Kristen Lamb. Why Are Certain Stories Timeless? Dec 16 Funny how death can make us take a hard look at life, right? Anyway, I recall feeling soooo overwhelmed. I mean my odds of even getting published were about as good as winning the lottery. And the odds of becoming a best-selling author? Well, mathematically speaking, I had a slightly greater chance of being mauled by a black bear and polar bear on the same day.
Often it feels like we are the victims of fate, at the mercy of the universe, when actually it is pretty shocking how much of our own destiny we control. The good news is that if we can get in a habit of making good choices, it is staggering how certain habits can tip the odds of success in our favor. Time to take a REAL look at our odds of success. Just so you know, this is highly unscientific , but I still think it will paint a pretty accurate picture.
I will show you a bit of my own journey. Did you know most entrepreneurs fail at least three times before getting traction? Smoother from there. But WHY?
No, writers just needed nurturing, cuddling, and help. I worked for years with self-professed writers who refused to learn, listen or even work. They had the skin of a grape and wanted to make it in an often undervalued profession that is NO place for the idle or thin-skinned. When we start out wanting to write, we are up against presumably millions of other people who want the same dream.
We very literally have better odds of being elected to Congress than hitting the NY Times best-selling list. As I just said, in the beginning, we are up against presumably millions of others who desire to write. Yes, millions. And that is only ONE continent. Much of Europe, Australia and New Zealand are burgeoning markets in the new digital paradigm. Ah, but how many do? How many decide to look beyond that day job? How many dare to take that next step? This brings us to the hundreds of thousands.
