When things aren’t going as you’d like and that bothers you, you can bet on one thing - that it’s your own fault.
What I mean is that the fact that anything disturbs you - even when you feel TOTALLY justified in your indignation - means that you have an issue about it. A trigger. A button that can be pushed.
The real kicker is that when you have a button like that, your irrational sensitivity to it creates exactly the kind of circumstances in your life that so irritate and frustrate and discourage (or whatever) you. What a royal pain, n’est-ce pas? And all that trouble so that eventually, by some amazing miracle or through deep humility or utter desperation or whatever it takes, maybe you can learn your lesson once and for all and get it right at last and find the happiness and satisfaction you expected all along.
What I’m really saying here is that it’s my own fault. The fact that I see this now tells me that I’m learning and everything can change now.
It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting……Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams master the lessons we have learned as we have moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up…. [At this point] Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.
– Paulo Coelho
The thing I learned a long time ago about climbing big mountains is that it’s not always fun while you’re doing it.
It’s not until later, perhaps from the highway below driving away, when all the suffering from cold and fatigue and dehydration is over, when your sore feet don’t have to take another step toward some distant destination, when your hips and shoulders can forget about your 45-pound pack grinding its weight into your skin and bones, when the air is so thick in your lungs that you can say long sentences or take a long drink of water without pausing for breath, or sometimes weeks later when you’ve fully recovered mentally and emotionally, that the best rewards arrive.
That’s when the entire ordeal - suffering and all - become glorious! And beautiful. And deeply, deeply satisfying. That’s when you realize how much the suffering and effort and dogged determination to reach the top has made you grow, and how much of a better person you are for the experience.
This is good to remember when in the midst of difficulties. Good to remember that trails and trials don’t last forever. That there will be rest, and everything will be okay again. Good to remember to never give up, but keep plodding along until you reach your destination. The trail along the way may be beautiful, but you can’t stay there forever. The conditions may be extremely uncomfortable, but they don’t last, either. You may need to pause to catch your breath or regain your strength, but the more steadily you keep placing one foot in front of the other, the sooner you will find rest, whether at base camp, advanced base camp, a brief pause on the summit, or finally home again, safe and sound, with comforts you couldn’t have even comprehended in the midst of your suffering.
When the going gets tough, remember. Remember this moment to later look back on with awe and inspiration to know that you persevered, and gratitude that it’s over!
I finally deleted 20 GB of data from my computer so I’d have space to finish editing a video from climbing Cerro el Plomo in the Chilean Andes last year just in time to give it to my Dad for Christmas.
My favorite spot in the film is when I’m standing on top of the nearly-18,000′ mountain. I had been climbing alone for hours. The daily snow storm was blowing in from the nearby ocean. I have never felt more exhausted in my life. I wanted to lay down and never move again. 100′ of elevation below the top, I was wishing desperately I would get nauseous and throw up so I could diagnose altitude sickness and have to turn back. What I like about it is the way I say “I’m TIRED.” Yes, I was tired, but even though it took so much mentally to even step over a 4′-high pile of rocks, I was far from finished! I could have gone on in that very difficult state for much, much farther had it been necessary.
I hope you’ve all enjoyed your holidays immensely. There’s certainly something unique about Christmastime. Maybe it’s the decorations, or the music, or the Savior’s birth, or the gifts, or the sales, or visits with family and friends, or time off from work or school, or the fact that everyone’s in a giving mood and it’s easier to feel generous.
I’m going to admit, I’ve had a totally miserable Christmas this year, with some notable exceptions; but, reluctantly, I also admit that I wouldn’t trade it for a normal one. Not this year. But from here on out, yes, give me merry Christmases from now on, please.
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Today on my way to lunch with my buddy Olin, I hit almost every light red.
That’s how I sometimes feel these days.
But at one point, rather than being annoyed at all the stop and go, I just looked at that red light and felt happy because I knew it would turn green any second.
By now you all know that I’ve finished a major revision of my old Christmas book Gone but not Forgotten and that the new version and its sequel are way better than the original, but the first one was still a very good book that everyone seemed to enjoy, SO….
…if you’d like to help me give away all the old inventory, it’s yours for the taking.
Just let me know how many copies you want, then drop by and pick them up. Give them away to your family, friends, coworkers, and strangers at the mall. Keep one for yourself.
No strings attached. You’ll be helping me clear out space in my basement and spread the word about the new books.
If you’re not local, then you can order as many books as you want from Free Christmas Books.com, but it’ll cost you just about enough to cover S&H.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
P.S. Now that I have concluded my experiment to find out which of you are ingenius marketers, I will add a copy of the stamp I had made for the inside cover of the book. Thanks Antone and Joe for your input!
The Christmas season is upon us and things with the books are really coming together. They’re now available on Amazon.com, I’m working on getting a very highly-recommended distributor with national chain ties, and most of the work is done.
The question is, am I too late? Have I missed the boat for this year?
In talking to a friend who runs an online bookstore, he tells me that by around this time, people stop shopping online for books for gifts and go to the stores, to make sure the gifts arrive in plenty of time.
You can still order from Amazon, btw, and get it on time, even with super saver shipping, though you may need standard shipping soon to get it on time.
And I’ll get a couple hundred books delivered here on Tuesday. I hope to at least sell most of those to friends and neighbors, then be patient for the big boat next year.
In the mean time, if you’ve read either book and liked it and have a minute and are in the mood to do me a huge favor, I’d really appreciate if you’d leave a comment on any of the web pages where they’re for sale to help visitors decide whether to buy it!
Well, it’s all finished. I finished writing The Perfect Gift. I laid out the book interiors in InDesign. I designed the covers. I sent them to the printer.
Now it’s time to get the word out. If you have a blog and want to really help me out, I’d be very grateful if you would write something about my ChristmasNovels.com or FreeChristmasBooks.com sites. All links to the site help move me up in search engine rankings, and that means more clicks, and that means more sales, and that means I can afford to write book three and buy you a nice Christmas gift!
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So I had a design job to do on PhotoShop and went online to figure out how to create a certain look I had in mind and ran into a site that lets you download hundreds of awesome Free Photoshop Brushes and makes designing so easy!
And then I got all grateful to all the helpful people out in the world who do so much for total strangers and will never know the difference they make. Chances are, you’re one of them in some large or small way, so…
