Staying the Course
By Daniel Stallings, East Sierra Branch
As someone once put it so eloquently to me, “life sucks.” And it’s true that there are times when it feels like the whole universe has your name on a hit list in a back office somewhere. However, there comes a moment when a choice must be made. You can either run from it…or use it as motivation to push you to the next step in your journey.
In my life as a writer, there have been many times when I felt overwhelmed by work or a victim of some bad luck. Actors quit, tickets don’t sell, scripts don’t come to my brain fast enough, deals fall through, people get sick, and so on. It is so easy to say “Well, today has been cancelled” and hide in my room for the next thirty years. It’s the easy choice. It’s not the wise one. Life happens. People don’t gel together. Things don’t always turn out like you want or expect. But giving up isn’t the answer. It’s so easy to say “I can’t do this” when things start getting tough. It’s harder to admit “I don’t want to do this.”
There are exceptions to every scenario, of course, but, in my years working with people in creative endeavors, there have been many instances where I’ve found what stops people from finishing what they started is a case of desire, more than ability. But you can. Often what holds you back is your own fear. But if you push through, try, work, and be open to the challenge, you can overcome the obstacles and find success in the endeavor. Even when everything feels like it’s falling on top of you, if you pull your strength from within, you can climb out and surmount it all.
“Staying the Course” ran as the President’s Column,
September 2018, in the East Sierra Branch newsletter.
Earlier this year, the Daniel Stallings interactive murder mystery
Eat Cake challenged audiences at Death Valley’s
Amargosa Opera House in March and April.