“Believe! Believe! Believe!” #2
If you and I had a great coach/mentor/spouse/guru who had our absolute best interests at heart, he or she would stand at our shoulder always … but particularly when we faced adversity (which means every day in almost every circumstance).
What would that avatar tell us?
Without fail, she or he would say, “I believe in you. I believe in your gift. I believe in your Self. I believe in your capacity for work, courage, grit, selflessness and perseverance.”
(I’m sure you know where I’m going with this.)
That coach/mentor/counselor must be ourselves.
I call this, in my own mind, self-reinforcement.
For me, it’s more important than talent and almost as critical as hard work.
In other words, as Anthony Hopkins says, “Believe! Believe! Believe!”
In the face of political and Constitutional catastrophe, inevitable adversity in our personal and professional lives, the constant “friction” of real life, not to mention the ever-present, intelligent, diabolical force of Resistance that we all must face each morning the instant we open our eyes, you and I must tell ourselves—on the deepest emotional and spiritual level—that we believe in ourselves and in our gift … we believe in the work we feel called to in our soul … and we believe in the inexhaustible source of creativity that powers the universe.
I do this literally, every day. I have to.
Self-reinforce! Self-reinforce! Self-reinforce!
“Believe! Believe! Believe!”
P.S. see Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Muhammad, Lao-Tzu, et al.
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?"
I needed to hear this, thanks
Likewise.
Perfect timing! Thanks so much!
Nobody’s coming to get you.
Nobody’s going to fulfil this role of motivator.
We are truly alone. But once you get past the horror of it, you realise the beauty. Nobody needs to come save you; you got this.
Thanks Steven. Hope all is going well with the rebuild.
Thank you Steven. I needed this too today…and everyday!
Timely. Thank you.
Thank you.
Yes.
No matter what.
Stay conscious of it til you move the needle.
Steven <3
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Ich love every word of what you are saying. It speaks directly to my heart!
And I love you, for doing this.
May you be blessed in everything you do
Believe indeed
quantron wifi dongle driver
Thank you Steven! Your message resonant here this morning in Ontario Canada!
My favorite part of your message…..and we believe in the inexhaustible source of creativity that powers the universe
.This IS US!
Thank you!
Suzanne
Near Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Thank you! Believing and continuing to keep it moving!
You and your words always provide inspiration.
And I know if you can keep believing then I damn sure can too.
I read your words repeatedly. They speak from your soul to our souls.
The world gives us many reasons to quit ourselves.
In a world where you can choose anything, I wish to be the person who never gave up.
Much gratitude for helping us on our journeys.
Today yours was the first email I saw, this morning, and it was perfectly serendipitous indeed! Believe believe believe that is the message I needed
thank you
Thanks SO much Steven!
I needed to read this at this exact moment!
Cheers!
Absodamnlutely.
Love this! This seems like it could be a book.
I walk along the same path and pray many more will follow. BELIEVE, BELIEVE, BELIEVE! Life is Beautiful!
La Vita Bella & LOVE always wins! Thank you Steven.
Believe it!! (Naruto fans)
Hi Steve. My favorite Lao Tzu passage that I often meditate on ends with “It is because they do not compete with others that they are beyond the reproach of the world.” Felt aligned with your post here, and I thought it might resonate.–passage is: The Best. It helps me remember I need to manage my own journey every single day, whatever comes at me (or out me). Thank you for sharing your work, especially when you are dealing with so much change and loss. I hope you are receiving the help you need.
I sometimes have to stand on guard against potentially being a contrarian, but perhaps I need to take your advice to just say what is inside me, as a read this motivational expression.
I think it might be less about believing in myself and more about not believing in the capacity of others to be open minded. The “poltical upheaval” you mention seems to testify on behalf of that issue. I am not a published writer but I write and I write and I write. I NEED to write to understand why I think what I believe (or believe what I think).
