Y o u r W r i t e r s G r o u p

Writing like Mr. Rogers Lived

Just this.

 

How do you want to be remembered? Just stop for 10 seconds and consider how your words are liberating others today.

Editor to Author: Letter to a Memoir Writer

Dearest Author,

I've been thinking about worth lately.

What's your story worth?

At a recent writers conference I taught a workshop on how I saw publishing changing. Modern publishing, the only time in history when we've had separate "markets" for books, has begun to fracture and redistribute. I've shared several times about how The Shack has shifted things. It isn't just a book, of course, it's a bridge. And those bridges are inevitable because it isn't only spiritual people or Christians who recognize God as creator.  

Blue Like Jazz came well before it and created connections between the Christian and secular markets. Lauren Winner's memoir Girl Meets God made some connection points before that, similar to how Eat, Pray, Love did more recently, from the other side of the spiritual divide. Several spiritual/worldly, secular/sacred books have become best-sellers as bridges in the long history of such books since the beginning of print, and some people have traced this line back to the best-selling book of all time: The Bible.

The Secret. The Purpose-Driven Life. The Alchemist. The Celestine Prophesy. The Late Great Planet Earth. Pilgrim's Progress. Books you've never heard of have sold over 30 million copies: Steps to Christ by Ellen White, In His Steps by Charles Sheldon, late-19th century Congregational minister and advocate of the ever-intriguing idea of "Christian socialism." Even Nikolai Tesla wrote about his life a true spiritual man and world-renouned scientist in My Inventions. The Canterbury Tales, The Odyssey, and The Divine Comedy by Dante, written in 1304, has "sold" more than anyone knows and we have no idea how it or any of these books have changed readers and the history of spiritual thought, becoming seeds for the trees of countless theologies.

But of course, we know this is what books are--seeds. And this is what they do: define life and defy death.

"So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

So this story that's a part of you, that is you, that defines your work and all of your effort and sacrifices to share it completely (or as completely as possible) for others to use--what's it really worth?

Don't answer. You can't. Simply try to see the fullness of the question clearly. Continue on...

Do you know where your worth is really found?

Yes, in God's ownership of the life and love he's created you to embody (1 John 4:7-12). His ownership, creating, protecting, guiding and infusing of his great, unchanging spirit into us. He dies that we might live (parents always understand this principle). And we die that others might live through our sacrifices. This is the daily work of writing.

Do you know what that is really worth?

Intimately known and held, seen and heard and helped in every way, this knowledge is invaluable, isn't it? We can talk of worth and value, and shift our understanding of that from copies sold to readers influenced, but it's the knowledge a reader will have by the end of your story that makes what you're doing truly valuable. And this understanding of how God fills us and dies for us is the greatest wisdom, the most valuable in the world. And if you are practicing that, that makes what you're doing invaluable.

I want to give you, as a witness of your discovery of that unchanging love, my invaluable opinion on it, my affirmation that you've been seen and heard and that what you've written down is completely worthy. And with your assurance that it's been well established and others will see it and respond, you can continue, knowing it's incredible and invaluable. 

So do you see what your story is really worth?

Because there's no true price tag you can put on it. There's no proper estimating the value of my work, my seeing it, or others' receiving it either. It's in-valuable. We have to simply trust together that whatever comes of it is just a small piece of its fullest value as a seed for God to use, and not at all connected to the worth of what you've written, or what I've done to help. I know you've sacrificed and given for your story, and I've been brought into the processing of it, but regardless of how it will be published and the realities of our modern marketplace, you must know:

What's your story really worth?

I remain your solid co-laborer in the process of delivering these invaluable words. Never assign its worth to money, public perception, publication, or anything else. Your heart is here, and that's established and it's something you have written definitively, and just as we have agreed together at the outset here, others will when they read it.

We don't know how it will all play out. But I'm on your side and not looking for specific outcomes big or small. Don't think in terms of what's "fair," but decide you will pay with your life what's necessary to give to this project. What you give is directly proportional to what that seed will be able to produce in readers. And in terms of return and profit, I believe Cohelo is right: the universe will conspire in our favor.

So what's your story really worth?

