“Discipline and constant work are the whetstones upon which the dull knife of talent is honed until it becomes sharp enough, hopefully, to cut through even the toughest meat and gristle.”
Stephen King
I wrote and published my first blog post on June 19, 2018. Writing a daily blog was something I had wanted to do for a long time but hadn’t “found” the time to make it happen. I read a great book, “Platform – By Michael Hyatt,” and realized that it wouldn’t happen if I didn’t just take the plunge and start. So, I started, and this was my very first post. It wasn’t perfect, but it was something, and it was a start. Getting going was the critical part.
My purpose for sending a daily quote and now writing the blog hasn’t changed over the three and a half years since that first post. If you are interested, you can find the genesis at this link, “Why I Started This Journey”.
My personal purpose for writing the blog was to create a regular discipline to build my writing skills and force me to practice intense critical thinking and self-reflection every day. I love to journal, but it is easy to skip a day or two here and there. I knew that if I made a public commitment, I would be accountable at a much higher level, which has undoubtedly been the case.
Today’s post is # 1,000. For one thousand days in a row, I have made an effort to practice thinking and write creatively. Not all of the posts have been good; I would say there has been a lot more chaff than wheat over the years. But, I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that my ability to construct and convey my written form thoughts has improved. I am confident that writing the hardest thing I have ever written, my post on my brother Grayson’s passing, would never have been possible without developing these skills over the years.
My purpose for writing hasn’t changed. I want to positively impact others’ lives by leveraging the time, talent, and treasures that God has given to me. I have no idea if anyone reads what I write here, but I know that my ability to leverage God’s gifts has improved by embracing this daily discipline. Coincidently, these verses were part of my devotional time this morning:
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”1 Peter 4:10 NIV.
“So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” Romans 14:12 NIV
Discipline and hard work are the only ways to take the raw material God blesses us with and turn it into something useful. I am nowhere near where I need to be, and I apologize to those that read my blog and have to sort through some of the junk I have written. I know this if the next 1,000 posts are as much fun and educational for me as the first 1,000, I will be a better leader, husband, father, and man than I am today. Thanks for taking the journey with me.
