PASSION MAKES IT EASY
by Lynn Colwell
I’m in love again--with a new hobby--digital scrapbooking. Surely you’ve heard of the “hard copy” scrapbooking phenomenon. Seems like you can’t pass a strip mall anywhere in the U.S. that doesn’t boast one store that caters to the fanatics who hoard paper as if it were gold and grab ticket stubs from your hands so they can decorate their memory books. Digital scrapbooking is the same idea, but aficionados use a program like Adobe Photoshop® to digitally produce papers, embellishments and pages for print or slideshows.
I’m hooked.
The urge to hit the computer and create pages niggles at the edges of my brain 24 hours a day. An idea strikes and it takes incredible will power to keep from spinning the car around as I’m driving toward the market and head home so I can turn my concept into “reality.” I go to sleep dreaming of the layout I’m going to create the next morning and I wake up extra early so I can begin the process before my first client call. I’ve even dreamed about photos I might take that would fit perfectly with the stunning paper I fashioned that afternoon. Since I’m still new to all this, sometimes I’ll get stuck—want to craft an element but have no idea how to do it. I’ll squeeze in a few minutes between clients, reading or researching so I can figure out the problem.
I’ll even admit, as silly as it sounds, that when I learn a new technique, my heart literally flutters with excitement.
Why am I sharing this with you? Because when I coach writers (especially those who are not yet published), what I often hear is a cascade of excuses as to why they can’t find time to write, are blocked, don’t know where to start, are afraid etc. etc. What I often do not hear, is passion, the kind of passion I’m experiencing even as I write this and in a little corner of myself, really, really, really wish I could be off figuring out how to construct a folded page corner.
It’s not that no writer can succeed without passion. But it sure helps. The sheer force of passion creates spaces in our lives we didn’t know were there. We discover that despite our assumptions, we can accomplish something even if we only have five minutes. We also magically find that some of those things we formerly thought were necessary to our lives, are not. Passion fuels action and eradicates excuses.
When I ask clients why they want to write, I often hear the words, “It’s my passion.” But when there is no fire in the voice, I know the truth. I know how much more difficult it will be for the client to find the time, the space, the energy to live his dream.
Unfortunately, we can’t manufacture passion. We either feel it or we don’t. If you’re not passionate about writing, if you are constantly making excuses to yourself about why you aren’t accomplishing what you would like, you might want to consider admitting this to yourself and figuring out what to do about it. If your passion isn’t propelling you, what will?
(c) 2006, Lynn Colwell
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