Our greatest battle is to become ourselves, in the face of adversity.

This is the other secret that real artists know and wannabe writers don’t. When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.

When we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen... Unseen forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose.

Writers think in metaphors. Editors work in metaphors. A great reader reads in metaphors.

The athlete knows the day will never come when he wakes up pain-free. He has to play hurt.

The artist must be like that Marine. He has to know how to be miserable. He has to love being miserable. He has to take pride in being more miserable than any soldier or swabbie or jet jockey. Because this is war, baby. And war is hell.

Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.