Oh, hi friends!
So let’s talk about timing.
It’s very easy to get caught up on “why hasn’t this happened yet” or even “why is this happening now.”
But that never changes reality. That doesn’t make something happen faster or erase what’s actually going on.
Eventually, you’re stuck with the facts: This is it. This is where we are.
I spent a major chunk of this year working on something that I realize now probably isn’t going to happen.
But I spent an equal — or, if I’m honest, an even longer — amount of time wondering/torturing myself why it wasn’t going to happen.
Big surprise here: this is not a very good place to be!
Do I regret trying? No. Do I regret not trying something else sooner? Oh, so much.
This is it. This is where you are now.
The truth might not be what you expected, what you want, or what you think you need, but accepting it feels a lot better than fighting it.
Timing is everything you want it to be. No more, no less.
You make the next move.
Climb high
Climb far
Your goal
The sky
Your aim
The star
This inscription is on the steps of Williams College, Stephen Sondheim’s alma mater.
Of course it inspired him to write a musical, this one “about a guy who wanted to become an actor and became a producer. He had a sort of Sammy Glick streak in him—he was something of an opportunist. So I wrote my idea of a sophisticated, cynical musical. It was called “Climb High.” There was a motto on a flight of stone steps at Williams, “Climb high, climb far, your aim the sky, your goal the star.” I thought, Gee, that’s very Hammersteinish. I sent him the whole thing. The first act was ninety-nine pages long. Now, the entire script of South Pacific, which lasted almost three hours on the stage, was only ninety-two pages. Oscar sent my script back, circled the ninety-nine, and just wrote, Wow!” (Source photo, story from The Paris Review)
Look around, get inspired, write long, send to a mentor, edit short, repeat.
From @depthsofwikipedia, a place I could get lost for hours. (Thanks to Sara Tall for the tip.)
Have a great weekend, friends.