A random image of just one of the adorable distractions in my life.
It’s been forever since I wrote a blog post, I know, but not for lack of words. My words are just going elsewhere right now. I’ve written two novels (well, finished one and wrote a second) and a longish short story in the first half of this year.
I’m also wrapping up the editing process on More Things in Heaven and Earth and, with great excitement, awaiting the fall release.
There’s more big news on the horizon, but I’m not at liberty to fully spill the beans just yet.
On the side, there’s life. You know… family, church, job, new baby chickens… life. And, as
Yes, I do fill my phone with photos of chickens. Doesn’t everybody?
much as I enjoy blogging, it just doesn’t rank higher than some other things.
Which brings me to the first of the two points I felt moved to ramble about today:
Balance is a myth.
Take a long hard look at the people around you. Pick out the ones who rise above the crowd. They’re the ones who are AMAZING athletes or ASTONISHING in their business prowess.
Those people don’t have balance.
They never look at their calendar and say, “Oh, dear me, I haven’t had a day off in the last two weeks.”
They establish a vision and never look back until they’ve reached their goal. They live by the ant philosophy: no matter what falls in my path, I’m going to walk this line until I get home.
If you have a goal in your life, don’t let anyone make you feel bad for not knowing who the lead cast member of The Walking Dead is. You do you, and do it better than anybody else and, one day, they’ll all be looking at you thinking, “Gosh! How’d she get so lucky?”
(Luck! Haha!)
And that brings me to my second point:
Success in life is not the lottery.
I read, once, that 98% of people who set pen to paper, with the intention of publishing a book, will never see that goal realized.
But that’s not because the magical publishing fairy waves her wand over the select 2%!
People quit when they realize their plot derailed seventeen chapters in. They throw in the towel when they realize that the first draft was only the beginning of months (years?) of work. They give up when the first reader sends their manuscript back, covered in red ink. They call it quits when the first twelve (twenty/fifty/hundred) editors reject them.
The other 2% keep going.
#4 is still in training to be part of the 2%.
It’s the same in business. My husband and I own a thriving, growing business. People tell us all the time that “no one makes it in that field.” And yet, here we are. Why are we making it? Because we walked past the naysayers and found out that success was just on the other side of their negativity.
Now that I’m ranting… I’m thinking even marriage is that way, don’t you think?
People say that my Twin Soul and I are so LUCKY to have found one another and so BLESSED to have a great marriage.
I can’t argue on either account but, you know, every single day that man gets water all over the bathroom floor when he takes a shower.
You know what makes a great marriage? Choosing to do the work of loving, cherishing, respecting and honoring him anyway instead of screaming at him about my wet socks.
He does the same for me when I let the dirty dishes sprawl, unattended, across the kitchen counter while I snuggle on the couch with my laptop.
The family that eats bratwurst together stays together… er… something like that. (Isn’t he handsome? *swoon*)
It’s about determination, not luck.
I said all that just to say I’m still writing and dashing forward and I hope you are too. No one else in the whole history of the world can do what you can do in the way you can do it. Be encouraged, friends, and know that this lazy hippie mama is cheering you on every step of the way.
Check out the “Read Stuff” tab to see some of what I’ve been working on, or the “Contact Me” tab to connect on Facebook or Twitter!
