If there’s any one lesson that can be gleaned from my nearly three decades of haphazardly trying to make a living as a writer it is this, you have to keep showing up to make it. Consistency is truly the key. Think of it as taking advantage of compound interest during the best of your earning years. Time is your greatest friend...if you use it wisely.
A majority of people fail in life only because they lack or lose focus. They lose focus because something newer or shinier catches their attention. Or it can be merely because they get discouraged that their dream isn’t progressing as they hoped it would and lose their motivation. They become deflated when they see others progressing faster than they are. It's easy to do.
Getting discouraged is easy to do if you’re following your passion just because you want to be rich or to gain notoriety. It’s not quite as easy to give up on your dream if you’re actually in love with performing the act(s) involved in helping you to achieve it.
Here’s an example. If you follow my blog you know I bought a new Brompton C:Line bike (a.k.a. my Clown Bike for obvious reasons) back in May. I’ve loved cycling for as long as I can remember but the Brompton has made it so convenient to ride that I’ve consistently ridden more this cycling season than I ever have in my life.
It's not that I've racked up a crazy amount of miles in any one ride. My daily ride never feels like a burden, often it’s the highlight of my entire day. I look forward to it, I feel better, and am way more productive afterwards.
I was astonished when I started adding up my total miles for the season last week. Since May I’ve logged 501.1 miles on the road and just a little bit of effort mostly every day is all it took.
Consistency works with any goal you can imagine. Blogging, entrepreneurship, learning a new skill, even investing and it pays massive dividends eventually.
Keep showing up.
Keep doing the work.
Keep learning as you go and adjusting your approach.
That's all that is required of you.
Do this and you’ll automatically be ahead of most of the rest of humanity.
Keep that up and one day you'll realize you've not only achieved your dreams but have far exceeded them.
Be well, live boldly, and take chances.
~Eric Vance Walton~
(Gif sourced from Giphy.com.Photos are original.)
Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
Pick up a copy of Ephemera today on Amazon.
Most of us have experienced a moment of perfect peace at least once in our lives. In these moments we lose ourselves and feel connected to everything. I call these mindful moments. Words can’t describe how complete they make us feel.
These moments are usually fragile, evaporating in seconds. What if there was a way to train your mind to experience more of them? It’s deceptively easy and requires nothing more than a subtle shift in mindset. My new book, Mindful Moments, will teach you to be much more content despite the chaos and imperfect circumstances continuing to unfold around you. Upgrade your life experience today for only $15.99 on Amazon.com.
