 For Authors: July 05, 2017 Issue [#8379] |
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This week: Next Time Edited by: Jeff  
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"In three words, I can sum up everything
I've learned about life: it goes on."
-- Robert Frost
Trivia of the Week: Eisner Award-nominated comic book writer Kelly Sue DeConnick (Pretty Deadly, Captain Marvel) happens to Eisner Award-winning comic book writer Matt Fraction (Iron Man, Iron Fist, Sex Criminals). Both have a reputation for tackling difficult stories and pushing the medium of comics beyond the standard superhero action/adventure fare.
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NEXT TIME
Depending on who you talk to, the "most powerful words" in the world can vary. Some say the three most powerful words are "I don't know." Others say that the words "I am" are the most powerful affirmation on the planet. Romantics might say that "I love you" is the most powerful. While I'm not sure any phrase is the most impactful, I am a believer in mantras that help you get in the right state of mind to accomplish your goals. And, in that spirit, I think one of the best mantras you can use as a creative are the words NEXT TIME.
In the entertainment industry, there's an adage that goes, "You're only as good as your last project." This sentiment is hardly original... the business world has something similar in, "You're only as good as your last sale." In sports, "You're only as good as your last game." Heck, even hair professionals have gotten in it! While I was researching this article, I came across a bunch of memes online that say, "You're only as good as your last haircut." 
The point of that adage is to say that it doesn't matter what's come before; what matters is the last thing you did. Jonathan Taylor Thomas was one of the hottest actors around in the 1990s when he was the voice of young Simba in The Lion King and starring as one of Tim Allen's kids on the hit series Home Improvement. Nowadays, he's not exactly at the top of anyone's list to headline a movie or a TV show. Similarly, your reputation as a car salesman isn't going to be defined by the fleet of Escalades you sold two years ago; it's going to be defined by the deal you lost money on yesterday. People might remember your four home-run game early in the season if you've gone 0-for-18 with 15 strikeouts over your past five baseball games. And as a hair professional might cut your hair perfectly fifty times... but you're sure going to remember them for the time they messed up and gave you a terrible haircut that took weeks to grow out.
As authors, even with incredible success, readers will eventually remember you for what you've done recently rather than what you've done in the past. There will be a point where your more recent projects will define how people perceive your work. James Patterson isn't exactly seen as an inventive, fresh voice anymore... people still read his work, sure, but with a successful formula and an army of co-authors to help him put out dozens of books a year, people aren't flocking to his books for their originality at this point. Similarly, there will be a point where Harry Potter doesn't define J.K. Rowling's new successes. She'll forever be remembered for and adored for that series, but after enough years and enough other works, her material is going to stand or fall on its quality rather than the fact that she wrote a mega-bestseller.
While this dynamic can be discouraging to some (who doesn't want to enjoy their success forever?  ), it also brings up the concept of NEXT TIME.
Whether you're a creative, a salesman, an athlete, or a hair professional, there's always your next job: the next book, the next sale, the next game, the next client. And in that next job, there's potential. In that next job, there's an opportunity for it to be your best one yet... the one that people remember you for while you're working on the one after.
NEXT TIME isn't just something that applies to your work, either.
Didn't get your steps in today? Next time.
Didn't pass your driver's test? Next time.
Didn't actually clean the garage this weekend? Next time.
It's important not to let procrastination sneak in and convince yourself that it's okay to put something off today because you can always tackle it tomorrow. That's a slippery slope. But it is okay, if you have fallen short of a goal, to look more optimistically at the next opportunity you'll have to make it right and get yourself back on the right track. After all, whether you succeed or fail today, there's always NEXT TIME.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things" |
This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
I also encourage you to check out the following items:
EXCERPT: Being lost is a strange, empty emotion that haunts many humans' souls - as they wander the cities and forests with uncertain glances from their eyes. In schools, in offices, in parks that have seen brighter days - feeling lost can seem like an inescapable burden for many humans on Earth. When a young adult feels lost, that person also struggles with other emotions such as disappointment, failure, hopelessness and frustration. When children become young adults, they start to grapple with very difficult questions about life, such as "Why was I born? Will I be strong enough - and wise enough - to create a meaningful life for myself before I die? Why do I feel so empty and confused now?" As hours turn into days, and days turn into years, many humans feel panicked and nervous in their "race against time" - to find their own answers to these very difficult questions before they exhale their very last breath.
