penandpatience

WRITERS WORDS: “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” –Vince Lombardi

Note:  “Cemetery Plot,” my fiction short story, has recently been published in The Storyteller Anthology Magazine, September, 2016 Quarterly Edition-a transitional delayed printing. Available through http://www.thestorytellermagazine.com or http://www.amazon.com

OCTOBER 2017 MONTHLY MUSING

THE WINNING EDGE

      I had no particular topic in mind when I began rummaging through some old files from past endeavors and discovered “The Winning Edge,” a company newsletter I wrote as a Human Resources Manager years ago. Not only did it bring back fond memories of an enjoyable career, but many newsletters I found were applicable to most career paths—including writers and authors.

A Winning Edge Excerpt:

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

THERE’S PLENTY OF SUCCESS TO GO AROUND!

Success is not a pie, with only so many slices to go around. The success of others has nothing to do with your success.

Nor is your success measured by what others say or what others accomplish. We all have the tendency to compare ourselves with others. But the happy people in this life know it’s not against others that we compete.

The Late Henry Fonda once said that a thoroughbred horse never looks at the other racehorses. It just concentrates on running the fastest race it can.

On our track to success, we have to fight the tendency to look at others and see how far they’ve come. The only thing that counts is how we use the potential we possess and that we run our race to the best of our abilities. (Source: Dennis Waitley & Reni L. Witt: In the Joy of Working)

While I reread this newsletter, I thought no matter what success other writers experience, their success should not adversely impact on other writers work. Additionally, when reading a successful new book by a well-known author, it’s an opportunity to learn from their prose and should not be perceived as a comparison to our own writing efforts. Yes, it’s difficult sometimes to believe in our creative skills, sighing, “I’ll never be able to write as good as John Grisham, David Baldacci, James Patterson, Ernest Hemingway, Jeannette Walls, James Lee Burke and many other successful authors.”  However, when self-doubt casts a shadow over individual artistic abilities especially if a writing project is not going well, passionate, dedicated writers will persevere….

When I dug deeper into the old archives I found a poem that might provoke renewed inspiration and a gentle push for writers seeking The Winning Edge:

DON’T QUIT

When things go wrong as they sometimes will

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out,

Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you can never tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit

It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.  – (Author unknown)

Dear Readers/Writers:  BE SAFE!

October Safety Slogan: “Lifting’s a breeze when you bend at the knees.”  –www.reference.com