By: Eric Hodgdon
About two years ago, I decided to write a book. The problem was, I didn’t know where to start. That is, until I attended an event and learned of an online book writing program that promises your book will be published in 90 days. Sounds great, right? Well, 90 days into this program, I had about 40 pages typed and felt like it was going nowhere. So, I dove back into the online program and learned more about the reasons why I was stuck. I corrected those habits and kept on going. Then came the editing process. When you get your manuscript back and it’s littered with red marks, it makes you feel like you’re back in grade school. But, those red marks only serve to help you learn to make the book the best it can be – for the reader. After all the stops and starts, the book was published in the fall of 2017.
My point – you try and fail. You try again and hit a wall. You try for the third time and you feel like nothing changed. When, in fact, everything has changed. You have learned. We are wired to learn. As the most meaning-seeking creatures on the planet, we want to know “why?”. And, the only way we can know “why,” is to learn. We learn through many channels, too. Pain, love, experience – there are too many to list here. In what ways do you learn?
William Shakespeare learned about the power of love when he wrote “It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” But, what is it about what we’ve learned that makes the most impact? It’s the lessons that we then share with others. The feedback from the book has been more than I could have expected. In it, I share the lessons I’ve learned since losing my daughter, Zoi, four and a half years ago, in the hopes that it will help others who have also lost a loved one.
I believe the most resilient people are those who learn, adapt, and then teach. In doing so, they help their fellow men and women. That is, after all, why we are here. As always, I hope this helps.
