Friday, February 26, 2010

There are no guarantees, in writing or in life

Tip of the day: Last weekend of the Olympics - watch and be inspired!

Do the Olympics inspire you?

They inspire me.

But I often find myself thinking about those who are there who we don't see much of. The ones with no sponsors and with odds highly stacked against them that they'll take home any medal.

Are they glad to be there competing, regardless of the outcome? Of course. They are living out their dream - doing what they LOVE to do.

I've heard stories of how some of them sell everything and go into huge amounts of debt to be able to go to the Olympics.

Right now, I'm trying this dream thing on for size, doing the writing thing full-time. And it's SO scary. I was watching Suze Orman the other night and I started freaking out. What am I DOING, I thought? I should be working forty hours a week, pulling in a good income, saving for retirement!

But here's the thing. Life is a journey. If I spend all my time now doing work I don't enjoy to try and guarantee something twenty years from now, that's kind of insane. Because there ARE NO GUARANTEES. I have today. And what do I want to do with my day today? I want to be an author and write. In six months or a year or two years down the road, if I'm struggling to make ends meet and it's not fun anymore, I can change the direction of my journey. We can ALWAYS change direction, at any time. That's what we have to remember.

Every day, while I sit at the computer, the ones I admire in this business are in the back of my mind. The ones who came before me, worked hard, made a name for themselves and are the best in the business. I probably won't ever be one of them. It's like those athletes competing in the snowboarding - they look at Shaun and wish they could be him. But of course, there is only one Shaun White. Still, they're there, doing what they love, enjoying the journey. It's not about what they have or don't have.

It's about doing what they love, day in and day out. I mean, is there anything better than that?

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

8 comments:

Andrea Mack said...

Lisa, I love your point about enjoying what you're doing. I'll often read a great book and wish I could write like that. But I can never be that author or write the way that author does. What I can do is appreciate myself, my struggle to be a better writer, and what I can accomplish doing what I love to do.

Lisa Schroeder said...

Andrea - it's so true. And it's something I have to remind myself about regularly. I cannot be anyone else but ME. So I must be the best *I* can be, and that has to be enough.

Unknown said...

I love this post! The part about doing what you can for your dream *today*, because nothing 20 years from now is guaranteed, is EXACTLY what I needed to hear today. I've been frittering away the morning, but now I'm headed back to the novel. Thank you!

Kate Fall said...

Don't let Suze Orman freak you out, Lisa. She'd be freaking you out if you worked a high-stress full time job outside the home, too.

Lisa Schroeder the author is someone special. I love your novels and I'm excited that you're working on another verse novel.

DeenaML said...

I find more and more that with ANY job you can always compare yourself to others. So you might as well do a job you love while comparing! LOL! :)

Rhonda Helms said...

Lisa, that's great advice!!

Emily Marshall said...

So true. There's definitely no guarantees about anything, and I'm a firm believer in doing what you love. Because going through life disliking your job is no way to live, even if it brings you more money.

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