength
Longevity
Hope
Tranquility
Desire

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for we entertain angels unaware.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

October Updates

Now that Weathering The Storm has been released (August 28th), I am working to expand my footprint as a new author. This takes significant time and effort, but thus far I've made tremendous progress towards accomplishing all the goals I set. Part of this expansion includes establishing a presence on Goodreads (amazing site) and Amazon, and letting that presence trickle down from there. In the coming weeks, I will also have more information on niche events I'm planning to schedule in both Ohio and Virginia. All of the work I do now will serve as a major launching pad into 2013, which is usually how the life cycle of a book operates. In the meantime, here are a couple of links -

Goodreads, October Giveaway (will hold monthly) - http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/35579-weathering-the-storm

Goodreads, Weathering The Storm page -
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15897883-weathering-the-storm

Goodreads, my author page -
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6496672.J_Junior_Reynolds_II

Amazon, Weathering The Storm seller page -
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1618627457/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Amazon, my author page -

www.amazon.com/author/jjunior2

These pages are all still under construction, so will change a over the course of the next few months. If you'll note - Amazon lists the book at a $7.99 rate instead of the list $9.99 price - consider it a sale. Since these books will come directly from me, books purchased via Amazon will be signed.

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By the first day of 2013, my goal is to export my blog (Live Unconquered) to its own website. This will allow me more formatting and web creation freedom than I have under the Blogger domain, and offer a united website to post all my links (Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). I have already started working on this project and look forward to completing it over the holiday season.

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With all eyes already focused towards 2013, Live Unconquered's mission will shift towards psoriasis advocacy. This was the foundation upon which Weathering The Storm was constructed, and is the true direction I would like to steer all of my future efforts. Of course, the topics will remain viable to everyone - but in working to create a "mission" for Live Unconquered (and my goal to make it more than just a blog), I will be using my fight against psoriasis as the bedrock for everything here on out. I plan to post the full official mission statement of L|u by Thanksgiving.

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Please keep updated on changes as I will be more active on the blog (and other websites) going forward, including a motivational/ inspirational writing towards the end of every month. As usual, stay positive, and make the most of everyday because tomorrow is no guarantee.

LIVE | unconquered

October 17th, 2012

J. Junior II

More Information

I encourage everyone to visit http://www.psoriasis.org/ - homepage for the National Psoriasis Foundation, to learn a little bit more about psoriatic disease. This chronic disease not only highlights why should we aspire to live unconquered, but we should live for a cause, live everyday, and live for now. The National Psoriasis Foundation is the United States' leading patient-driven, nonprofit advocacy organization that serves the estimated 7.5 million Americans affected by psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Currently, I serve on the inagural editorial board for NPF and our quarterly publication - Psoriasis Advance. As an active advocate with and supporter of this organization, our objective is the same - to strive for better treatments, access to care, and ultimately a cure for all psoriatic diseases.

Since joining Nationwide Insurance in 2013, I've strived to become more active in advocacy and general community involvement. Working for a company that has volunteering and goodwill branded into the culture has really strengthened my "live unconquered" belief, and I look forward to announcing further ventures and activies before 2014 concludes.

Weathering The Storm

Weathering The Storm is an inspirational, motivational, and faith inspiring book that will work to move you from any and all storms in your life. It will serve to move you out of the rain and help you breakthrough to brighter days. I wrote Weathering The Storm in a down to earth way so that everyone can easily relate, with everyday advice ranging from forgiving to moving forward with your life after tragedy. If your life always seems to be in the midst of turbulent weather, my goal is for Weathering The Storm to serve as a shield and a guide to get you through, and towards the fringes of the light. Written from my perspective as a psoriasis sufferer, I want to use my background to inspire you and invigorate you so that you can step away from storm clouds hovering over your head. Life is too short to be mired in constant stress; Weathering The Storm will move you away from the mess and instead help prove you are blessed – no matter your circumstance or situation.

The road to being a published author has been an exciting and rewarding experience, and I've garnered more support for this than I ever could have imagined. The book was officially released by Tate Publishing on August 28th, 2012. As with any book, we will work hard over the next year to increase the profile and momentum behind Weathering The Storm; remember, the life of a book never ends! When signings and presentations are scheduled, I will post updates and information here. The time has flown by working with this project, but I am looking forward to wrapping up new and more in-depth works going forward. Another thank you to all those who’ve been there during this exciting and groundbreaking process!

The Next Few Steps...

The LIVE unconquered Project
I plan for this LIVE unconquered blog will be transformed into a manuscript and book of its own. Serving as a follow-up to Weathering The Storm, I plan for the book to focus on continuing the progress once you’re out of the storm. It will focus on growing, developing, and molding yourself in the aftermath of tribulations. It will help you focus on living each tomorrow better than today and continuing to have success no matter the circumstance, situations, or environments you did encounter, and prepare you for any troubles that may arise in the future. As I work on the follow-up manuscript to Weathering The Storm and determine the appropriate publishing route, I will give updates and insights just as I have on Weathering The Storm. I have already started putting together the manuscript, and planned to be finished over the summer of 2013.

Psoriasis: A Life Changer
Once completed, I know that this will be the pinnacle accomplishment for me because of the effect psoriasis has had on my life. I started on this manuscript before Weathering The Storm was released, and while I have made some end roads, it certainly has not been an easy manuscript to place. As I become more actively involved in psoriasis advocacy and undergo some changes in my own treatment plan in 2013, I expect I will make significant progress and hope to have the manuscript complete and ready to send off for publishing by my birthday in June. Though it isn’t easy writing about something as difficult and traumatizing as psoriasis and the ripple effect it can cause to your life, I believe those same struggles have helped (and are helping) me grow in the proper direction, and that it gives me a tremendous story that I can share to potentially help others realize that while psoriasis is a chronic disease, it isn’t the end of the world unless you allow it to be.