Wednesday Wisdom: Never Give Up!
I hope those of you who tuned in to Wednesday Wisdom last week have made some progress. I’m proud to count one bag of clothing ready for donation and one-third of a file cabinet drawer filled. 
Here’s some extra motivation:
“You are not finished when you lose; you are finished when you quit.”
The key word—used many times over in this quote—is YOU. (And, of course, that refers to me, too!)
You–we–can slip into bad habits, run out of steam before the finish line, and become frustrated by roadblocks on the way to success.
You can walk away from the cloth and paper mountains we discussed last week and hope they’ll magically disappear.
Whatever you do, you’re the one making the decision.
So, tell me…
What’s your current goal?
Will you strive until you achieve it? Or are you going to cave in and quit?
All my best to you,
My last goal is finished. Or I should say “last book.”
My friend has Cattitude now and will be putting it on Smashwords and Kingle. Now I have to do other clean-up projects and I’m going to figure out a promo plan.
Edie – this is so exciting! Congrats and best of luck with Cattitude!
If you don’t mind, I’ll call it your *latest* book–because I know you’ve got many, many more stories inside you.
Barbara
Tough questions, Barbara! Sometimes I waffle around with the answer. When I finish a project I’m so excited about it when I start querying, but when rejection after rejection roll in, then I lose my enthusiasm for the entire biz.
–I have to admit though, I usually get a second head of steam and think, “screw them!” and write the next great American novel.
Hey, Margaret,
I wanted the questions to be tough, because sometimes that’s what we need to shake us up and get us out of a rut.
And you’re so right about the rejections. The writing biz is tough on us, too. I like your comeback attitude, though.
Barbara
I’m currently letting my brain shift gears from the last book, to the new idea. I want to have 50 pages written on it fairly quickly.
Can’t let myself lose steam…gotta sell another book, the baby’s heading to medical school.
~~Angi
This is a terrific reminder, Barbara. I have so many goals. Hmm, maybe make that TOO many goals, and some slip off the list from time to time. My big goal is to finish another book by year end–preferably two (books, not years!). But there are so many short-term, i.e. this week, goals, I sometimes let the writing slip. Got any tips??
Angi – sending your baby off to medical school is a great motivator!
Good luck with the goal. Considering the way you’ve been cranking, I can’t see you having trouble at all.
Barbara
Amy – I’m glad the post was a good reminder.
As for tips, funny you should ask, since I’m planning to do a blog post on that in the near future.
Meanwhile, a couple of *very* brief hints to get you by:
1. Prioritize–and make sure the writing is near the top of the list.
2. Find a buddy, writing or non, who will help keep you honest.
Good luck.
Barbara
Hey, Barbara, you’re so right it’s our decision if we decide to give up writing. Most people don’t seem to realize that if you don’t give you’ll win.
Sandy – and the great thing is, there are so many ways of winning.
Thanks for the reminder!
Barbara