Operation Achieve Anything: Day Thirty-Two, Dateline 2-1-2018
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“My little [note]books were beginnings - they were the ground into which I dropped the seed... I would work in this way when I was out in the crowds, the put the stuff together at home.”
Good morning Crickets. Welcome to day number thirty-two of Operation Achieve Anything. Today’s post makes it day number one of month number two and the annoyance that I mentioned in yesterday’s post is continuing to grow as I find myself facing yet another filler assignment.
Keep in mind that, as much as I would like to, I don’t read ahead so I never have an idea what the Achieve Anything… book has in store for me until moments before I start writing. I do this in an effort to capture my initial reaction as opposed to allowing more prep-time where I might be inclined to add some sort of spin for the less interesting tasks.
Yesterday’s lesson delved into the old cliché that all you have to do is stay committed to a path and if you stick to it long enough then all of your dreams will come true. Granted the book used more realistic terms, adding that you have to be on the right path as well, but this was the general message. Well, no shit, if you’re on the right path you will eventually get to the right destination, but that’s just not how success works.
I see it all the time on talent-based reality shows where judges will tell even the worst performers to stick to it and they will eventually get there, which just can’t possibly true. Not everyone can be anything, which used to be something that you would just tell a child to build their confidence when they’re young, only to reveal more hard truths as they grow with the same slow build to the spoiler that the winter fat man who gives gifts isn’t actually real.
Nowadays, everyone seems to be told this, this is why our younger generations have a false comfort someday they’ll just magically make it. I’m fully aware that this might be a bit hypocritical coming from someone who’s been writing for over two decades and hasn’t been successful at all because I would say the same thing.
Then again, I’m actually not being hypocritical, instead, I’m actually speaking from experience. I bought into the “all you have to do is stick with a dream until it becomes a reality” approach to life and now that I’m old, I feel stuck with no other place to go.
If you’re going by the book, you might just say that my path is off, but I find that hard to be true. I always point out the fact that I’m prolific, not to brag about the amount of work that I produce but to brag about the fact that I’m fully committed and not just talking out of my ass.
I’ve also had many close calls with achieving my dreams; I’ve had a B-level celebrity attached to one of my scripts which landed me a literary agent for a bit plus a scholarship to film school. Not only that but I worked in the film industry for a bit where I produced a handful of my short films. Again, I’m not bragging when I share this, I’m just highlighting the evidence that I’ve always been active in my efforts to catch my dreams and am not just someone who fancies themselves to be something without putting in the work.
I guess you can say that all of my efforts have made me a success since I have a portfolio that I’m proud of and can clearly see improvements in my work that continue to grow as time continues to pass. Unfortunately, we live in a world where unless money’s coming in you’re treated like a complete loser. I’m just not good at the business and marketing side of art which might be why I will never win, especially since I despise the business and marketing aspect.
So yeah, I might be a bit bitter about yesterday’s bumper-sticker based assignment since I’ve been putting it to practice for over twenty years, bringing me to the point where I now only see the idea of the encouragement as nothing more than a platitude. On top of that, there was no real assignment other than to take some time to think about the path that I’m on.
I don’t know what annoyed me more, the lesson itself or the fact that the assignment wasn’t challenging. This is why I’m extra annoyed with the assignment for today, which is once again recycled with absolutely no challenge to the task.
For today’s assignment, I’m supposed to take the notebook that I bought for the very first assignment and continue to use it. Keep in mind, the second assignment was to use the notebook every day to jot down any random thoughts that may come at any random time. Since I’ve already been doing that, this is technically not an assignment at all, making it feel like just another piece of filler.
I hate to be so harsh but I bought this book to be challenged and not to feel better about myself for simply making it through the process. Again, I have no intentions of giving up, I’m just sharing what’s on my mind. I’m not sure what tomorrow’s update on today’s assignment could be since there’s nothing for me to work on, but I’ll be checking in either way. Until then, it’s now that time where I say, good day and good luck to you and all of your projects.
Talk to you soon.
Sincerely,
The Wicker Breaker
P.S. Below are links to my novel, which I plan to promote as part of Operation Achieve Anything, as well as a link to where you can buy the book that is providing the structure to this project in case you would like to purchase it in order to play along.
