I believe that we make things happen through the actions we take. Sometimes those actions are big—huge risks that either pay off or don't—but sometimes it's the smallest actions that have the biggest impact. We choose our paths through the seemingly insignificant decisions we make every day. Do we choose to spend an hour writing or working out, or do we spend that hour watching television? Do we get enough sleep at night? Or do we down a couple cups of coffee and hope that's enough?

All these small choices will eventually determine our futures. But today, I want to talk about just one choice:

​Picking up our toys.

​Writers have to be extremely persistent, ridiculously stubborn, and just a little bit stupid. Writers experience more rejection than most people do—or could handle. Writers either develop thick skin, stop submitting, or take up drinking.
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I believe that the toughness it takes to keep putting yourself out there, and being rejected, over and over is a learned skill. We're not born with emotional armor, but we develop it because the writing is more important. We make a conscious decision to prioritize our aspirations above our emotional comfort.
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