Being a writer is sometimes one of the most interesting things to be. With the good…comes the bad…pretty much like everything else in this life. Throughout my day, I am handed plenty of situations that spark my mind and words start pouring out onto my mental canvas. We put our work out in front of people for judgement, but often of times it is not just the work we have created, but a piece of our soul…if not the whole thing entirely. But, that is the profession…and that is the calling I have chosen.

I have made many many mistakes in my life. In fact, that is partly what this blog is about. Admitting to ones mistakes when they happen. There are sometimes when I don’t realize that they have happened until much later…but the same rules apply. Clean up your mess.

Don’t take anything personally. A fantastic piece of advice from a book I read…but incredibly hard to follow. But in short, when you let go of taking things personally, you just leave what they said to their own character. What is also interesting is that a great deal of the time people attack you in any way…that is actually what they are afraid of. Funny isn’t it?

They will say you can’t, haven’t, or wont,

They will say you are overrated, has been, never has been, never was,

They will say you’re arrogant, cocky, and conceited,

They will confuse your passion for these things,

They confuse your love for obsession, weakness, and eccentricity,

They will say you are too fat, too short, to weak,

They will say you are outspoken, all talk, a loud mouth,

They will confuse your drive with a push for power,

They will say you are afraid to fail, to take criticism, to take the heat,

But it is only you that knows that the pain gives you strength, that failure gives you motivation,

They will say you’re a poor loser,

They will say you’re not the best, you’re average, you’re mediocre,

They will say you don’t work hard enough, you make excuses, you aren’t a team player,

They will say what you want to do is impossible, improbable, and unrealistic,

They will say you don’t have what it takes, you don’t have the skills, you don’t have the willpower,

They will say you don’t work hard enough,

While you put your heart on the line every day,

They will say your past will keep you where you are,

They will say you didn’t live in the moment enough, analyze the past enough, or think about the future enough.

They will say these things,

But one day,

They will say how great you were.

Lean up against the ropes…like Ali himself…and let them punch themselves out. But keep trucking. Because there is only one sound that should matter to you…and it is the thump…thump…thump in your chest. Take the beatings…because they will come. Protect that heart…the punches will become weaker and weaker and weaker…and then…

You get the idea.

Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project