A Place for My Thoughts

The simple fact is that people who achieve excellence in their fields didn’t just have a dream. They got up at 4:00 am to practice on parallel bars or had to forgo other desirable activities and paths in order to get in six hours of violin practice a day, or stayed off several million absurd writing advice blogs with their overheated little cliques that dispense useless regurgitated maxims and empty praise and decide to actually confront their own thoughts on a page. Or they read Beowulf and Dante carefully and deeply when they didn’t see any point, since all they were interested in was Sylvia Plath, because someone of more experience and wisdom told them to do so. I don’t know whether we’re overly lazy, stupid, or childish these days. But the idea of preparing oneself for excellence has somehow disappeared. So – my advice to dreamers: Don’t just follow your dreams. Earn them. Do what it takes to achieve it. Work for it. Don’t just sit there and dream because if you do, it will never, ever be yours.

The first step may be the smallest, shakiest, the most nerve filled and uncertain but it is the most essential. Your first step will never be smooth. It is the only action that will set you on track for good things. Take your uneasy step and watch your world unravel before you.

When life is rough, I feel unworthy because I’m invariably not handling it perfectly. When life is terrific, I feel unworthy because I know I don’t deserve it. It’s a maddening form of spiritual neurosis.

Effort won’t betray you