 

Your Loving Editor,

Mick

Writer Imperatives 101: Let Them In

I don't recall learning to read, but I know I was still pretty young when I first started retreating to my room to read. I remember Robinson Crusoe, The Chronicles of Narnia, and A Wrinkle In Time, looking up words in my paperback dictionary, and basically sealing my fate as a book nerd for the rest of my life. It didn't help that I was musical and played piano.

Soon, I realized just how different I was. And so began the defending.

Now I know it isn't unusual. The natural world is not always hostile, but it isn't protective either, and everyone and everything is compelled by their vulnerabilities to require defenses, shelter, and security to ward off the assaults of the environment and attackers. We vary in degrees of sensitivity, but even naturally tough people (and extroverts!) need protected space.

Frank Peretti's The Wounded Spirit has helped many people learn to value themselves again. Elaine Arron's identifying "highly sensitive" people has also provided tools for defense. But then a couple I've known my entire life, two lifelong friends of my parents'  and now mine, helped me understand bonding and attachment and I was able to acquire and edit their books for WaterBrook Press. If you're a human, and you'd like to know how humans work, I believe you'll find their help some of the best that money can buy.

I was still young when I realized that great books can be like theirs--life-changing treasure maps built of a lifetime (several lifetimes) of knowledge, wisdom and refinement. And one of the greatest advantages of our modern age is that these treasure maps are very nearly, or at least right up next to being, absolutely free. 

Do we realize how lucky we are in the history of the human race?

Well, no. Most people don't. Because we have never known different. I imagine the kids born into this information superstore and I wonder how they're going to value anything. Thankfully, new sensitive people are born every day, book readers and idea-seekers, and there are still some adults engaging to help guide them.

But being married to another extremely sensitive book nerd and pianist, we have two fairly different kids. I watch them grow and I don't think they'll struggle too much to let people in. They're confident that though their feelings and thoughts might be different, they're valuable and important to share. I wonder if this means they won't be writers. I'd be okay with that. At 5 and 8, they do really love books, so you never know.

But all of this is rattling around in my cranium this morning, thinking about letting people in and how that can be such a struggle for anyone, especially if you've been hurt for it. And most have. Writers are those who are compelled to fight back. And somewhere in the midst of writing down the words, the truth emerges, and we see a bit more of who we really are, and who everyone really is. And that makes the world look a bit brighter. A bit more promising of wonder, beauty and joy.

So fight on today, friend! Be brave and drop the shield. Write into the heart of the fear and don't ever doubt the wisdom of letting them in. It's for your own good, too, after all.

Does Your Writers Group Provide These 3 Essentials Every Writer Needs?

Welcome back, everyone. Hope you had a fabulous Easter.

Being a book editor is such a strange job. It has enormous up sides: not requiring me to, say, buy a lot of expensive equipment or be out in extreme elements. I don't have to dig through anything too revolting. At least not physically. But still, it has its challenges.

Chief among those is the fact that everyone I meet wants to publish. And this varies in intensity, often marked by dilated pupils and shortness of breath when I mention what I do, who I've worked for, authors I've helped. In most settings, I try not to mention it because chances are if the person has thought about writing at any point in their life, a little bell labeled "My-Golden-Ticket-to-Published-Author" goes off in their heads. And its particular frequency has a way of pushing the conversation past the more important matters like writing, editing, networking, etc.

Even the best writers need a lot of help ignoring this pesky bell. Especially if they spend any time online.

But once in a while I meet someone who wants to be an editor and I always get excited because I've always wanted to help more authors than I have time for. It's no easy thing sometimes to help authors say what they mean, prove we're worth listening to and that they're not, in fact, full card-carrying citizens of crazyland.

My advice to future editors is this: 3 things. Creating great books (and authors) always starts with the same 3 things, and they all derive from the question, Will this book absolutely force people to share it?

The big challenge with being an editor is that you get to be the one to ask how exactly it will do that. It's a difficult question for authors to accept, let alone answer. But if you can get them to face the question, the rest isn't all that hard. Help an author keep answering that question through every stage of the book process, and eventually what they'll get is an exceptional book.

Will this writing compel sharing? Does this edit improve the chances of sharing? Is this a brand that fills a desperate need or want? And is there someone who would be naturally inclined to enjoy it?

And while good editors can provide help in at least two of the three essential categories, a good writers group can help in all three:

1. Motivation.

The first essential element in birthing a book that can change lives is a heart that's fully engaged. Writers who are most productive need daily encouragement and inspiration to continue the hard work of showing up, sticking with it, and continually developing the vision. This is a critical step that's missing in most of the courses I've seen. Each week, I want to send you a new motivational message to inspire you to write what matters most.

