How To....

Life is full of all kinds of lessons. I spend time trying to learn them only to realize that there is too many for me to wrap my head around.

And, of course, the answers in life are not always the same for everyone. Darn it.

If I could tell you how to....be fit and trim...(eat right and exercise) people would flock to find out...even though they already know. It's not that we don't know. It's that we're looking for a new angle. Something we haven't tried before that might make it more doable for us.

Don't have time to exercise during the day? Take a walk after you've put the kids to bed.

Eat right? If you don't have it around, you won't eat it.

Now, if I could tell you how to become rich and famous. Or just rich. Now there would be something not to be missed.

What if I changed it to "how to accomplish your dreams"? Sounds easier. Kind of.

And just like being fit and trim, the answer is simple. Work hard and never give up. But what about all your failings? What about all those times when you've worked hard and it hasn't panned out? Oh, yeah. That's the never give up part.

Or change your dream.

But if you can't let go of your dream, I've got a new angle to consider.

No one will remember your failings. In the end, it's the one success that outweighs failure to the point of amnesia. Not only will people not remember how many times you fell on your face before getting to the finish line, but if reminded, it will only make you more relate-able.

How many people want "how to lose weight" advise from someone who has never been overweight? Or is it the ones who have dropped a magnitude of inches and pounds that we all are in awe of. They are the ones who inspire.

So is it with our attempts to succeed. As people realize how many times you were told no, how many rejections you received, how many people gave you no hope that you should go on, they will not only come to respect your success, but you will inspire them to keep pursuing their dreams.

Failures in trying is simply proof that you are still working towards your goals. Give up after that first face-plant and no one will even remember that you tried.

Get up and keep running and they'll never forget you.

I realized that I could spend nearly a year if I posted one rejection a day that I have received since I started writing. Nearly a YEAR!!! And that doesn't count all the ones I threw away- every single one that was mailed to me.

I have literally hundreds of reasons to give up.

But here's one more reason not to. These are the ones I want to read over and over.
This one is from a student in Utah whom I've never met....

p.s i absolutely love your book!!

So how do you get there? It's really hard. Simple in strategy, but incredibly difficult in execution. Work hard and never give up.