You Have The Power
June 12, 1993, presented me with a question.
Go anchor or go springboard?
Let the day pull me deeper than the Mariana Trench or propel me beyond Hubble’s view?
I flip flopped for years.
Today I’m still in Hubble’s view, and it’s been years since I hung with the bottom feeders, but I look around me and see the same struggles.
I’ve written in the past that one key piece of advice that I’ve had for young artists is that they enroll in business classes, so that they can protect themselves from the wolves.
There’s something else: Be prepared to fight. There are people who will try to hurt you—and they don’t all reside in Hollywood.
Be prepared to fight today. Be prepared to fight tomorrow. Be prepared to fight every day that follows.
And if you cross paths with a rabid wolf, don’t let it steal your soul.
Hold on tight and fight.
Fight for your ideas.
Fight for your work.
Fight for your mind.
Fight for your body.
Fight for everything you hold dear.
At the time it might feel like they have the power, but remember your own power and use it.
Your mind. Your body. Your soul.
You have the power.
DO THE WORK
Steve shows you the predictable Resistance points that every writer hits in a work-in-progress and then shows you how to deal with each one of these sticking points. This book shows you how to keep going with your work.
THE AUTHENTIC SWING
A short book about the writing of a first novel: for Steve, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Having failed with three earlier attempts at novels, here's how Steve finally succeeded.
NOBODY WANTS TO READ YOUR SH*T
Steve shares his "lessons learned" from the trenches of the five different writing careers—advertising, screenwriting, fiction, nonfiction, and self-help. This is tradecraft. An MFA in Writing in 197 pages.
TURNING PRO
Amateurs have amateur habits. Pros have pro habits. When we turn pro, we give up the comfortable life but we find our power. Steve answers the question, "How do we overcome Resistance?"
Wow – right between the eyes! Thanks Callie.
Callie,
This caught me by surprise. We are training a police department on resilience and adaptive leadership, and we discuss the PolyVagal theory…fight/flight/freeze.
The beliefs underlying: flight/fight–I can
Freeze: I can’t.
Better to be angry and fight than freeze with a sense of helplessness.
It is helpful to remind oneself of one’s own power. It can be hard to know that when under fire, training helps. Even if that training is only in your mind, rehearsing scenarios.
Have a great weekend.
bsn
LOVE IT, Callie. Until I got REAL with myself I was living in a house of sand and fog. And “that wolf” had no problem with huffing and puffing to blow the house down.
Powerful message, Callie! I’m giving a similar message in my current WIP. I find that as women especially, we have to push back.
But fight thoughtfully.
Know your strengths, and your opponents weakness.
Pick your field of battle.
Do not waste energy on talk when it’s time to act.
Be calm, deliberate, and thorough.
Avoid celebration.
Good reminder. Thanks, Callie!
Thank you, Callie. This is exactly what I needed this morning. I’m going to print it out and post it where I can see it!
I cannot thank you enough for these words.
Today I found myself engulfed by wolves in my head…feeling helpless…attacked, bullied, and harrassed. I opened my email and there in one simple message hope filled my being.
Hold on and fight…for your soul.
Erik, I will not celebrate..but I will hold on to the sense of hope that came with these few words. it was devine intervention.
thank you thank you
“The road not taken” doesn’t hold the same mystique for me as it once did; while I used to play “what if” in hindsight about moral choices I made in my business dealings, I no longer regret having chosen the high road – not because I wouldn’t have profited financially and business-wise, but because I know now with certainty that I would NOT have been able to live with myself, having made those compromises. In my experience, it’s always been worth it to fight – because ultimately I have to live with myself! Thanks for the reminder, Callie! XO – M
Hi thank you but why do people call you Callie?
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