2. Education.

Writers need to engage in every step of the book process as though it's the most important step there is. From writing to editing to branding, networking and publishing, the reason a book doesn't sell is a breakdown in one of those areas. And unless authors have a strong understanding of their story and their essential difference, the book won't rise as well as it might have. First, authors need to know how to write words that work better than the rest, and like any creative endeavor, this takes training and practice over time. Each step should build on the last, with solid guidance in editing, building a brand, networking, and choosing best publishing options.

3. Connection.

The final element that's sorely missing for writers today is connection to a larger, engaged community. The trick with books is getting critical feedback on your best efforts at each step to ensure you're on the mark. And when it comes time to release your message, the best way is organically--by letting people put it to use. You don't sell great books, they sell themselves because they're so remarkable. They solve huge problems and inspire people to change. If I was a fancy marketer, I'd call this the Authentic Approach Advantage or something, but it's basically what happens naturally  when you stay focused on helping people all along the way through your own development.

To encourage authors to finish well and excel my new plan is to focus on an online writers group. I'll still help authors individually, but much of it will be through the website. For those who signed up over Easter weekend, I'm grateful for your trust, and I'd like to extend the $10-first-week offer for your entire first month. Anyone else who would like to check it out, your first month will be $10 as well. Who knows, if it gets going well, I may extend that price indefinitely.

I'm learning how to run a website as I go, but I'm still just an editor and my goals for these three categories haven't changed. So if you want to see if YWG can help you produce an exceptional book, I encourage you to come by and see the different kind of community we've just gotten going.

Thanks for reading--I'm always open to any ideas you have for making it better. See you over there!

 

 

 

Ice Cream, Writers Websites, & Making Your Calories Count

Tillamook ice cream is one of the true pleasures of our moving to Portland.

I know I risk outing myself as a closet ice-cream freak, but I don't care. The way they pack so much lactocine goodness into every delicious spoonful is enough to make me want to move here all over again, just to have the pleasure of realizing I now, once again, have access to the greatest ice cream in the universe.

I am not proud of this. But I refuse to be ashamed of my obsession any longer.

Yeah, okay, there's Haagen Dazs. But that's not really ice cream. It's frozen butter. Of course that's going to be good. Dip a cold stick of butter in vanilla and sugar and go to town. It's tasty. It's also going to deposit you in coronary junction.

You think I'm kidding. Go ahead. Have your Haagen Dazs. We'll see who dies first.

But to bring this just a little bit nearer to my actual point, as I was preparing to indulge in my shopping day rendevous with a blissed-out ice cream coma, I came across a new ad printed along the plastic safety collar. You're familiar with these, and the same lawyers' work from tamper-evident seals on vitamin jars and baby toys. These same demons clearly made these evil little wrappers indestructible because they derive pleasure not from ice cream, but from making you convulse in frustration while slicing your hands on their cleverly-designed razor bands.

I could get scissors, but now it's too much like letting them win, so I decide teeth would be best and I bring the carton to my face to gnaw the daylights out of some shrunk-wrapped landfill.

And that's when I saw it. Little white printing in a playful serif font: "More ice cream per container." Well, I'll be chocolate-swirled.

That's it, I thought. Though even then, I wasn't quite sure what "it" was.

But something grabbed me in that claim that sounded vaguely similar to what I'm pulling together in my little corner of the information superflyway. Sure, you can go for those other writers sites and publishing packages that promise "editing" and thorough quality controls. But you'll get more ice cream per container with this site. And you don't even have to chew your way through uncertain danger to get to it.

I'm not big on self-promotion, so it can be tough to feel competitive against so many big guys who pump their ice cream full of air and diglycerides, just to make sure you think what you're getting is the good stuff. I also know I've been less than gracious about the end product of such. But "frozen dairy dessert" is not what I want for all my sacrifices in the supermarket of inspired dreams. Writers work hard for their visions. And no flashy ads or deep discounts from the other guys can supply the fullest experience my mouth and stomach deserve.

So I'm continuing on writing and designing the new site, hoping someone will notice the fact that there's more actual of the real good stuff shoved in here and that's what they really want. It's not going to catch everyone, but at least those who appreciate such things will know their calories are doggone gonna count.

