I will now give examples of famous writers from different periods and genres: J.K. Rowling, Charles Darwin, Margaret Atwood, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mary Shelley, Stephen King, Charles Bukowski, John Steinbeck, Maya Angelou, Paulo Coelho, Charles Dickens.
You may know some of these names, you may have read the writings of some of them, or you may not like some of them, or maybe you’ve never heard of them. It doesn’t matter. Because the presence of all these names together says a few things.
All these famous names, working in different disciplines and using different forms of literature, are or have been successful in their fields. They are not only recognised but also read all over the world. But what do they have in common?
We keep talking about the beauty, pleasure and richness of writing and reading. And it really is. But at the end of the day, we are human, and when our feelings of fatigue, reluctance and boredom return, we cannot share the positive aspects that we count. Of course, I owe it to myself to point out that this is all very human.
No matter what you read or write, this is a process that will take time. You know that any investment takes time. There is no development in easy success. Babies didn’t start walking the minute they were born, evolution didn’t happen overnight, Rome wasn’t built in a day, mankind didn’t go into space that easily.
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You can see where I’m going with this. Whoever we are, there will be obstacles ahead and the roads to success will be tiring. Yes, each of the names I have mentioned has achieved success in one way or another, but each of them had to go through these thorny paths. Some had their manuscripts rejected dozens of times (Stephen King, 30 times), others were told they were average (Charles Darwin, whose theory shaped the history of all living things) in their field. Some didn’t even finish the book they were writing (Margaret Atwood, who wrote “The Handmaid’s Tale” soon after that because of the anxiety of failing) in their spare time , while others were in a dilemma before publishing their book because they thought it wouldn’t sell (J.R.R. Tolkien, who initially refused to publish it in three separate editions because the book was thick) and they would lose money.
They have been ridiculed, their marriages destroyed, they have been left penniless, they have been ostracised, they have never been academically qualified, they have not achieved the success they wanted in the first place, or they have given up on their dreams.
I respect each and every one of them, no matter who they are, for overcoming all these difficulties, or perhaps overcoming them by embracing them. There is no doubt that everyone has, has had and will have problems to varying degrees. Moreover, it is inappropriate to compete and compare them.
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Even if we are fed with a silver spoon, we will have a problem in this life. Sometimes life will tie our hands and leave us no choice but to wait. It will take a lot of time and prevent us from fulfilling our desires.
In such situations, I take time for myself to calm down. I make personal observations and suggestions. I try to remember that I am not alone. No matter what our age, gender or philosophy of life, we all have difficulties in common. And it is very easy, at some point, to burden ourselves. I think what is difficult is to be patient, calm and rational.
Try to do your work with joy, enthusiasm and effort, first and foremost for yourself. Let your work last five years instead of three. Let your favourite work never become popular. Let the applause you expect never be heard. What was important in the first place? To achieve it or to present it to someone? Do you have to carry the greatest of your worries on your shoulders? How can those whose first step in life did not go smoothly dream of the next?
Yes, life is full of the unexpected. But you will either be crushed under its weight or you will know how to rise and breathe in time. As long as we continue to write, read, learn, teach and develop, the days will come when we will achieve our dreams, both personally and socially.
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