| I was undergoing a temporary bout with writer's | | | | interviewed the famous science-fiction writer Ray |
| block. Actually, it wasn't really writer's block, it | | | | Bradbury. Mr. Bradbury, now 87 years old, says |
| was more like a lack of focus. Rather than | | | | he never worked a day in his life. It was all joy |
| concentrating on my love for writing, I was | | | | and play (I'm paraphrasing). If you enjoy what |
| concentrating on the ability to make money. | | | | you do, it doesn't feel like work. |
| Let's face it, the holidays are over, I spent a little | | | | Within this article were two quotes that seemed |
| more than I wanted to, and I'm looking to get | | | | to be personally directed to me: |
| back on financial track. You know, a new year, | | | | "Better to write for yourself and have no public |
| new savings, and hopefully not new bills. | | | | than to write for the public and have no self," by |
| All of those thoughts cluttered my creative mind | | | | Cyril Connolly. |
| and caused me to make a detour. I no longer | | | | "To find our calling is to find the intersection |
| wrote about what I enjoyed, I concentrated my | | | | between our own deep joy and the world's deep |
| efforts trying to determine what everyone one | | | | hunger," Frederick Buechner. |
| else might enjoy reading. My passion was no | | | | After reading the two quotes, I stopped reading |
| longer my passion. I was trying to discover | | | | the newsletter opened my email composer and |
| everyone else's passion so that I can write about | | | | wrote a thank you email to Alan Cohen. Honestly, |
| it. That, my dear friend, is a recipe for developing | | | | I still haven't finished reading the rest of the |
| writers block. | | | | newsletter. I think of that article as a gift from |
| This is not a self-discovered revelation. It came to | | | | God. It caused me to refocus, to find my passion, |
| me by way of my email inbox. Since I had free | | | | my joy, my income. |
| time on my hands because I wasn't writing (being | | | | For those of you who are suffering with writer's |
| blocked and all), I decided to read a newsletter | | | | block, think for a moment about why you're |
| that I thought I had unsubscribed from. | | | | writing. Is this something that you enjoy, is it your |
| In the newsletter was an article entitled "Your | | | | passion, or are you in it for the money? My bet is |
| Niche in the New Year." The title didn't catch me | | | | if you look for the joy, the money will follow. |
| but I read it anyway. The author, Alan Cohen, | | | | That's my two cents and I'm sticking with it! |