How to Write What Matters

People still ask if I'm doing okay and I tell them I've never been happier. Sure, we're starting to recognize the gray insides of the silver lined clouds, but mostly, we're amazingly okay despite my decision not to return to analog publishing. 

Speaking of old publishing, feast your eyes on these libraries.

Oh, where will we bookies be in 20 years?

Incidentally, being let go in a big corporate layoff is a pretty good way to go, given the alternatives. But I've chosen to embrace the change and take my opportunity to move into the digital age. And I'm not concerned with the destruction of print so much as I am with the destruction of great writing.

I suppose in some ways I’m just more proof of the publishing implosion, the faint whispers of hope turning to rumors of impending doom. But I don't believe that. Publishing is alive and well; it just doesn't look the same as it used to. And I'm excited about the future books and what will emerge in the newly democratized land of the free.

And there's even a team spirit in the air, a widespread group of dreamers taking up the colossal fight to pull together and keep believing in great books. Part of our hope is that books can be created, shepherded, published and sold in ever more ways. And knowing that creating books is such a valiant, incredibly difficult battle, we're excited because it also makes for close friendships and complementary shaping. All of us may have different battles in this glorious fight for books and we all meet it in different ways. But we're exactly the same in heart and spirit.

The cause will go forward.

And as much as everything has changed, nothing is any different in the deep abiding love writers and book people have for great books. We may whine about how difficult it is to produce a respectable, not to mention decent-selling, book. And if you're a new author, your chances of being respected, let alone rewarded and allowed to grow are rather small even as the current publishing system expands.

It will always matter who you are and who you know.

But important books are still published every day, many by top traditional houses, some by boutique imprints, and even in the self-publishing sphere. And there are many excellent fresh voices among them. Not nearly enough. But again, that's what makes the fight so rewarding.

One characteristic anyone associated with this industry has is a joy for, or at least a pride in the struggle for books, fighting off myriad disappointments while clinging to dwindling shreds of sanity and perpetual hurry-sickness and information-saturation. I love my incredibly talented and principled friends who keep their corners of this industry pumping. And I see how their dedication involves difficult trade-offs and I hurt with them.

It matters what you write. It really does. It makes all the work worthwhile, in the end. These books that require so much more than one person to be born, if writers could only see how many hopes and dreams ride on them, maybe they'd dedicate more readily, more completely. Maybe they'd hold off accepting someone's offer to publish it before it's been critiqued and edited by someone beyond Mom and Aunt Hazel. Maybe their book would outlast the others being written that are too much like it and don't really speak of the deeper truth inside that will go unrealized and unnoticed.

Cue the ominous music...

Meanwhile, I remain hopeful that the support in bookland is there, and we're all continuing to believe and fight together.

 

Why Writing Must Not Be Used for Love

"Don't Use Writing to Get Love"

The title comes from Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. Not a bad book, and several of her thoughts are useful. One is something I've seen in writers, especially of fiction, obviously because I've seen it in myself, this idea that we writers are curious creatures who can't live the way others do. Some of us come to believe we don't give and receive love like normal people and our best relationships should be pretend, inner worlds often substituting for the outer. It can be easy to forget that everyone has to eat real food, even writers, and that means finding the real food of love in the real world.

"Writers get confused," Goldberg says. "We think writing gives us an excuse for being alive. We forget...that life and writing are two separate entities. Often we use writing as a way to receive notice, attention, love. 'See what I wrote. I must be a good person.'"

Where do successful writers find the love that says, "You are of value, regardless of what you do?" The same place all fully nourished humans do. But writers are special and many times this leaves us without a guide to remind us that we aren't any different in this basic human need, or where it is and how it's found.

Most guides aren't much help on this point, I'm afraid. But the great truth is, this fuel doesn't automatically come from inside you. And that's a great truth because the source of that love frees you from any responsibility. You don't have to muster it up or perform well, or even wait until you understand it. No, you don't have to write to be worthy of love.

I'm pondering that today. It's meant for me and all writers. The love you need, to be happy and whole and free of using writing to get it, is bigger than you, beyond your understanding, in that real place you can only travel to by faith. Where our minds leave off, the heart picks up and while writing can help train our minds to escape into that world through faith, it can't bring us the food our hearts ultimately need for the journey.

