As we approach our tenth Seekerville birthday, I thought this article, first published in 2014, might be worth revisiting.
When looking from the
outside in, success can appear to be easily achieved. In reality, most
accomplishments come about only with hard work and determination.
The fact was recently
brought home to me by my young granddaughter. She wrote a school report on
Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the information she uncovered in her research gave me
pause. Although I had read and reread the Little
House series as a child, I had forgotten many of the hardships Laura and
her family faced.
Even after Laura married, she
and her husband experienced a number of setbacks. Almanzo was stricken with
diphtheria and had to walk with a cane for the rest of his life. They had a
baby boy who died, a fire destroyed their barn, another ravaged their home, and
drought and illness put them in debt and unable to farm their land. Later, the
savings they had been able to accrue was wiped out by the Stock Market Crash of
1929.
Their daughter Rose--a
reporter for the San Francisco Bulletin--encouraged
Laura to write a story about her childhood to help augment the family’s income.
That first attempt, titled Pioneer Girl, was rejected, but Laura didn’t give
up. She reworked her manuscript, changed the title, and with Rose’s help, Little House in the Big Woods was
published in 1932. Laura was in her sixties. The final book in the series, Those Golden Years, was released in 1943
when Laura was 76 years old.
In an era when most
sexagenarians were looking back over the lives they had lived, Laura looked to
the future. She had a vision and a publishing dream, and in spite of adversity,
she achieved her goal.
What about you? Is age
holding you back? Can you ignore the calendar and focus on the future instead
of fretting over the past? Does life pull you down? If so, can you muster Laura
Ingalls Wilder’s pioneer spirit to rise above hardship and misfortune?
Yes, you can!
Most of us know JK Rowling’s
rags to riches story. A single mom without a job, she had seemingly hit rock
bottom, yet unemployment gave her the time and freedom to bring Harry Potter to
life.
Looking back, she wrote:
“Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I
stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and
began to direct all my energy to finishing the only work that mattered to me.
Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the
determination to succeed in the one area where I truly belonged. I was set
free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I
still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter, and a big
idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”( J. K. Rowling, "The fringe benefits of failure", 2008)
In 1998, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published in the US
Have you bottomed out? Are
you surrounded by darkness or can you see a light pointing you in a new
direction? Like JK Rowling, can you turn a negative situation into something
positive?
Yes, you can!
A local trial planted the
seed for a story that Mississippi
The finished manuscript, A Time to Kill, was rejected by 28
publishers before Wynwood Press offered publication. Only 5,000 copies sold
once it went to print, but that didn’t deter Grisham, and after finishing his
first story, he quickly crafted a second. The
Firm sold more than seven millions copies, remained on the New York Times
Bestseller list for 47 weeks and propelled Grisham into the limelight.
Is your day packed with
commitments—job, school, family? Can you adjust your schedule to find time to
write? Hurt by rejection? Instead of a stumbling block, can you see rejection
as a stepping stone to success?
Yes, you can!
New York Times bestselling
author Debbie Macomber frequently mentions her dyslexia and the teacher who scoffed
at her attempts to write when she was in high school. Instead of discouraging
Debbie, the teacher’s hurtful words made her even more determined to succeed.
 |
| Debby Giusti (L) chats with Debbie Macomber at Barbara Vey's Reader Appreciation Luncheon 2014 |
Debbie believed in her
ability, and her husband believed in her as well. Money was tight, but the stay-at-home
mom with four little ones to care for used a rented typewriter to create her stories.
Heartsong sold in 1982 and was the
first category romance reviewed by Publishers Weekly. More than 170 million
copes of her books are in print. Her Cedar
Cove series is showcased on the Hallmark television channel, and her Christmas
story, Mr. Miracle, will be a
Hallmark movie this fall. Debbie also owns a tea room and yarn shop.
Dyslexia didn’t stop Debbie
Macomber. Nor did criticism of her writing. She believed she could succeed, and
she did. What’s stopping you? Can you see any weakness or disability as being one small facet of who you are and instead focus on your many strengths
and God-given talents?
Yes, you can!
Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl, wrote her diary during the German Occupation of the
Anne’s father Otto survived,
and after the war, he published her diary. The first American edition, titled Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl,
was released in 1952. In 1999, Anne’s name was included in Time Magazine’s list of “The Most Important People of the Twentieth
Century.” The article stated, "With a diary kept in a secret attic, she
braved the Nazis and lent a searing voice to the fight for human dignity."
As many young girls do, Anne
Frank dreamed of being a writer, but her life was short-lived and her world
confined to an attic hideout. Do you feel trapped by circumstances? Can you
free yourself from those things that imprison you? Can you concentrate on life’s
possibilities instead of seeing only the restrictions and limitations?
Yes, you can!
Ben Carson was raised by a God-fearing mother who often worked three jobs to provide for her two sons. She told them they could accomplish anything in life, but inner-city
Books opened a whole new
world for Ben. His grades improved, and he eventually achieved his dream of
going to medical school, where he excelled. In 1985, at the age of 33, he
became director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins and is
internationally recognized for his work with conjoined twins.
Knowing the importance of
education, Dr. Carson has done much to help children succeed. In 1994, he and
his wife established the Carson Scholars Fund, which provides scholarships for
elementary and high school students in recognition of their academic
achievement.
In addition to his
successful medical career and humanitarian outreach, Dr. Carson has published six
books--Gifted Hands, Think Big, The Big
Picture, Take the Risk, America the
Beautiful, and One Nation—with
reoccurring themes of the value of hard work and faith in God.
Thanks to his mother’s love
and God's grace, Ben Carson chose the right path for his life. If you’re
headed in the wrong direction, can you make a detour that gets you back on
track? Rough childhood, bad environment? Can you leave the past, change the
present, and set your sights on future goals?
Yes, you can!
I’ve mentioned only a few
writers who have succeeded, but there are many more that deserve recognition. Are there inspirational stories of achievement that have impacted your life in a positive
way? What motivates you during the tough times? Is there a person or
persons who encourage you to keep working toward your goal? No comments today, but I hope you'll take time to ponder a few of these questions and realize that "Yes, you can!"
Wishing you abundant
blessings,
Debby Giusti
Undercover Amish
By Debby Giusti
After
Hannah Miller’s mother is murdered and her sisters go missing, someone comes
after her. Now the only way she can survive is to entrench herself in an Amish
community…and rely on Lucas Grant, a former police officer who is planning to
join the Amish faith, for protection. But finding refuge for Hannah— disguised
as Plain at a secluded inn—pulls Lucas back into his old life. And when Lucas
discovers the criminals after them may be the people who killed his partner, the
mission to take them down becomes personal. With the assailants closing in,
though, can Lucas stop them…and finally put his past behind him to start an
Amish life with Hannah?
Pre-order here!
