Focusing on Now

Recently in her newsletter - Funds For Writers - C. Hope Clark stated, "Writers do not make money overnight. They do not become published overnight. Those still seeking the open doors may get jealous of those who found theirs, but that's a waste of energy they could be infusing into their writing. You climb to be successful. You stumble, drift, and search to find the positives. Anyone does in any lot in life. What gives anyone the right to expectdifferently?"

I find this to be very true. I tend to have lofty goals, have my sights set on the highest hights, look to the distance to drive myself forward. I'm kind of a 'keep focused on the future' type of person. Which I don't necessarily see as a bad thing.

But a little here-and-now perspective change can be a good thing. While climbing on this big ladder, if we don't look where we are, we may miss a rung or two.

I don't think of myself as a jealous person - but I often use the success of others to spur myself on. There is just something about watching someone succeed and wanting that for yourself. I don't know what to call it because I don't ever begrudge people their successes. But where I stumble is making that connection between doing the work now and securing the success in the future. You just cannot make that leap from here to there without butt-in-the-chair work to get you there.

So sometimes I have to pull my dreaming head out of the clouds and get some work done. Because book tours and signings, speaking engagements and book clubs do not just happen by lolly-gagging. They happen when deserving, awesome, incredible writers work. Hard.