When You Can't Find Your Courage



 

To me, the hardest jobs in the world are … coal miners, deep sea divers, living on a submarine, painting high bridges, skyscraper builders and window washers, prison guards, firefighters, policemen, garbage men, working with the mentally challenged, roofers, emergency room nurses, street pavers, brain surgeons, and farmers.

The physical stamina required for these positions is near god-like. It's tough to find the words needed to describe the courage that must be found to wake up every day and face these jobs.

It doesn’t take much physical stamina to sit at a desk and type all day. I don’t want to be a brain surgeon, or even a coal miner.

I just want to write great literature.

But I have to wake up … every day … and find my courage. Just like the brain surgeon.

The next time you can't find the courage to face your day, think about the iron men teetering on that steel I-beam 70 stories in the air. Those New York City skyscrapers don't build themselves. Think about the coal miner dropped miles underground to dig coal in the dark, cold earth. Think about the emergency room nurse fighting to save the next car accident victim.

We writers may not put our lives on the line, but we put them on the page. And that, my friend, still takes courage. Writers can do without a lot of things. Courage isn't one of them.

Remember that.

Blessings to you and yours.