Patrick Rhone is a good friend of mine and he just shared one of his 2013 Intentions. I’d like to offer him some encouragement.
Dear Patrick,
As you begin a new year and set your mind to improving yourself by writing every day, keep in mind that you’re on a journey. There isn’t a single destination to signal you have arrived. Publishing a new piece each day isn’t an end, but it’s simply a path, maybe even just a small part of your path. Even if you don’t publish one day or one week or one month, you’re still traveling on the path in front of you. Choosing to write every day is a decision to set yourself in motion instead of staying still. An object in motion can change direction more easily than one at rest.
You will very likely miss a day. At the very least you’ll be tempted to skip one. Facing the choice to write or not to write is still a victory in itself. That struggle over whether or not to write, that twinge of guilt when you skip a day, those are both signs that you’re alive and moving forward. When you let out that sigh, confessing your choice to not write, realize that you made the choice and that’s good. Setting your pen aside for one day is a decision that you made and not something that was done to you or against your will.
A single paragraph can shake the world. President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address contained fewer than 270 words. If I visit a friend’s site, and their post for the day only said, “I laughed,” I’d smile and be glad for them. Wouldn’t you?
Finally, you have nothing to prove. Look around at your beautiful daughter, your loving wife, the business you’ve built, and the books you’ve written and realize you have done great things. The blog post you’re unsure about is just one more entry in an already impressive CV. It won’t harm you because it doesn’t have power over you. It will only be what you make it to be. Make it to be honest, and you won’t go wrong.
Take care.
Jason