Hey Goddesses & Kings,

MY TOP 10 RULES ON LIVING YOUR DREAMS

1) BELIEF and HOPE are not the same thing. Many of you call me or hit me up on BP, on my site, twitter, youtube, facebook, flickr, tumblr and myspace asking how to live your dreams -- how to write YOUR own BOOKS, shoot YOUR own FILMS and create TV.

Question: Are you hoping or believing? Think about it. BELIEVE with your language & your actions.

2) GRATITUDE. I've met many wonderful new fans from playing Miss Picky on VH1's Tough Love BUT many of you, MY BP FAM were RISING with me while I was hosting BET's The Best Short Films for 2 years, reading my novel DARE, and YOU have made my online show PLANET ABIOLA a huge success. BECAUSE OF YOU the VH1 producers & Drew Barrymore found me! Because of YOU, Busta Rhymes, Young Lloyd, Ashanti, Patti Labelle, Eric Benet, Blitz and LL Cool J call Planet Abiola when they have a new project. Thank you! I'm just getting started, but I am grateful. Wherever YOU with your goals right now, be GRATEFUL.

3) MENTORSHIP. Hundreds of great people have asked me to mentor them and I can't -- otherwise I would never get my books and shows done. I tell them to USE ME though. Your mentors don't have to know that they are your mentors. Read their books, watch their work, interact with them online, subscribe to everything they have -- study them!! TAKE the knowledge you need to succeed. If you're an aspiring lawyer, find a mentor & STUDY them.

4) RISK. Don't fear NEW things. USE TECHNOLOGY! When new sites and tools come out that may be relevant to my business I LEARN by doing. I take my HP Mini everywhere because my readers, viewers, online communities and fan base are important. I use my netbook daily to send out my "Today's Goddess XO" inspirational tweet, I lifestream & photo journal, blog on my Amazon Author Page, record video diaries, test new characters, review episodes of The Planet Abiola Show & my SayNow messages. Jump in! Be about it-- not just talk about it.

5) POSITIVITY. Are you somebody that passes your negativity on to others? Sometimes I read so many nasty comments online it makes my stomach hurt. You beef and gripe then on positive posts you say nothing. Be conscious of what YOU are giving off. There are only two true emotions: Love and Fear. Which one are you sharing? Speak also to yourself with love. We may not always succeed, but we dust ourselves off, try again and get better.

5) POSITIVITY. Are you somebody that passes your negativity on to others? Sometimes I read so many nasty comments online it makes my stomach hurt. You beef and gripe then on positive posts you say nothing. Be conscious of what YOU are giving off. There are only two true emotions: Love and Fear. Which one are you sharing? Speak also to yourself with love. We may not always succeed, but we dust ourselves off, try again and get better.

6) CREATE. DIY. Do for self. If you want to write a book, don't wait for permission. WRITE-- for 15 minutes every day. If you want to create TV or film -- GO FOR IT. With a computer & a phone that has a camera you can create anything. Don't have a video camera? Get creative with stills. Although I had a book deal with Simon and Schuster I used my blackplanet page to sell 10,000 books! I want a RADIO SHOW so I PODCAST. Even though I have hosted shows like The Buzz for HBO, Source Hip Hop News for NBC or The Best Shorts on BET, I created MY OWN web show. The Planet Abiola Show will be on TV soon BUT I will ALWAYS be on the web with you & DOING for SELF!

7) HAVE FUN & SEEK JOY. My life is FUN and my WORK is FUN! Not every day in every area, of course, but I am always REACHING for JOY. Like you, I'm a HUGE work in progress. My main goal is to be better than I was yesterday. In my proudest moment I was on book tour for my novel DARE as a result of my online marketing. A few screaming fans came running up and I assumed they knew me from TV but they knew me from watching The Planet Abiola Show and having fun on my blackplanet page and website.

8) COMMUNITY. This is the second year that I've had a relationship with blackplanet. THANK YOU if you are one of my almost 500,000 friends at www.blackplanet.com/planetabiola and blackplanet.com/abiola_abrams. My blackplanet friends are people who use their brains, use the web, do research, know that everything they see on TV is just entertainment and create truth for themselves.

9) SHARE. Using pop culture to empower and entertain in unexpected ways has always been my mission. MY MOTTO is if you don’t like who’s representing you, REPRESENT YOURSELF. It's not easy sharing my life, loves and fears in books or on "reality TV." It's a RISK but it's my job to represent myself and those like me. NOW I am excited to see what YOU create. I know how much TALENT you have. You came to the PLANET with a PURPOSE...

10) RISE AND SHINE ON. Of course there are HATERS in any community who have loud voices, but I love that the beautiful people here ALWAYS shine through! I see you shining. MY MAIN RULE: BE a Shameless Self-Promoter, like moi! lol. BE your FUN, WEIRD, QUIRKY, INDIVIDUAL self and give the rest something to talk about!! Let's do this together.

Sending You Velvet Cupcakes & Tiara Kisses,