The Eye of the Tiger

I like that this begins with a cliche. I could edit it. I could play around with it, and try to express myself in a way that appears more unfamiliar at first. But I’m not sure I have time for that. I have to write 29 articles for the “Wheel of Process,” and this one happens to be about:

The fact that some writers finish their projects, while others do not.

I have been asking myself lately what might be the difference between these two groups: the “Do’s” and the “Do Not’s.” Without casting any judgment, can we identify a few characteristics of the first group, and thereby help all of us channel this energy?

The “Do’s”:

• Can commit. They have a “will”—that concept introduced into Philosophy by Schopenhauer (of course it was a German), to mean “an individual’s motivation.”
• Can mutate. Like mutable energy in astrology, this is the quality of being able to say when a strategy or an approach is not working and it is time to change things up.
• Like themselves. Not all the time, but enough to believe that their ideas are just as good as anyone else’s. Potentially.
• Like other people. Involving beta readers in the writing process is a necessary reality check; it is also a source of encouragement and fellowship.
• Are grown-ups. This is “grown-up work,” one of my clients pointed out. Or as my wife is fond of saying, “I like people who do what they say they’re going to do.”
• Are children. In the sense of knowing how to be in the moment, they show up at the playground first and foremost as a way to enjoy the day.
• Keep a calendar. The “Do’s” pass around books like “The Clockwork Muse” and set dates for when they will have certain scenes, chapters, or revisions done.
• Know how to enter spiritual timelessness. They cast a sacred circle around themselves, or otherwise know how to take the time to stop time.

I think, reconsidering the question, it is likely that we all share the characteristics of the “Do’s,” at least some of the time. The distinction between the “Do’s” and the “Do Not’s” may not be so black and white after all.

It may be a matter of emphasis and proportion.

It may be a question of readiness—we may be more predisposed to be a “Do” at certain times, regarding certain projects. But then again, it might be under our control to be a “Do.” As Winston Churchill said, “I like things to happen; and if they don’t happen, I like to make them happen.”

I think we can all agree—that guy had The Eye of the Tiger.