EXCERPT: I desire to be a surgeon in a healthcare system in which everyone is equally entitled to my services and intend to express this through my current and future writing. In my eyes, writing is a mean of expression similar to that of verbal or physical expression. One can verbally state or physically show how he or she feels just as one can compose feelings into a piece of writing. In fact, I support that writing is typically the best means of expression because generally more thought is put into writing as opposed to a spoken sentence or a physical action. As a very organized and analytical person, I express myself through mechanical-like writing. One of my expressions is my particular interest in the healthcare industry and how medical care should be available to everyone. This interest has developed through life experiences such as seeing the effects the inadequate healthcare system, participating in providing basic health learning services for those in need and simply being involved in the medical community. Speaking from the systematic perspective in which I write, many people in the United States are born into situations in which earning enough money for proper healthcare and simply learning the best ways to promote good health is not feasible; everyone is a person and deserves to live to their greatest health potential.
EXCERPT: This is a discussion about what could happen with AI if the developers are short sighted.
Lets get right down to the nuts and (no pun intended) bolts. Most people still think of Artificial Intelligence as robots. Some computer idea of a smarter phone. The idea of lots of computers hooked up together like a great hookup after the club.
The truth is that its computer programs that can learn, just like a human baby, but without the emotions. To Understand this, it helps to know that currently, what they are teaching to learn has 10 times more connections than the human brain does. That means if it were already as smart as a human, it would have taken over the world already. Get your overlord outfits out!
EXCERPT: Burkina Faso, like all countries in Africa, had an exciting and stressful history. In the early part of the 1900s, it was part of French West Africa. In March of 1919, it became a French colony with the name of French Upper Volta. The colony was named after the Volta River. In December of 1958, French Upper Volta became a self-governing colony and its name was changed to the Republic of Upper Volta. Then in August of 1960, the country gained its independence from France and Maurice Yaméogo became president.
| | | A Fond Farewell [E] #2123447
This week we bid good bye to a beloved place we frequented, the Westdale Theatre.
by nicolej  |
EXCERPT: Last night we said good bye to a dear old friend. Well, actually a few old friends, but one old girl in particular that we will hold close to our heart for all time.
We said good bye to Westdale Theatre as we know and love it. She was purchased recently by the Westdale Cinema Group, whose hope it is to give her a face lift and breathe new life into her bones. |
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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Feedback from my last newsletter about the 80/20 rule ("For Authors Newsletter (June 7, 2017)" ):
Raghav R writes: "The 80/20 Rule is really very useful inasmuch as it delves into the importance of how to apply the rule in our daily activities. It also enlightens the reader on quite a few points one should know. -Raghav R"
Thanks for writing in!
Brandiwyn🎶  writes: "This is a better application of the 80/20 rule than the one I typically use: 20% of my clients require 80% of my time. If my reception staff refers to a client behind closed doors as "an 80/20," it means they're a royal pain in the rump. Shhh. Don't tell."
It's actually not all that uncommon to have aspects of your business that fall into that category... and it's usually best to identify them as early as possible and do everything you can to minimize their negative impact on your efforts. 
HWinB.C. writes: "I don't recall hearing about the 80/20 rule before today. Thank you for writing about this. It made me think. I enjoyed learning this."
I'm glad you enjoyed the newsletter!
Zeke  writes: "I wonder if 20% if your mistakes result in 80% of your failures. Keep writing. -Zeke"
I can only speak for myself, but yeah, I've made some BIG mistakes that always seem to pop up in my failures. It's probably also accurate to say that 20% of your bad habits are responsible for 80% of your failures.
hbk16 writes: "These are some interesting advice to any writer and especially to professional ones, on how to deal with the readers, the public. Such celebrity has two sides, positive and negative ones. That is why it must serve the writing as an art by taking into account at the same level both blandishments and the objective critics and not the celebrity in itself. The metamorphosis of a writer as an artist to a famous person, most often puts the writer in a complex world to which she/he is confronted to. To be wise is the best advise in order to avoid any drift. I have appreciated a lot this issue."
I'm so glad that you enjoyed the newsletter. Thank you for writing in!
brom21 writes: "Thanks for the letter. It made a lot of sense. I'm still trying to find that 20% part of writing that yields the best production. Thanks again!"
For some people, that's a lifelong exploration. If you keep at it and are diligent in evaluating your actions, I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner rather than later.
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