Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Sing Your Song (Even If No One is Listening)

Yikes! Where did April go? And how did I forget I had a blog?

Oh yeah…
  • I finished revising my third novel and began pitching it to literary agents. (Three have already asked to read it!)
  • I developed and presented a writing workshop for Goodwill senior-level staff who are in a development program to become Goodwill CEOs one day. This was some of the most fulfilling work I’ve done in my almost eight years working for Goodwill’s national office.
Because I don’t have time to develop anything original for my own blog, I’m going to direct you to a mind-blowing, thought-provoking pieceby Seth Godin. He advises us not to expect applause for the work we do.

An excerpt: If your work is filled with the hope and longing for applause, it's no longer your work – the  dependence on approval has corrupted it, turned it into a process where you are striving for ever more approval.

The one line that still resonates is: To play a beautiful song for two people or a thousand is the same song, and the amount of thanks you receive isn't part of that song.

Thanks to all of you who sing your songs day in and day out, who put yourselves out there in the world without expecting anything in return. You rock.