Little by Little

Some days or events are more productive than other days or events, yet the last thing we need to do is measure our failure or success on the performance of any given day or event.  We’d be all over the scale if we did.  There are days and events when really BIG things happen, and then there are days and events when hardly ANYTHING happens.  But neither means the day or event has been successful or unsuccessful.  It’s often in those hardly anything moments where I plant the seeds that are harvested in those really big moments.  Both are equally important, and our eyes being set on the bigger picture is also just as important.

I’m currently on a book tour.  It’s not as elaborate of a tour as I’d like to have, where I travel all over the world and meet new readers across the globe, jet-setting from one city to the next.  I’d LOVE to feel bad at being in such demand that I CAN’T reach every city.  However, the camp I’m currently in can only afford to branch out as far as $4/gallon of gas will get me, which isn’t very far at all.  Importantly, I don’t gauge the success of my author appearances based on the number of books I’ve sold or how many people show up to the event.  Often times I’ve made the best contacts on appearances when there were only a few people, giving me more time to network and express ideas, which have led to other opportunities.  But, it is nice to have a large crowd and sell a lot of books.  These appearances are really some of the few opportunities writers get to receive praise and appreciation, along with some compensation, for all their hard work.  Most of their time is spent in isolation with their imaginations.  Social media is helping with easing a bit of that isolation on one hand, yet at the same time creating more on the other, but that’s a different topic for another day.

I’ve learned that I can’t wait on big moments to move.  I’ve found that if I take a step every day, if I move little by little, then I move closer and closer toward my dream.  I can look behind me and see I’ve traveled quite far.  I can look ahead of me and see I’m closer to my goal.  THAT is worth celebrating.  THAT is what I consider success.  I may not be moving faster than a speeding bullet, but I am moving in the right direction. 

So, celebrate your successes today, all of them – both big and small.  Don’t worry about when the next big moment will come, just enjoy it when it does.  Don’t fret over those small unseemly moments, because they’re bigger than you think. 

Till next time,

~T.L. Gray