I blog here five days per week, usually late at night Sunday through Thursday so the blogs appear for you Monday through Friday. So today is a day off for me, but I wanted to give you two links which I came across today:
First, a post today on one of the very few blogs I read. It’s a post by James Brausch on taking action. Take a look! I think you’ll like it. And no, I didn’t know James was going to blog on this when I wrote my blog yesterday. But he’s the guy I learned from on the subject of taking action.
Interestingly, Yvette left a comment today, which I’ll quote here in part:
Just last night my husband and I were priveledged to have dinner with James Brausch and his wife, the guy you mentioned in one of your earlier post. (We are both located in Costa Rica.)
We had a great time, and when I asked what it is he does, he says that he is an actor. He thinks of a product or idea, then acts on it. Of course he mentioned other things, but we all need to be actors to some degree.
Randy sez: Well said! James doesn’t “think about it” when he wants to get something done. He does it.
The other blog I’m linking to today is an interview with Dean Koontz on Novel Journey, which is a blog run by my friends, Gina Holmes, Ane Mulligan, and Jessica Dotta. Check it out! This may very well be the best interview I’ve ever seen. Dean is a Seat-Of-The-Pants writer, which is the right decision for him. As I’ve said many times, each one of us needs to use the methods of writing that work for us. And what works for me won’t necessarily work for you, but it has a chance.
Check out Dean’s interview. I’m gonna break early tonight and watch a movie!
Oh, WOW!!
The Koontz interview is a doozie. I’d like to print a copy to keep for reminding myself how, why, what…
There are so many layers in there, that it’s a read again and again item.
Powerful, pointed, professional advice in a conversation.
I understand the point that Brausch is making, and the motivational and psychological reasons for his argument. But he messes with the language irretrievably. “Try” of course means that one is acting, though it’s a word that captures some ambivalence about either one’s level of commitment to the action (or to achieve the goal that will result from the action) or one’s uncertainty about the prospects for success.
Brausch is making a point about the latter meaning. He’s saying “commit, darn it” — “stand up” in his lingo. And this is fair enough. We all need a kick in the pants sometimes. To put his idea in another context, seeing is believing, but sometimes believing is seeing, and it’s this latter aspect that Brausch is cheerleading about.
But to apply Brausch’s argument to the part of “try” that gets at uncertainty of outcome is foolish. Many runners compete in a race, but only one wins. They all tried to win, and took action to do so (by running in the race).
Oops. In my second paragraph, line 1, I meant “former”.
They may have all tried to win, but they all ran. They didn’t try to run, they just did it. I think that’s kind of the point. If you give yourself a goal, you may or may not reach it. If you choose to act, you can always acomplish it.
Instead of a runner saying, “I’m going to run a marathon,” it’s better to say “I’m going to increase the distance I run this week.” Instead of an author saying “I’m going to write a New York Times best-seller,” it’s better to say “I’m going to improve my word count this week.” That way, even if we don’t win as authors, we can still write a book.