The Nobility of Starting at the Bottom

When I was young, my ambitions were very modest. I thought, “If only I could play at the battle of the bands at the Y, that would be the culmination of existence!” And then the roller rink, and you work your way up branch by branch. Whereas if you’re [thinking], “I want to be a rock star”—those kind of people just want to know how they can start at the top, and they’re doomed not even to get to the bottom.
-- Neil Peart

I take a lot of inspiration from successful writers, artists, and musicians--really, anyone in the creative arts.   This quote from Neil Peart from a recent MacLean's magazine article perfectly encapsulates my internal struggle as a writer to grow my career slowly and deliberately versus the irrational desire to "have it all now".  It's "irrational" because nothing worthwhile is instantaneous.  There is no "become a published author in 8 easy steps" formula.

A fully grown oak, majestic and strong, does not just suddenly appear.  It starts from an acorn dropped from it's parent.  It finds purchase in a patch of soil somewhere and when the conditions are right, it begins to germinate.  Roots develop along with a supple stem and tender shoots.  If it isn't trampled or eaten, it strengthens and grows.  The stem becomes a trunk, the shoots become leaves.  Years pass and the  sapling becomes a tree, growing in height and girth and crown.  The same is true of a writing career.

I grew up in an age that suffered keenly from "instant gratification".  I used to pity those fools who suffered so sharply, never once thinking that the affliction was in me in some way or another.

Take, for instance, a recent discovery about online publishing.  I learned this morning that any sales I make on Smashwords or Amazon will take time to get paid out.  More than that, it will take time to get my work distributed to online retailers--days or even weeks!  I have found myself chafing at that disappointing news.  I had expected immediate results.  (Secretly, I had expected my work to be instantly popular and it would garner me tens of thousands of dollars.)

I have to laugh sadly at such misguided notions.  I mean, really, let's start at square one and get a story finished before I start worrying about what to wear at my first book signing.  Before you can win the race, you have to jump a few hurdles.  Before that you have to get out of the blocks without falling on your face.

I must make mental allowances for the Universe's natural unfolding process because success doesn't come overnight--only through putting in the hours at the keyboard, running the paces.  More than anything it is a process of commitment and re-commitment turning on itself over and over.