I’m tired of seeing the posts, the videos, the live feeds, the talk. I want to see the people who talk so much about how or what they're gonna accomplish just stop talking and accomplish it, you know what I mean?

We humans, we always talk a big game, we’re always trying to one-up the other person, always trying to appear in control.

The truth is we’re not. We’re not always the best, not always talking the best talk, we’re not always in control. Except for one of one thing, one thing which we never lose control over. And that is our efforts.

I don’t want to waste my time talking, I don’t want to waste my time posting, I don’t want to waste my time live steaming myself talking my talk.

No, enough of that.

I’m gonna do it. I want to be the one who’s always quiet, who’s always the one missing all the ‘fun’ because I’m working. I want to be the one who people say went from 0 to 100 because they were too busy wasting time to see me hit 25, then 50, then 75. I want to be the one who is successful in my aspirations by a young enough age where I still have my whole life ahead of me too enjoy. I want to be the one who see an obstacle and tackles it without pulling out my phone to complain to all my followers about how ‘bad’ my day was.

I want to soar, I want to leap, I want to climb!

Who do you want to be? Because I know who I want to be. Pick a path and stick with it. Don’t complain about the things which are outside of your control — because you can’t change them, and don’t complain about the things which are inside your control — because you can change them.

Don’t strive to be the loudest in the room, strive to be the quietest — because the quietest person is the one who can see things clearest.

Keep your eyes on the prize! Too often people get caught up in the day to day, and while this is good to a point, you always have to be thinking about where you want to be, where you’re gonna go, where you’re gonna take yourself!

And then you have to keep it 100! You have to work hard for your prize, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a prize!

You gotta work it, day after day, week after week, you gotta know that you’ll get tired of it, but you gotta be prepared for when that day comes, because that’s when you figure out what kind of person you are — one who only works in things when the going is easy and who only does things because they want to — or one who works on something because they know it is necessary to take them somewhere else and who does it even when they grow tired of it.

Oh, I hear that all the time, that excuse of “I got tired of it so I stopped,” even when that person keeps coming back to the thing they got tired of a month later because deep down they really love and it want to pursue it, but are too caught up in the Day To Day to see the bigger picture!

Keep your eyes on the prize and keep it 100! Be patient in your efforts, nobody made it happen over night, it took time, and they trusted the process.

Trust the process!

I know most of us will be able to relate to this. When we achieve a small success and we think we’ve made it so we stop mid-climb. When we hit that wall of success.

It’s a tricky area to navigate. Because on the one hand, you feel like you should, and deserve, a break because you’ve just accomplished a good goal, things are moving, right? Well, they won’t be for much longer because you’ve just decided to take a break!

What we should do when we succeed is push even harder until we’ve broke down that next wall, then the next one, and the next one. You see, the victors of the game of life are the ones who see the good they’ve accomplished, then keep running, not resting, maybe slowing up for a few minutes, but then pushing even harder, to skyrocket to the next goal.

The danger of resting too much when we succeed, is the temptation to become lazy, complacent in our success, and then fall into the mindset that we’ve got it all covered somehow, and busting our gut to reach the next level of success will be easy.

Work is never easy. You can love it, if you love what you do, but that still doesn’t make it easy, only easier.

I think what we need to think of when we succeed and want to stop, is that we all are going to die one day. It’s just a fact. And if there is still something you want to accomplish in this life, something you don’t want to take to your grave, then you should run toward it with all your might, because tomorrow is no guarantee! Again, not morbid thinking, just a fact!

Now, if you’ve accomplished all you wished in this life, then that’s great and I’m happy for you, there’s no need for you to read this article. But for most, this is not the case. We all have our dreams, our goals, our bucket-lists. And the only one who can accomplish them is you. You have one life…what are you going to do with it?

Always push forward, always go to the next level, always strive for the best! Because if you don’t, one day you’ll be in a nursing home wondering if you really lived to the fullest. And I for one, don’t ever want that thought to go through my head!

