Just Me

  Two things happen when I face failure.   The first thing that happens is that I get angry. It’s natural to get angry. Anger is a very human emotion. So, I allow myself to feel all the bad feelings that come with failure: Anger, disappointment, frustration and sadness. I might even throw out an “Every time I try to DO something!” when faced with failure.   The second thing that happens is that I pick myself up, dust myself off, and carry on.   Whether or not moving forward means trying again or biding my time until a new solution comes along remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: If this particular thing that I tried to do is important enough to me, I will not give up on it. I mean, I will if the other parties involved have given up too, but if it’s a thing that’s all on me, then I won’t give up on it.   That was the situation for me recently, when I was trying to help out a friend who runs an orphanage in Uganda.   Bob Rich i...

  An old To Do list. As you can see, I didn't get everything done in that day. Some things got moved around. But I DID get the ball rolling, by having a plan and/or getting materials needed for when I could do those things. “Newsletter Stuff.” It’s something I write down in my planner after I have done something for the newsletter – whether it’s adding new books just published, new articles or interviewing someone. Getting it down into my planner is a reminder that I have started working on something – and that, no matter what else happens in my day, I got something for THAT particular task done!   It also serves as a reminder that I can come back later to work on it some more, if I didn't finish everything I had to do for it in that time I had available for it. Usually, I am not able to finish an entire task in one sitting, but, hey, at least I got started on it! At least I made some time for it in my day, and it's there for me to go back to in the event I have the time ...