Never count a man out who refuses to give up. I’m the guy with zero formal training, zero budget, and zero confidence. In essence, I’m not qualified to write. I recall writing a blog story days shy of my 50th birthday, “Smoke Signals,” written as a plea for help. Boom! My oldest son handed me a copy of “Self Publishing from the Trenches,” written by his high school wrestling coach. It was the perfect birthday gift. That book led to an introduction to a plethora of writers who lived in my community. These folks pushed me across the finish line. “God’s Black Sheep Squadron” was released eight months after joining the Ramona Christian Writers Critique Group. Little did I know at the time that the two group leaders stepped outside to have a good laugh about my bold goal to publish on St. Patrick’s Day the following year in honor of my dad, the main character in my first memoir. Popular belief is that feats like this take years to accomplish.
“The Caveman in the Mirror” was birthed as a solo effort after I moved to Iowa in 2012. Much to my surprise, readers of my first novel told me they were hungry for more. Flawed as I am as a writer and human being, I keep getting up every morning before sunrise to write before heading off to my day job.
If you happen to be one of my blog readers who helped me reach 2 million blog views, I wish to say thank you. You encouraged me at some dark times in my life. I truly believe I cracked the writing code. It has nothing to do with being qualified and everything to do with be called. God is refining me daily. All I can say to those with big dreams is never give up. Practice, practice, practice. Surround yourself with people who see the best in you even when you don’t see it in yourself.
I have a day off from my day job today. The morning is reserved for Pickle ball, followed by an extended book formatting session. I will do my best to work out the flaws in the paperback edition of “Live Long and Prosper” before it is available on Amazon. I will close out my day off on the tennis courts with my teammates who are vying for another state championship in multiple age groups. I’m thankful to report my backhand has been weaponized after 49 years of failed attempts to get it right. Kudos to my team captain who figured out a solution. Have a great day.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. –Theodore Roosevelt
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