{"id":170,"date":"2008-11-22T16:06:00","date_gmt":"2008-11-22T16:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2008\/11\/why-i-dont-quit.html"},"modified":"2008-11-22T16:06:00","modified_gmt":"2008-11-22T16:06:00","slug":"why-i-dont-quit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2008\/11\/why-i-dont-quit.html","title":{"rendered":"Why I Don\u2019t Quit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
People often say they envy my career. I admit that I love, I mean LOVE what I do. Writing and speaking is purely passion driven. Knowing that what I do helps so many people is especially rewarding. People see it as glamorous and fun, especially since I wear two distinctive hats with a few smaller caps interspersed. Writing as a music journalist gets me invited to parties and I interview very interesting people for my books. For one, I had the pleasure of doing a phone interview with country singer Clint Black. He is a doll and it was fun hearing his kids playing in the background. ?<\/p>\n

My hats switch often. Each time the phone rings, I never know what it might bring. Will it be a musician with a question? Someone calling to get help from me to write their book? Oprah\u2019s producer for a return appearance? An editor? So I guess I understand why most people think I live an exciting life. It is a lovely existence on many levels. But the most important one is that I get to do what I want, how I want, in the way I want\u2014most of the time. Passion is what drives the direction!<\/p>\n

I see me as living as everyone should\u2014by your passions and faith.<\/span> Yet with all the wonderful things I love about my career, I doubt most people could live the way I do.<\/p>\n

Pursing a freelance creative career can be erratic. There can be long periods of 14-hour days with no let up, rejection, waiting to see what publisher, if any, will sign my next book, then waiting a ridiculously long time for the contract and ultimately an advance check. Then there are the dry spells when nothing percolates an income and my rent is still due. There\u2019s a lot of uncertainty in being a freelancer. It can give a person serious stress, worrying about having enough work to make enough money to pay bills and live a comfortable lifestyle. I\u2019ve challenged people about whether they could hang in like I do when uncertainty goes on for a while.<\/p>\n

Yet faith keeps me strong, relaxed and confident that it will all work out. <\/span><\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t met many people who have the level of faith I do. I always believe that everything will work out and rarely get stressed.<\/span> During dry spells, I put it out that I\u2019m expecting income earning situations and unusually large royalty checks for my books. I\u2019ve even turned down work for good money when I had nothing coming in because it wasn\u2019t something I wanted to do. Then I say, \u201dClose one door and another one opens\u201d<\/span> instead of thinking \u201cOh my goodness! What have I done?\u201d And ya know what? Something better ALWAYS materializes! ALWAYS!<\/p>\n

Strong faith keeps us tough enough to go the distance.<\/span> Without mine, I\u2019d still be teaching, complaining about boredom and still have at least one foot still in DoorMatville. Instead, I have the best career I can ask for! ?<\/p>\n

People tend to quit when the going gets rough.<\/span> School gets too hard and she drops out or switches to a less stimulating major that\u2019s easier. A married couple that still loves each other gets divorced because it\u2019s too hard to try to work out the wrinkles. He gives up his dream of having a business and gets a job to have security. The band breaks up because it\u2019s too hard or takes too long to develop the fan base needed to get a career going. She gives up trying to get to the next level of weight lifting because it\u2019s too hard and taking too long. He stops trying to get an agent for his screenplay since he\u2019s tired of the draft from doors shutting.<\/p>\n

Think before you stop pursuing something you want. When you stop, the dream is over!<\/span>
My career isn\u2019t a party. It\u2019s not all fun and games. I have to seriously believe in my ability to keep going. Luckily, I do! It took a while to find my first literary agent. And even a longer to get my first book deal. The book was rejected by everyone, according to that agent. But I wanted to write The Real Deal: How to get Signed to a Record Label<\/span><\/a> and knew musicians needed the info in it. So I put it out that I expected a deal and continued writing and speaking like I already had one. My agent didn\u2019t get me my deal with Billboard. My persistence led me to meet the senior editor who signed me!<\/p>\n

Since then I\u2019ve been through several agents. None of my personal growth books have sold easily. But they did sell. All eventually good deals! But I had to stay in the game for that to happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lance Armstrong said, “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”<\/span><\/p>\n

If I hadn\u2019t hung in for The Real Deal<\/span>, I might never have gotten any book deals since I\u2019d have probably quit. I had to leave my agent when she couldn\u2019t sell my second book, yet I found another one who believed in it and got me a really good deal for it. I might still be an unhappy schoolteacher if I hadn\u2019t persevered. As Armstrong said, quitting is forever. I don\u2019t want to lose my dreams and ditch my goals forever. Once you quit, it\u2019s hard to go back.<\/span><\/p>\n

The tough stuff really is temporary, if you keep going.<\/span> Decide how badly you want whatever you\u2019re going after. If you\u2019re thinking about quitting on your dream, ask yourself:<\/span><\/p>\n

* Is this something I\u2019m passionate about?
* What will I lose by persevering?
* What will I lose by quitting?
* Will I be happier if I give up my dream?
* How bad is what I\u2019m doing and what negative effect does it have on me?
* Can I handle it for a while longer?
* How will I feel if I give up my dream?<\/p>\n

Sometimes when you\u2019re caught in the moment, it\u2019s harder to think rationally about whether or not you should stay in the game. Step back from it. Ask those questions. Then decide if it\u2019s worth it to quit or if it\u2019s worth it to continue.<\/span> Sometimes you might not want a goal badly enough, and that\u2019s OK. But if you do, buckle down and hang in. It may take a while but if this former DoorMat could reinvent herself so amazingly, you can too! Tap into your spiritual support, because it\u2019s there waiting for you. Then enjoy the ride!<\/span><\/p>\n

If you enjoyed my post, please leave a comment and\/or click on the bookmark and write a short review at some of the sites, especially Stumbleupon and Digg. Thanks!

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