Writing must not be used for love because it isn't the food. It's your bowl.

Everyone has a bowl. And when you know you're a writer, the words are how you share the food of love. But you receive it by simply accepting it from God as he fills the bowl  and makes it more, a hundred times over. And with that love, you can hold out your bowl as it's filled and pours overflowing, always more, never empty. Yes, you will find your hands full and it will become hard to carry. And yes, you may even find yours so full you can't carry it alone. But as you learn to adjust and walk with care not to spill it, he'll still be there to help you handle what's poured out. He decides how much to give and as long as you keep giving it away, there's always more when it's needed.

Don't try to hold your writing hostage to bring you love. Trust and be all there in the writing today and simply let yourself be filled. Don't work hard to reason out the process logically, just believe.

And hold out your bowl.

Success as a Writer

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could hand you the steps to success? Haven't you fantasized about finding the formula like some long-forgotten treasure hidden away in the attic for several years, collecting dust and just waiting to be employed by an enterprising writer--like you?

Maybe you've even believed the blueprint existed.

Like anyone, I've secretly longed to find that plan. I've imagined it as a golden list of time-saving short-cuts or a nice clear map to follow to the promise of perfect publishing bliss. Maybe it's our weaker selves who harbor this shameful hope to avoid the time and practice the art and skill of writing requires. But it's not uncommon. I'd wager that for writers it's near universal.

Of course, part of us, the wiser part, realizes if we got all we wished for and ended up easily writing bestselling books, we might quickly find out we weren’t prepared to handle the responsibilities and pressures that come with it. Why are we so easily convinced we should find that mystical land assumed to be “Success” anyway, or that we’d even like it when we got there?

Looking back, we can see it’s a good thing we don’t always get what we believe we're after. In all likelihood, the treasure, had we found it, would have ruined us.

I think there are a few stories about this very thing.

Wisdom has taught us that there’s a journey, a struggle involved in the process. And this isn’t really a bad thing, however impatient we may feel. I think this is something every new writer has to face, maybe it's the first lesson of great writing—that it involves hard work. And that's the very thing that makes it so valuable when you do finally achieve it.

While there are several prerequisites to great writing, the hard work is a given, and it's really grueling, certainly not the kind most people prefer. Refining excellent, mature work requires intense internal focus and mental discipline that ends up draining and depleting the very heart and soul of you. And though I don't know, I wonder if it's the most taxing non-physical exertion there is. I do know that even those with uncommonly strong will power and stamina will find their commitment challenged and their daily lives reduced to a shadow of the former. At least for the time of editing and refining.

And then there's the proselytizing to worry about too.

But what we're really doing as these stubborn wordsmiths of wonder is not dreaming of an easy way out, but always searching, searching, searching for new ways to grow our awareness. Of the world, ourselves, the lives around us, and the all-important interrelationships of these most essential nouns. The verbs and mechanics are of course important too, and it's because all of this matters to the end product that we know the sacrifices will be great.

SO my encouragement to you is to believe in the treasure right before you! Be persistent in your application of all the learning you've acquired. Hope for the easy days, and there will be some, but you know better than to give the dream of easy leisure too much credence. Instead, believe in the hope that the time and trouble it costs you will be worthwhile, time spent in the most valuable way imaginable, in growing your awareness of the nouns and the art of translating their beauty to the page.

Is it worth your all to become a more astute observer of everything, and to fashion those thoughts into the most beautiful and revealing form? Do you trust that if you were called, you were also made capable of meeting that call?

Remember: it's always, in the end, a question of what you believe the real treasure is....

Why Absolutely Everything Is about the Story

I had this thought yesterday:

Everyone who lives with barriers to belief who has made a conscious negative response about faith has fully misjudged God.

The realization of that stopped me. Somehow I knew it was a glimpse of God’s perspective and his true love for those he misses. And so I stopped and considered it. And no more than a moment later, a fuller picture emerged. And it shocked me:

With unbelievers, there is no other category.

No other category! To know him for who he truly is always = loving him. And that love changes anyone who encounters it. But anyone who has trouble believing or loving, it is  misunderstanding that's to blame. And it's this misunderstanding that's constantly used as our excuse, evidence that he doesn’t exist or isn’t what we want or need. The lack of evidence about God becomes our weapon to use against him.

Can you see the problem?