Think about it, when has quitting anything (when it comes to your goals) a good thing? Ya know, deciding to make that decision to stop working on your dream and taking the “smart” way out the “easy” way out, just to make more money, and feel that sense of financial security… that’s quitting, and it sucks.

Fulfilling anything meaningful in this life is hard, that’s why it has meaning. Seriously, I’m sick and tired of people when they claim to be experts in this whole dream thing, and when they say you have to put your dream on the back burner, save it for later, or, my favorite, when they say that your dream is, and and only be, your hobby… yeah, that one really annoys me.

I don’t understand how people who claim to support and want the best for you, can really be the ones who are most prone to tear down your aspirations — It makes no sense to me. I mean, wouldn't you like to see that person you claim to feel so much for, work hard on something they love and fight to succeed in life?

My point here is trying to paint the picture for you that quitting when it comes to your goals is not winning!!! Just because you may feel “safer” doesn't mean you are! Most of the time it only means your one step closer to being sucked into that swirling vortex which strips your dreams from you and leaves you working a 9 to 5 job which you hate.

So don’t be a quitter. Easy to say, hard to do, that’s why our world is full of those who quit. Full of those who say you can’t succeed in what they failed in because that would be admitting to themselves they quit.

But not me, and not you, because we know the secret to achieving our goals doesn’t sit in our joy or excitement at any given time, because that will fade. It sits in our honest, hard work in what we want to succeed in!

So go out there and win! Don’t Quit!

You know what I love to do? What I spend hours of my day and night doing? I love to read and write fiction! So, when I see this one, common mistake which is made so often, it makes me cringe, and honestly, I don’t normally finish the book I read it in.

(For this Biggest Mistake example I am omitting any problems when it comes to plot and story structure, and focusing on the characterization process)

The mistake is this: Going overboard on the multiple character point of views, or POVs.

Explanation? Having six main characters, and having each chapter jump around seeing the story in each of their own POVs. Like this. Chapter 1 may be seen from Jane’s point of view, but then chapter 2 is Tommy, but wait, chapter 3 is Jenny, and the chapter 4 is Bill…You get my point.

Now, obviously there are famous author who have done things kind of like this and, since they’re so good, they were able to pull it off. But for those of us who are new writers, this is something we MUST stay away from. Bottom line, no exceptions. Nothing screams AMATEUR! like having way too many main characters.

Personally, I like one character POV for an entire story, I feel more bonded with the character, like we’ve had no interruptions, like we’ve gotten to know one another. Though I know that three POVs are often used.

New writers need to understand that you can have a ‘main character’ without having their POV be exclusive. For instance, if you’ve read James Dasher’s critically acclaimed “Maze Runner” trilogy (if you haven’t I recommend you do soon) you will see that the character Thomas is the main POV character, although he is by no means the only main character, with others like Newt, Minho, Theresa, and Brenda. But he is the only POV character. This way, you can still have optimum character interaction, but it’s not complicated or confusing.

Well there you have it, the Number 1 Biggest Mistake new fiction writers make, when it comes to the characterization process. Now, obviously there are other key problems a writers could make when it comes to characters, but for now I was only focusing on POVs and character number.

There will be more writing advice where this came from!

Keep Writing!

Alright, I’m not going to string you along when the reason you clicked this article was because you wanted to know what Denzel Washington said. So here it is.

“Working really hard is what successful people do.”

End quote.

I know I’ve said it before, but, now that Denzel Washington said it the words will, hopefully, sink in even more — If we don’t get used to the work, then we will never be successful. And getting used to the work doesn't mean we get comfortable with it, because hard work is uncomfortable. It only means that we continue with it anyway because we want something more, something greater.

When I hear people say how they are going to take control of their lives, how they’re going to get things done this year, quiet that job, make that product, write that book… it’s all good, but what comes after the talk?

A lot of the stuff I say may seem repetitive, and it is, but it is for a reason, and what’s that reason???

