I recently heard an interesting bit of wisdom
from an unexpected source. The source was actress Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar
Galactica, Longmire) in an interview at a comic-con, The wisdom was:
When
you are working toward a purpose, don’t have a Plan B.
This really struck a chord with me, the idea that
we often defeat our own purposes by giving ourselves an easy way out.
Pursuing any goal is bound to be fraught with
roadblocks, but if we see these as reason to quit or even delay, we lose our
momentum and may never make it to where we want to be.
The falling bird must fly.
The feral cat must hunt.
“Do or do not; there is no try.” — Yoda
In other words,
if you really want something, the best route to take is straight ahead,
through all the difficulties and disappointments, as if your life depends on
it. Okay, I can do that.
In a way, I feel like that’s what I did when I
quit my job to concentrate on writing. There was no plan B, and for several
months, no income either. Thankfully I have a supportive husband who covers
little details such as the mortgage and food, but this wasn’t about money
anyway. If I wanted a comfortable income, I could have stayed in that
life-sucking job. I had already written several books working around the full
time hours. I had given readings and attended events, skipping work when necessary. But it wasn’t enough. It was a compromise, with dullness
weighing heavily against the flight of the soul.
I have never regretted my decision, and now all
my days are centered around my writing. I have picked up a few part-time jobs I
enjoy such as cat sitting. I have stopped wanting to buy things I don’t need
(and thinking I need things I don’t). Though I have a long way to go to support
myself by my books, that doesn’t even come into play. After sixty-some years of
life, I finally feel like a whole happy flawed alive person.
My Plan A is to write like hell, pursue every
opportunity that comes, and drop the rest in God’s lap. It’s working for me;
will it work for you?
 |
| Katee Sackhoff |
PS: Katee is from Portland. I’m so proud!
About
Mollie Hunt:
Mollie is the author of the Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery
series, featuring Lynley Cannon, a
sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat in
catnip. Mollie is a member of the Oregon Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, and
the Cat Writers’ Association. This year she won a CWA Muse Medallion for her
3-part blogpost series, “Life Stages”. Like
Lynley, Mollie is a grateful shelter volunteer.
You can find
Mollie on her Website: http://www.lecatts.wordpress.com/, her Amazon
Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/molliehunt, and her Facebook
Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MollieHuntCatWriter/.
Sign up for her Extremely Informal Newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/c0fOTn.
