Today, someone at work asked me if I do a lot of traveling. I replied that I didn't do that much real traveling (as opposed to work travel), but I planned to do so one day.  Later in the day, I started thinking how I'd been saying this for years, but still haven't come close to taking any real action.  One of my best friends travels all the time - she's safaried in Africa, dove off cliffs in Belize, and sipped absinthe in Croatia - but I've never joined her on one of her jetsetting adventures. Now, granted, I do have my reasons. My day job as a lawyer doesn't leave me much free time, and when I do take trips these days, they have to be devoted to my second career as a writer.  Deep down though...I know that's just an excuse.

This past weekend was a really tough and stressful one for a lot of reasons. One thing that I took away from it though was that  we shouldn't put off until tomorrow what we can do today.  Seize the day - Dead Poets Society made that phrase a cliche, but the sentiment is true.  A lot of people have told me how they want to write a book one day too - but years go by, and they have yet to pick up a pencil.  Now, a lot of times, this may just be idle talk, but there are some who truly want to be a writer.  So what holds them back? Procrastination, insecurity, fear - there are lots of reasons.  It's always easier to put things off than to take those first steps onto that scary, unknown path.  What if you find out you're not cut out to be a writer?  Better to keep it as some future goal than to have it as a past failure. 

The thing is - time is precious. We all have a window of opportunity to live our dreams.  We're all guilty of procrastination, and I'm certainly no exception.  But my point is - if you want to be a writer, do it today.  Pick up that pen, turn on the laptop - and start writing. Don't spend years "preparing" to be a writer. I'm all for research and honing the craft and reading the masters, but at some point, you have to stop learning to be a writer - and start being one. 

 

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