Tag Archives: Writing

I’m A Failure

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I’m a failure.

Take a look at the picture below. What’s wrong? Weeds. Lots and lots of weeds. Ugly and unsightly weeds.

House Weeds 1

The weeds are taking over the flower bed. They are choking out the flowers.

I’ve failed to stay ahead of the weeds.

The same can be said for my writing.

You may have noticed my absence in publishing anything to the blog. In fact, it has been a month since I last posted something here. I can assure it wasn’t for lack of desire to interact with you, my readers. My desire to write over the last month has equaled my desire to take care of the weeds in the flower bed.

Every single day I’ve wanted to spend some time working on the writing.

Every single day I’ve wanted to pull a few weeds.

It hit me yesterday afternoon, as I was pouring with sweat pulling the weeds, that the weeds represented my writing. If I spend a few minutes every day on both, they will remain beautiful to look at and enjoy. Instead, I spent quite a few hours in the yard yesterday attempting to return it to something beautiful to look at.

It was great. It was fun. The weather was perfect for spending the day in the yard. But, it took the whole afternoon. I didn’t have time to do anything else, like writing, or reading, or relaxing in a chair enjoying the view.

Why do we do this to ourselves? We know better. We all know the benefits of spending a few minutes every day working on the yard, doing the laundry, washing the dishes, and multiple other tasks. Yet we let the dishes sit until the counter is no longer visible and we have to clean one bowl for our cereal in the morning.

So, I’m a failure.

But, I have time to change. I can become a success. My yard can look outstanding! I can write a few thousand words every week.

I don’t have to let my perfectionist tendencies keep me from starting. I believe the key for most of us is to work a little bit every single day.

House No Weeds 2 House No Weeds 1

Maybe next time I’ll tell you about the boulder you see sitting on the sidewalk. It needs to be moved. It’s heavy. It may or may not be a good representation of my book.

What do you need to weed?

 

 

Reading, Writing, Baseball, and Slavery

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I read quite a number of books every year. Usually the total ends up between 30 and 60.

A vast majority of the books I read fall in the non-fiction side of things, with a slant toward the self-help/business/inspiration categories. I love a good novel too, but only fall to the fiction side of things a couple of times a year.

One specific book I was waiting for with high anticipation hit most of my sweet spots in life. It teased me with pre-publishing hints about Baseball, Dreams, Passion, and Freedom for those shackled in modern-day slavery. It did not disappoint.

My friend Ethan Bryan is a master storyteller with a passion for baseball and a dream to rid the world of slavery. He’s also a great writer.

“Catch and Release: Faith, Freedom, and Knuckleballs” is Ethan’s most recent release.
Catch and Release Cover 1

In it he tracks through the 2013 Major League Baseball season of his beloved Kansas City Royals, how it coincides with his goal of becoming “The World’s Best Catch Player”, and his desire to raise funds to eliminate modern-day slavery in conjunction with the organization “Not For Sale.”

Why would Baseball and the fight against slavery be in the same book? Good question. This quote from Nelson Mandela, included at the beginning of the book, sums it up pretty well.

“Sport has the power to change the world…it has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.” – Nelson Mandela

Ethan is using his skills as storyteller and writer to further breakdown the barriers to modern-day slavery.

Ethan is trying to engage leaders, organizations, regular people, and Major League Baseball players in a conversation we should all be involved in. Many people around the world, but specifically in typical Western Civilization, have no idea of the rampant disease that is modern-day slavery.

Some of us, me included, hear little blurbs about slavery in the news and at specific times of the year, like during the Super Bowl. But, it is not something forefront in our minds on a daily basis.

Ethan’s writing is part of his plan of action to change this for us. He is doing a stellar job.

For me, this quote from chapter 8 sums up what Ethan is trying to do:

“Changing the world happens as we live out the passions and dreams God has whispered into our hearts. When we have the courage and audacity to simply and unapologetically be the amazing people that God whispered into being, the world will change.” – Ethan Bryan

To learn more about the ongoing fight against modern-day slavery, check out
Not For Sale Campaign

To purchase Ethan’s book, go here:
Hearts and Minds Books – Catch and Release: Faith, Freedom, and Knuckleballs

Connect with Ethan.
Twitter: Ethan Bryan
Facebook: Ethan Bryan

On Reading and Learning

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I take notes when I read books. Not every book, but most. I try to read for pure enjoyment sometimes, but even then I find myself taking a few notes.

One book I recently finished is Jon Acuff’s new book Start. I took 12 pages of notes. Some of you may think I’m nuts. That’s fine. My feeling on taking notes goes something like this: “Why read something if I don’t plan to take something from it to improve my life?” Hence, I take notes.

When I’m finished with the book, I review the notes. Then I make notes on my notes. Here are my notes on the notes from Start.

 

Action Points / Steps To Take

  1. What is my passion? Inspiration?
  2. Discover/uncover what inspires my wife and boys.
  3. Sing.
  4. Serve. Help others.
  5. Awesome is taking the detour in your day and enjoying the change of path it is taking you on.
  6. Be brutally realistic about your present and dream honestly.
  7. Forget about spending time “finding” your purpose. “Live” your purpose today. Start! Take the step. Open the door and walk through it.
  8. Gather trusted advisors. Stand on their shoulders.
  9. Document your voices. Share your voices. Share your fear and doubt.
  10. Be selfish at the appropriate time of the day. Claim your time, not others.

 

So now you’re asking what I did with the notes on the notes. Did I follow through on any of the 10 points? Yep. Every day I’m working on these points. Sometimes I need reminders though.

Also, writing this post ties into #7. I’m still working on all of these, but today is a new day, and I’m “punching fear in the face”.

Q: What actions do you take to remember and learn from the books you read? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for joining the conversation.

(This post originally published on August 12, 2013 on https://ricktheule.com.)