The Secret of Success

I was thinking about success this morning, during my morning meditation. Specifically, I realized that success in reaching a goal or completing a task does not depend on how many hours of work you put in. It doesn't depend how much you obsess and plot and plan, or even what skills you have. Yes, what you do does matter - of course it does. But not nearly as much as what you feel and believe. 

The most important step in attacking any challenging task is to prepare your mind and heart. Calm your anxiety. Quiet your chattering thoughts. Breathe deeply, and believe that you have whatever you need to succeed - knowledge, skill, determination, inspiration. Move forward in confidence, with faith in yourself, and you can accomplish far more than you would ever dream possible.

I realize that this sounds like mystical mumbo jumbo, but I've seen demonstrations of its truth in my own life, again and again. When I believe, I astonish myself. When I question my abilities, when I falter and lose heart, I stumble and fall.

I remember a simple but telling example. Long ago, one of my boyfriends had this neat trick. He could light a match with one hand, folding it against the striking surface of the match book and hitting it just right. Trivial, right? But surprisingly difficult. He taught me the technique, but I couldn't seem to get it to work. He grinned at me and said, "Lisabet, the problem is that you think you can't do it. Believe you can, and see what happens."

He was right. As soon as I let go of my conviction of failure, I was successful every time. When I let the doubts creep back, I lost the knack.

Recently, author Michael Lewis gave a baccalaureate address at Princeton, his alma mater.  One of his points - which generated a lot of commentary online -  was that success is much more a matter of chance than people normally admit. Successful people like to think that they've earned everything they have, that all their accomplishments can be attributed to intelligence and ability, but in fact, chance encounters and random events play a big role.

I agree with this - with one proviso. I think that one's attitude determines how we react to those random events, whether we turn them into assets or let them pass. If you believe in your own ability to succeed, you will be ready to capitalize on every positive accident that befalls you. And you'll be more able to shake free of the negative events, too.

When we tell ourselves we can't succeed, we are condemning ourselves to failure. When we approach  our goals with confidence, we're halfway to achieving them. Of course, we still have to do the work. I still have to write that novel, create the query letter, send it out to publishers, negotiate the contract, do the edits, plan and execute the marketing efforts. However, if I begin with the conviction that I can write that novel and get it published - well, it's only a matter of time and effort before that happens.

And now - it's back to work!

Blindness and Sight

I recently learned, on one of my lists, about an author acquaintance who just three weeks ago went blind. I don't know the details, although I gather he was very ill. It doesn't really matter. What's important to me is the fact that he's still writing!

In less than a month, he has managed to find the necessary tools (dictation software, screen reader software, and so on) and has learned to use them. He jokes that the dictation software doesn't really understand his accent, and bemoans the fact that his output has dropped from 12,000 words a day to a couple of thousand, but he's still putting out his books. And his general attitude, at least from what he has shared publicly, is one of hope and gratitude - gratitude that he can continue to follow his passion even in the face of this setback.

His story awes me. I'm amazed and humbled by his courage and strength. And it started me thinking (not surprisingly) about how I'd react, if the same misfortune befell me. I hate to say it, but I'd probably rant and scream, or sink into a deep depression. Either way, I'd make my poor husband's life a hell, with my self-pity and demands for attention.

Of course, that would just be a phase. I'm the practical sort and I probably would pull myself up out of the dumps eventually. I'd try to figure out how to adjust my working methods to deal with my new disability.

I've tried to imagine speaking my books instead of typing them and reviewing them on the screen. It occurs to me that my writing might actually improve if I heard it rather than saw it. I've always been sensitive to the rhythm and cadence of my sentences, but sometimes when I'm rushing to meet a deadline, I don't bother to mentally read my words aloud.

Then I considered what it would be like to really visualize my characters and settings, without any interference or distraction from scenes in the outside world. I normally have pretty clear pictures of places, but less vivid images of people. Perhaps, if I were blind, that would change, as I played out my stories on the screen of my mind.

Maybe, just maybe, a new approach would bring some freshness to my writing. Sometimes, these days, I feel rather stale, to be honest. I had the bizarre idea that perhaps I should try writing blindfold, to see what would happen.

Of course, these were just mental experiments. My colleague's challenge got me thinking about how fortunate I am - but also reminded me that there are positive sides to even the worst events. I don't know him well enough to share the insights his story has triggered, but he has me seeing things in a new way. And I'm grateful.