By guest blogger, Jennifer Slattery
Over the years, I’ve watched writers come and go, some
faltering others soaring, and I’ve discovered those who succeed have cultivated
a winning mindset.
Our thinking determines our behavior, and our behavior
determines our results. Or as Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can, or
think you can’t—you’re right.” Therefore, if we want to be successful, we need
to think like successful people.
Successful people
embrace failure.
Writing is a journey of continual failure. We’ve all heard
about award-winning authors who received fifty to one hundred rejections before
landing their first contract. But few of us have heard about those writers who
quit after rejection number forty-nine. Those people simply drift into obscurity,
taking their broken dreams with them.
What if they were one rejection away from landing that big
contract? They’ll never know.
Failure doesn’t end post release. To the contrary, the
stakes simply get higher. I’ve heard of authors who’ve become crippled by
negative reviews and poor sales. Because they’ve come to see failure as their
enemy rather than their friend.
But then there are those who bounce back from every
obstacle, recognizing failure isn’t a
dead end but rather an opportunity to grow and learn.
Which leads me to my next point.
Successful people are
perpetual learners.
We all know we need to study the craft and attend
conferences, but how well do we respond to constructive criticism. The other
day, a new writer friend asked if I’d ever felt a critique partner’s comments
were so far off, I ignored them completely. My response—no. I can learn from
every piece of feedback, whether I agree with it or not.
Here’s what I’ve observed: those who respond negatively to constructive criticism tend to flat-line
whereas those who embrace it tend to soar. Their skills rapidly improve as
they begin to learn from others.
I’d rather receive harsh feedback pre-release than post.
That doesn’t mean I agree with everything my critique partners say but I can
always find a nugget of truth in their responses. And regarding the comments I
disagree with—I simply ignore them and apply what I find helpful.
Successful people
fight negative thinking.
Negative thinking is a waste of time. It hampers one’s
creativity, saps their strength, and places them in a “defeated” posture. But
we were called to so much more! 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to take our
thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. So what is Christ saying to
you?
He’s saying, “I formed you. I planted the dream of writing
deep in your heart and I am the one who has called you to this journey. I’ll go
before you and I’ll walk beside you. I’ll open doors that no one can shut, and
through you, I will make my love and grace known to a broken humanity. I alone will do these things. All you need to do is surrender, trust in
me, and keep walking, knowing I will perfect that which concerns you.”
Which of these three mind-sets do you need to work on and
what steps can you take today to cultivate successful thinking? Share your
thoughts, experiences, and ideas with us, because we can all learn from each
other.
Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers,
Christian living articles for Crosswalk.com, and devotions for Internet Café
Devotions, the group blog, Faith-filled Friends, and her personal blog. She
also does content editing for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas’ Firefly
imprint, and loves working with authors who are serious about pursuing their
calling. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves going on mall
dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun
husband.
Visit
with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and connect with her
on Facebook and Twitter: @Jenslattery
Breaking
Free:Sometimes it takes losing
everything to grab hold of what really matters.
Women’s ministry leader and Seattle housewife, Alice Goddard, and her successful graphic-designer husband appear to have it all together. Until their credit and debit cards are denied, launching Alice into an investigation that only leads to the discovery of secrets. Meanwhile, her husband is trapped in a downward spiral of lies, shame, and self-destruction. Can they break free from their deception and turn to the only One who can save them? And will it be in time to save their marriage?
Women’s ministry leader and Seattle housewife, Alice Goddard, and her successful graphic-designer husband appear to have it all together. Until their credit and debit cards are denied, launching Alice into an investigation that only leads to the discovery of secrets. Meanwhile, her husband is trapped in a downward spiral of lies, shame, and self-destruction. Can they break free from their deception and turn to the only One who can save them? And will it be in time to save their marriage?
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