Wisdom from Odwalla

Last week, a very special guest came to talk to the seniors at the school where I work: Greg Steltenpohl, the founder of Odwalla. He said a LOT of inspiring things to the seniors, but this really stuck in my mind.

“Being an entrepreneur, you have to kind of put your idea out there and believe in it and then manifest your vision,” he said. “You just keep coming up against things constantly, no matter how long you go along, there’s going to be someone who just says, ‘It isn’t possible.’”

Change "entrepreneur" to "writer" and omigosh, it's totally my truth. And how did he deal with the doubters?

“Nine times out of ten, it’s about manifestation. If you believe it, then other people start to believe it and pretty soon it becomes the reality.”

Kind of how I try to live my life. Believe it into reality. His final pearl of wisdom:

“You never know what's going to happen, just by doing what you love.”

Greg sold Odwalla to Coke in 2001 for $160 million. Not a bad payoff for doing something he loved!

I have no aspirations to make millions. But I do hope that by staying true to what I love, I can find  success.

How do you define success?

My Writing Life

I am in the midst of writing a shiny new novel that I LOVE, and editing a novel that I used to LOVE but now just like a lot. I'm hopeful that by the time I'm done editing it, I will LOVE it again...

Have you ever been there? Falling in and out of love with your stories? The good news is:

“A bad novel is better than an unwritten novel, because a bad novel can be improved; an unwritten novel is defeat without a battle.” – Paul Johnson

Good to know. Because as soon as you type "THE END" it feels great! What an accomplishment! Then you send it out for critique. You're amazed by all the plot holes, the uneven language and unbelievable characters. You cry. You scream. You want to crawl into a hole and die.

“Be suspicious of literary advice from anyone who consistently leaves you feeling like some subspecies of dung maggot.” – Jane Guill

A week later you realize that more than half of the advice is good. Now you just have to figure out how to apply it...

"Almost anyone can write; only writers know how to rewrite. It is this ability alone that turns the amateur into a professional.” – William C. Knott

Of course, you still have to keep up with daily life: feeding the family, doing the laundry, maybe even a day job. Something has to give...

"Women with clean houses do not have finished books." – Joy Held

Excellent! That extra ring around the toilet is justified! But then you have all the well meaning friends asking when they can buy your book at Borders. You have, after all, been working at this for more than a year. And they've seen your bathroom. You hang your head in shame. Why don't they understand?

"Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead." – Gene Fowler

To all my writing friends, I'm so glad that you're here and you DO understand.

"Easy reading is damn hard writing." – Nathaniel Hawthorne

And now I'm going back to my hole...to write.

Quote Me

Let's face it: every once in a while you have one of those days where you feel kind of blaahh. You need someone or something to pull you out of it and remind you why you started down this road, right? I'm here to help.

Last year when I first started blogging, I found this incredible post at Hip Writer Mama. Talk about inspiring! I printed it out and hung it on my desk where I could see it every day. Read it. Print it. Cherish it. It's that good.

It isn't always easy to stay positive. There's always somebody bigger, smaller, faster, better. Your own mind can become your worst enemy. That's when you need a little pick-me-up.

And I'm not talking about Ben & Jerry's pick-me-ups (although those boys HAVE sent me to rapturous heights before)!

I have inspirational quotes hanging on my fridge, living on my hard drive, taped to the bathroom mirror. Sometimes I become blind to them, forget they are there. But when I start getting down, I always know where to look to bring myself back up.

This is the time of year when people look back at what they've accomplished and think about what they want the future to bring. I thought I'd share some of the quotes that inspire me and invite you to tell me some that motivate you. They can be related to writing, or just to life in general. Here are a few of mine.

I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
- Thomas Jefferson

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
- Mark Twain

Books aren't written, they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it...
- Michael Crichton

So tell me, what inspires you? Leave me a quote in the comments. Together, we can inspire each other to great heights in the coming year.

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Can you believe it's already the 7th Day of Christmas? This month is flying by way too fast!

Believe it or not, neither of the books from the First Day were chosen so they are back up for grabs. That's right! Choice #1 is the ARC of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. Choice #2 is a copy of the award-winning YA Troy by Adéle Geras.

The randomly generated winner from the 6th Day of Christmas is:




Congratulations, T. Anne! Email me at solvangsherrie at gmail dot com and let me know which prize you'd like to receive from Robin.

Leave a quote in the comments section and if you're a follower, you'll be automatically entered in today's drawing. Chin up!