We are people of an age where the squeaky wheel gets the grease, the loudest player gets the most attention, the biggest sign gets all the notice!

So, yes, I will repeat myself over and over again if only to get the point across to you, my dear readers, that work is not bad, especially if it’s necessary for you to achieve what you want in this life. And finding that right mindset where you tell yourself you will work hard, everyday, until you are able to grasp that dream, that goal, it’s hard. But that’s why I keep saying it. Just like Mr. Washington’s words.

“Working really hard is what successful people do.”

You see because there is no luck involved with success. You may look at people who don’t have to work a day in their life because they’re “successful” but that’s not true success, because people like that who were born into “success” they had nothing to do with it. It’s the people who earned it, who busted their gut to get where they are now, who worked everyday, for years, until they arrived at the moment you now see them in, their moment of glory. Those are the people you want to imitate.

Because there success is real success. To get to where they are now they had to jump without the parachute. They had to climb without the safety rope and ignore their fear of falling.

There is no luck in success. Every step in the path to success is a result of the hard work put into it. That is the bottom line. And as I’ve said before, this whole idea of hard work equals success is an easy concept to understand. But, it is not so simple to act upon. Because, as with everything, after the point of realization comes the point of reaction. And if you master the reaction part, you’re already marching the road to success on your own.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are the masters of our own ship on the sea of life. And no matter how cliche that sounds it’s true. So, where are you going to take your ship? Are you going to hug the coastline, where the waters are shallow, where the rocks are hiding to punch a hole in your hull. Or, are you going to set out into the deep, where you can’t see land, but, the waters are made for sailing.

It’s your choice. Because “Working really hard is what successful people do,” not the other way around. Successful people aren’t supposed to be the only ones who work hard. It’s the people who work hard who achieve success.

If you want something — and I mean really want something, what do you have to do to get it?

Act upon that desire, correct?

Makes sense, seems logical, a fact that most people would look at and agree with. Okay, here’s what I’m seeing though… People talk a good game, they say they want to achieve great things, they want to be the best in their field.

It’s all talk unless you act on it.

Listen, I’ve seen it before, I’m seeing it now, I’m young enough where I still have friends who are in college and have no idea what their doing with their life. Does that mean college is a waste of time and money? No, because there are those people enrolled who actually want to achieve their goals.

You see, the problem we have in our day and age is that everyone is expected to desire the same thing. Success. “But wait,” you may say, “isn’t that a good thing?” And to that I say no…no it’s not a good thing — because we should all desire to not succeed in our field, but to be the BEST in our field.

Why?

Because when we don’t aspire for greatness, we fall away into mediocrity!

And I know far too many people who have fallen to that state to even consider it for myself. No, I’m going to be the best at what I do. So, I am going to work at it every day, because, you see, now we’ve reached the second point I want to make, the point which says after you’ve aligned your desires correctly you have to have discipline.

Discipline is what makes someone great, not desire. Desire is good, and it’s the first step of greatness, but it is not greatness. Otherwise we would have an infinite number of people who are the best at what they do, we would have competition through the roof because everyone would be striving to be the BEST!

This is not the case, why? Because the discipline needed to put in the work to achieve the best is hard.

Which brings us back to the first point — desire isn’t enough to be the best. But match your desire with discipline and boom! No one will be able to catch you. You see, my goal of being the best at what I do can only be founded on work, otherwise I can say goodbye to my dream right now. If I don’t take the time to focus on my goals everyday I will not succeed.

Discipline. Discipline. Discipline.

Simple yet hard. But, think of this. Once you commit to the discipline, the work, the grind… you have already beat out millions of those who would never take the time to do what you did.

And now you’re one step closer to being the best.

And that only feeds your desire to keep going.

So, I’ll leave you with this…When it comes to your goals, that desire you have to act upon them and succeed, tell yourself that failure is not an option. Because it isn’t. That’s only the facts. Failure is not an option. Because you will put in the work, you will take the time, you will succeed, and you will be the best!