The inimitable Bob Mayer has started a blog series on Special Ops (the elite military units of the US).
In his Warrior Writer course (which I highly recommend to anyone in need of a swift kick up the derriere to get writing) Bob teaches the principles he learned in Special Ops to help writers to achieve change in their lives in order to become 'the elite'.
In this blog post, he talks about what it means to be 'elite', and in the successful 5% of the population. This bit especially resonated with me:
"One of the most difficult aspects of living a successful life and being
elite is that often you must go against the norm and the mass of other
people’s opinions about the way you should live. There is a strong
power in society trying to pull you into the ninety-five percent of
people who live in fear and with mediocrity."
For me, not getting sucked into the modern urban mind-set of "must have new car, must have trendy
clothes, must have big house, must put work first" syndrome has been hard. But I've done it.
I'm
now in the 5% that sets my own values. In no particular order - time for
my family, time to write and be with other writers, and the chance to
travel.
That was Stage One. Stage Two is turning breaking the mould into being a success. Into being part of that 5% elite that actually fulfills their dreams.
Who is going to be brave and take the risk to join me there? Are you breaking away from the other 95% in order to follow your dreams? If so, please leave a comment and let me know so we can hold metaphorical hands and be brave together.
Thanks for the heads-up, Romy. Will check it out. Bob Mayer is inspirational!
ReplyDeleteCount me in! Choosing how to spend my time is the greatest luxury and much better than a big house (which I'd have to spend time cleaning).
ReplyDeleteSomething else I was contemplating today is having this same attitude when it comes to writing. Sometimes I look at the hot selling books in my genre and think "Oh, she wrote about vampires/shifters/menage/whatever maybe I should do that." Nothing against the people who write those books, it's just not my style, but it's easy to get caught up in seeking public acclaim in any arena.
P.S. Found you via April Vine's new blog. :)
Thanks so much for stopping by, Maya.
ReplyDeleteCeleste - yay for April, and double yay for joining me in the top 5%! That's a very true point about not having to clean a big house. Though admittedly, the reason I go out to work every day now is just so I can pay someone else to clean my house!
I'm with you Romy. Holding one of your hands, and passing out squares of chocolate with the other. x
ReplyDelete