In my journey I\u2019ve been humbled by those whom I thought wouldn\u2019t care but did, angered by those I thought would care but didn\u2019t, confounded by those who suggested anything was possible if I simply chose it to be so, and indebted to those who made me see the light, so to speak, whether I wanted to or not. I am a firm believer in the saying actions speak louder than words, but over time I\u2019ve learned not to be so absolute in my interpretation, so I’ve sometimes had to bend the rules in order to see the light, and in doing so surprised myself at how far I\u2019ve gone to turn what would otherwise be mere words into actionable items. I\u2019d love to say, \u201cdamn, I\u2019m good,\u201d but I suspect this is something most people get. For me it may be a sign of a maturing mind perhaps, or peace, or confidence.<\/p>\n
I recently wrote a piece called, \u201cEverything Happens for a Reason,\u201d and I think that\u2019s very true. Most of the setbacks I \u201csuffered\u201d turned out to be beneficial one way or another in the end. For example, I thought I was ready for prime time back in 2009, and I sent out three query letters with my hopes set on the middle one. The first agent ignored my query completely, probably because I sent fifty (that\u2019s 50) pages to his inbox when he requested only five. The second one \u2013 the fellow I thought was a sure thing, visited my website seventeen times but never contacted me. The third agent actually sent me a personal response, and while that was just a small collection of words, they were words I was able to turn into action.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s now two years later nearly to the day, and just when I thought I was all set to try again, along comes a fellow named Jerry Waxler of the Memory Writers Network<\/a>. We\u2019d been discussing my book when, out of the blue, he said, \u201cIf your title \u2018The Troubles\u2019 had a double entendre meaning of the troubles in Ireland and the troubles between you and your brother, I would want to read it.\u201d As soon as I read that I felt a bolt of energy blast through me, and I realized I\u2019d experienced more than a mere \u201cAh ha!\u201d moment. Everything suddenly came into perfect focus, and for a half-blind writer with a wonky eye, that\u2019s some trick.<\/p>\n There are some things in life we fight with, and sometimes we win. Other times we give up and tell ourselves it was not meant to be. In this case, nothing has ever before felt so meant to be.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been writing now for, oh wow has it been that long already? Well, suffice it to say a very long time, and along the way I\u2019ve had my share of ups and downs. Like when early on I discovered … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/richardpnixon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/bookcover_042411-small-224x300.png\" "\\"bookcover_042411")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"