I’ve been writing for awhile now, I believe it was two years ago that I really buckled down and began working with the intent of becoming published. It was a rough road full of poor grammar and absurdity. But, all of those trials, tribulations, and practice have honed my craft. If you had asked where I would be in two years, I would have said “Published”! As I quickly learned, life is a megillah and the odds of being published are rare. So, what is the purpose of this post? To remind humanity.
But first, As some know, I am getting my MBA… a master’s in business and not fine arts. Why? Well it is simply my exit strategy. I told myself I would spend the two and a half years back in school to push my writing career into reality. So, while I study business during the day, I write and read throughout the night. I have been burning the candle on both ends, and I am exhausted. But time is fundamental in our growth as human beings. I knew this, and I quickly realized my first book would have to be rewritten, heavily edited, or scrapped. It will be heavily edited, but I don’t have the time for that project at this juncture. Now I didn’t invite you here to hear my pity party, I wanted to point out something that humans fail to see: Life is a Megillah.
Think to the greats, really think about them, and what you know. You can choose anyone: Nikola Tesla, Faulkner, Socrates. Just choose one, and then really think about their lives. In this day an age, we are bombarded with the accomplishments of others. For example: when we walk into a book store we are confronted with every piece Faulkner wrote, and we say, “Man, this guy produced so much work.” Yet, we forget that Faulkner is dead, that Faulkner produced a lot through his life, but what we see is the end result of all that work. If we took his life and actually laid it out, not the greatest hits but the whole story, it would be a megillah (definition: a long involved story or account). Faulkner worked in a power plant on third shift while he wrote As I Lay Dying. I bet the majority of his life during that time was pretty boring.
So why, why bring this up? Well, I have been kicking myself, because I am not published. I am upset that I work my tooty off, stay in when I want to be out, and otherwise lose sleep over my potential writing career. I am broke, but I watch money go out every month to hosting charges (this website isn’t free). Yet, I have to remember to avoid comparing someone’s greatest hits with my life’s megillah (this was the word of the day FYI, it seemed fitting so I am going to use it a ton).
Now, earlier we were comparing the life of people in its entirety. But what about people’s work? The Alchemist (I haven’t read this yet), originally sold 800 copies on it’s initial release. Then the author took the rights and asked another publisher to print the book for him. They did, they took a risk, and it ended up selling 75 million copies. That book (the physical entity not the story within it) had it’s own story of trials and tribulations. Yet, it ended up becoming a best seller. You can even throw The Catcher in the Rye into that list. There are hundreds of stories like these and it is important to note that it sometimes a single piece of work takes years to get the recognition it deserved – and sometimes things that shouldn’t be recognized get recognized.
So, when life shits on you (it will, life always shits on you), just remember that you are in a megillah – a long drawn out story. Your story, your life, is going to have hundreds of tiny and boring aspects to it. BUT, it will also have amazing adventures full of love and strife. In this day an age, with communications being so rapid, I imagine you will see other people’s lives and relish them but don’t. These people have boring details too (no one publishes the boring details), so don’t get disheartened when someone you know gets recognition. Keep pushing! Oh, and if that little troll pops up (you know the one, the doubting Daniel) and tells you that you’re wasting your time, well, you light that fucker on fire and use the brilliance to keep working.