I also delete and delete and delete. Succumbing to Resistance? Possibly. However, it is frustrating to continuously, lean towards believing what I write will fall on deaf ears. If I have to focus on the Triple B; I need a greater belief in humanity. That is a big ask of myself at the moment, as I observe so much incredible greed and stupidity, aka war mongering.
I’d love your take on this. Does one or two acts of goodwill, provide enough evidence that its worth it, in the face of such an immense amount of examples to the contrary?
I don’t think anyone can continue existence without keeping some sort of faith. Even nihilists and pessimists have hope buried beneath those barriers.
Came home yesterday from an unforseen opportunity. My husband was needed as on-camera talent for a video shoot. We spent 4days upgrading his wardrobe, doing laundry. Sunday morning a chauffered Limousine picked us both up, and drove us 5 hours to our destination. Holiday Inn for handicap requirements. Old friends stopped by in the HI restaurant, than the sitting area in front of the gaslog for more catching up on old times. 9 am Monday, picked up and transported to studio. I was free to wander the studio while script and other incidentals were reviewed. In my wanderings, I happened into a separate recording area. I’d met the engineer , we exchanged pleasantries, then I got my courage up to ask about an engineering problem I had in my Logic-based home studio. He spent an hour of his time on my difficulty. I’d been blocked, and he moved the blocks away, gave me his card for any future Q’s.There was a catered lunch for everyone. My Husband’s turn on camera came. Back to the Motel, packed, Picked up by Limo yesterday AM. Crashed when I got home. Woke up this AM, my Muse was back. Singing some stuff that was ridiculous, making me laugh. Still feel a bit achy from the excursion, but refreshed in many ways. New eyes for my mini studio, what I want to do with the material. Thanks for the forum to share this, Steve.
Muriel
Thank you. Surely needed this right now.
Nobody is coming to rescue me, except Me.
“Believe! Believe! Believe!”
Can’t stop for even a moment or I lose momentum . . .
Your weekly emails are like vitamin supplements for my mind.
And I always seem to get them right when I need them! Thank you, Steven, for keeping me on track and in the right mindset.
Love it. I find this infinitely easier to do for others than myself, same with forgiveness.
When I have mentored young soldiers about leadership, I said, “You never talk to the young man/woman in front of you. You talk just over their head. You talk to their potential. They, through your actions, words, and encouragement, eventually see what you see in them.” (hopefully).
Been using remaining GI Bill to learn construction at a local tech college. LOVIN IT!!! I replaced a friend’s water heater last week, and framed three walls for our final. The lessons in learning how to build a house are profound, and the work is the most intrinsically rewarding I’ve had in my life.
I even got chapter summaries and an intro (about 10 pages) to an editor, I think the solidity of learning to build/fix/renovate–to have an impact in the material world–is giving me more breathing space to write.
Editor didn’t get back to me for two weeks…and I of course (she’s wife of former soldier/friend) I KNEW she was trying to find the words to tell me this is wretched. Churning guts, shame, fear…all for nothing. Turns out she thinks I’m onto something…
Been a minute since I’ve posted here. Miss you all.
bsn
“I think the solidity of learning to build/fix/renovate–to have an impact in the material world–is giving me more breathing space to write.”
Very much relate to this bsn … many years ago I went through a bad patch that randomly coincided with being asked to help save a family cabin. It was literally rotting in the forest (the polite term the local village used is “cobwebbed.”) After 2 months of emptying it out and looking over the shoulder of a roofer/plumber who taught me a few things, it felt like my brain had been power washed.
Best wishes on your continued writing!
Two weeks is more like two seconds in that world, Brian. But your doom-and-gloomies were so relatable! And Sam, this was poetry: “It felt like my brain had been power washed.”
Swapping out a sweet little house in Minnesota for a vintage (such a euphemism) RV in Pennsylvania is alternately the silliest move we ever made and the best decision ever. The RV’s like a giant pet that will never be trained, but it does keep the brain cells firing.
