The famous German writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said,
“Whatever you can do or dream you can,
begin it; boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
I love that quote. My favorite part of the quote lies right in the middle.
“Begin it.”
I believe that is the key. Start. Go. Take action. Begin.
It is my job to study Latin, to study Greek, and to write. There are many, many days I don’t feel like doing any of the three.
For example, writing is hard. Writing is a bit lonely. It is easy to trick yourself into procrastination. It is easy to lie to yourself. “I just don’t feel like writing today.”
It doesn’t matter. Who cares how I feel?
Some of my friends and some of my students see what I have done. They want the same results. They want to be geographically free. They want to move overseas to study. They want to provide for themselves by writing.
But, they forget that I spent 20 years in the classroom. They forget that I spent 10 of those years getting up at 3, or 4 in the morning in order to study Latin. They forget that for 20 years, I showed up, whether I felt like it or not.
If you want to be a writer, start writing.
Do not wait for inspiration. Do not wait for motivation. Do not wait for the muse. Just start writing.
If it is your job to write, write. If your job is something else, you do it … whether or not you are motivated. You show up to work, and you do your job.
Also, don’t worry about the quality of your writing. Just start writing. Write bad stuff. Then, edit the bad stuff.
Remember two things. First, you can’t edit what you haven’t written. And, second, good writing happens when you edit.
And finally, remember this. The time is going to pass anyway. I have dreamed of returning to England for a long time. It took me 32 years.
Today, my family and I fly to Greece. We are stopping in London for a day. I never let the dream go. In part, my writing brought me to this point.
Do you have a dream? Copy Goethe’s quote. Carry it around with you. Read it. Believe it.
Most of all, begin it.
“Whatever you can do or dream you can,
begin it; boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
Have a happy Saturday!
Dwane Thomas
P.S. I will not be responding to email, messages, or texts for the next several days. I will be catching up next week.