So what's the solution? Reconnecting. God wants to reconnect. And any writer working to write a true spiritual story has the greatest advantage: story! The method God himself has used to share this vitally relevant truth.

I'd like to humbly propose that reconnecting the disconnected is the grand story of all humanity. It's what it's all about. This is why everything is about story because we're all a part of it, his story of coming and reconnecting. Story is all about the one who overcomes unbeatable odds to achieve what seemed impossible. And it's happening every day, all around us if only we could see it.

Do you ever think about that? Maybe if there was time you would. But I'm wondering if there's time to think of anything but this.

This story thing is so powerful when you think of it as the way God's created us to reconnect. And because it's his, absolutely everything is a part of it, what he created, his world, the lives he spoke into being, the narrative he placed us in. We all want to read his words and know how he reveals himself and reconnects with us. Every true spiritual story is one more piece of the larger unfolding story of reconnection, as infinite as the universe, more evidence that one day it will all be reconnected. Can your story reconnect others with him, show him for who he is? How many need to read it to be reconnected and add their line in the bigger story. And how many of these stories can we find?

Authors of faith, you are royal daughters and sons of the great Reconnector. See your tool clearly. You must tell the story. Provide the escape. End the misunderstanding. Deliver the inspiration.

Crush the lack of evidence.

Open the eyes.

Write for one.

It Starts Today

Today. The word carries such power. 

Today! It's what you make it. What will you do with it? How will you use it?

Does it compel you to suit up, face your fears, believe the evidence that it will pass so soon, and seize it while you can?

Do you hear the voices calling out from the picture on the wall?

 

It starts today. Do you believe it? Do you trust the vision you've been given enough to show up? Will you act on it? 

You've been chosen for this, here and now, to do this and make it live. To influence your readers and make them live. To influence their lives that others can live. You can't possibly know how much depends on today.

Do you know how unbelievably rare you are? Do you want to? Do you want to stop simply knowing it and do something about it? Do you want to feel it and live it? That's an inspiration to others, to see you living as one of God's true rarities. Will it be a stretch to say you never knew the person you saw in the mirror every morning before today? 

How would you like to respond?

  

What would it take to draw out the real you, the one who loves like no one else, who sees the opportunities and runs toward them? To take your vision and combine it with your compassion and release it, make it influence your sphere, make those around you deal with it? To do that, to live that, it is the greatest power in this messed up world. And you have it.

Maybe you've been waiting, waiting like everyone else, being too-easily convinced that it's not the right time, not appropriate, not really needed.

Which today are you waiting for?

Every great story is about a person just like you and then one day, for no better reason than you have today, everything comes together. The decision to act is made. The experience and growth and maturing and preparing, and all the conditions come together and it's time to produce. 

That, my friend, is today.

If you will think ahead to a day down the road when it's all been done and you've become polished like a well-worn walking stick by this experience, you can imagine what you'll feel. Having committed to showing up to the writing every day, to the preparations, the sacrifice, and being progressively changed by the work of a thousand todays, with this insight having shaped the journey of your character, one day soon it will be time to share. And on that today eyes are opened, lives changed, sparks brought back to life, and no one will be able to deny what you decided back there, so many days ago.

   

That's today.

That flavor in your work, unlike anything they've ever tasted, some of them didn't know what tasting was until you showed them. You awoke their mouths, gave them a taste for something and created a desire they will never forget as long as they live. That's their life they're remembering, being brought back to, maybe forgotten so long it was almost dead. But from the flavor, they'll remember and their heads will raise.

"Today. It's right here. I can use it, taste it, live it."

That's what you'll have done.

And then, a today a little further off, you'll see a smile waiting for you just ahead. And you'll go toward it, knowing you are the reason for it.

Can you imagine it? I hope you can. Use what's around you, whatever you have, and don't put it off with excuses. You have to realize what an incredible opportunity you have before you. Don't give in to pressure to make you forget! Can you even imagine what this knowledge is really worth? And what will it be worth if you forget, give into doubts and let another today slip by?

Today, the next day, and the next, they're all connected. It's true. Believe it. Choose it. Trust it. And begin your training as you run for the next today and the next....

So many people are hoping and praying for someone exactly like you, to show them what you know. But you can only be the one if you decide today.

 

Continue the thoughts at Dick Staub's blog today. Something in the air...