More to Steve’s point, here’s a field guide to wrangling the discouraging voices inside your head…
https://www.amazon.com/Untethered-Soul-Journey-Beyond-Yourself/dp/1572245379
You’ll become acquainted with what the author calls your inner roommate, and you’ll wonder how you’ve lived with that person your entire life.
Today’s post resonated with me so much. Thank you Steven!!! For the record I was just doing dishes and thinking about The War of Art. I was naming things as resistance, particularly drama! I’ve also been thinking about a mentor who used to cheer me on who doesn’t anymore and now I see how important it is to move past that to self-reinforcing!
I’m reading Robert D. Richardson’s biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson. It’s a great read for anyone who wants to know about a man whose entire life seems to have revolved around discovering, reinforcing, and sharing the truth that “on the deepest emotional and spiritual level—that we believe in ourselves and in our gift … we believe in the work we feel called to in our soul … and we believe in the inexhaustible source of creativity that powers the universe.”
Hey Steve, I refer to our advertising days when you and I sought to give consumers a leg up on product superiority
Well I do …in the world of parity the poor consumer needed a push in the right direction.It was rewarding emotionally and in dollars and Sense
And hurt nobody
Believing?
Iits a gateway to “up and down “but needs to be tempered when it comes to politics #
chuck Beisch
This is just what I needed this morning! Thank you Steven!
I typically enjoy your posts, but just a couple notes on this one…
First, politics: is being on the verge of a peace deal with Russia a poitical catastrophe now? And Constitutional crisis? Where? I get it if you hate Trump — many people do… But isn’t watching the news in the first place a form of resistance in that it takes time and energy from our true calling?
Second, Jesus: I’m sure you already know this, but Jesus never asked people to believe in and rely on themselves. He asked them to believe in Him and His power. In our weakness, He is the force that gives us strength. I read through the full Bible for the first time last year, and that was a common theme throughout. It was an amazing read, by the way — best book I’ve ever read. I don’t think the other people you mentioned belong in the same sentence as Jesus… but that’s just my Belief.
Mathew 25:40 is a great passage. And the King shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.
The Beatitudes speak volumes too. I’m not seeing those works in action much as of late. Something to think on.
That’s a great reference, thank you. I will never forget those passages for as long as I live. And I couldn’t agree with you more, we need to do more as a people — I want to see every hungry person fed, every homeless person sheltered and every orphan loved. I also want to see an end to the endless wars and the needless death and suffering they bring.
With regard to realizing our highest potential and conquering resistance and living our true purpose, I just don’t think believing in ourselves is enough to make all this happen. I believe we need a higher power to guide us, and I don’t think his name is Buddha.
The only constitutional catastrophe going on is about anti freedom judges deciding that they run the country and not the President and Congress that were elected. It’s almost as if they are defending wasting a trillion dollars on govt agencies doling out grants for mentally ill and perverted programs, and for flooding the country with millions of unvetted (and often violent) illegals, to eventually swell the voting ranks of one party.
Don’t know about anyone else but I did not enjoy the Lefts censorship both overt or insidiously wokish. Can’t create when some reeducation camp lovers are telling you how many pronouns your characters need
As other’s have said this message came at a needed time.
It is a crazy life i have chosen. But it is my choice and my life!
As always thank you Steve,
Russ
Yes!
Believe in yourself
Believe in your own magic and gifts to the world
Believe in what’s stirring in your heart – that it’s there for a reason
Hi SP – We are clearly here and now at a juncture of redefining all the concepts and codes we learned as children. I’m so grateful to have found you and your offerings.
This week’s entry was the vitamin supplement I needed that prepared me to receive an AHA moment that has turned the tide in my self concept. I’m working on the understanding that stamina requires belief in action – to Self and to the deeply held vision of our purpose in life.
Keep it up! One more step!
Love it! Semper Fi, Steve!
Steven,
Per your advise I read the War of Art a year ago first and have not looked back. I have two inspirations each morning before my workout, the young lads storming the beaches of D-Day and for there I vision Jesus suffering on the Cross. Done!, I move forward. Thanks for your thoughts and insights.