Fall in Love With Urgency

How has a sense of urgency helped you write a better book?

Few tidbits of “wisdom” anger me as much as the oft-recited, “Patience is a virtue.”

Six weeks ago, I fired my literary agent.

You read that right. I fired my literary agent, and while I have nothing but good things to say about her and an abundance of respect for the high-risk career she’s chosen, I was forced to accept the reality that the system she operates in is designed to keep the poor poor and the rich in power.

And let me be clear: I have nothing against the system, but I will never depend on the system to put bread on my table again.

In a world that romanticizes patience, that uses it as bait to swindle money out of consumer pockets, there are better ways to overthrow the power dynamic and get your seat at the table.

Urgency Creates Opportunity

I met Ashley at Olive Garden. She immediately branded on my brain, but I was already in the process of leaving for a job in another state.

Life brought me back, and by the time I next ran into Ashley she was dating another man. There’s plenty of details I’ll leave out, but the moment she broke up with that other guy, I pounced.

I pursued her tirelessly from that day forward, and three months later, we were engaged. There was even a time machine involved. I created it from construction paper, a shoe box, marker and a stone chess piece. Call me a hopeless romantic.

Three months after we began dating, we were married, and this year we celebrated eleven years of marriage.

Ashley is my best friend, and if I’d played patient and some other chump had swept in, I’d have lost out on the best thing in my life.

There are a dozen similar instances in my life, moments when, had I failed to act with urgency, I’d’ve failed to experience life-changing rewards, and my guess is, you can think of at least that many times when you defied the toxic but common advice to “be patient” and benefitted too.

So stop believing patience has anything in store for you. Go out and get what you want. What are you waiting for?

My Book

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