Sometimes we meet people in life and they just have something special about them. It is like they have this secret. They are glowing with energy.
With my passion for writing I have been thinking about JK Rowling lately. She worked as a support teacher in my French class around 16 years ago.
I am not sure if she would remember me – Jo, if you are reading this, hi (I am a Fraser now but back then I was Joanne Wintour and we had a good laugh). I still remember speaking to her about how much she loved writing. She had a gentle nature and a sincere smile.
I stumbled across an article about her recently which provided an example of her writing style. The way her genius mind would work to pull information together. How inspiring that this little piece of paper turned into something so wonderful. This reminded me that with passion, hard work and perseverance wonderful things can happen.
I often think about what kept her going. I am sure she had days that she wanted to pull her hair out. I am sure she had writers block. She shared her rejection letters to encourage people.
She had knockbacks. She had so much passion and belief in her work and people told her no. I wonder how she took it. I wonder if she was ever tempted to pack it all in and go back to the classroom. Thank goodness she didn’t.
The school where I met JK Rowling had a moto – Perseverance. We all need a little perseverance in our lives. Perseverance to keep working hard and chasing our goals and our dreams.
If we really believe we have a talent at something and are prepared to work hard at it then why let fear hold us back? Often in life we will get rejected. There are a lot of sceptics out there. We all have different things that excite us.
Some will look at a piece of fine art and fall in love with it. Others will fail to understand what all the fuss is about. I remember going for an acting exam for Higher drama when I was 16 and two ladies on the panel gave me full marks – they were convinced I would go onto be an actress. Then there were those that thought I was good but other people caught their eye.
There will always be some people in life who see us as the finest wagyu beef fillet and others who see us as a nice but fairly average sirloin. It’s how we react to it that counts.
Do we prove those people that think we are average wrong? Do we let determination lead the way or listen to the negative voices and give up? I remember watching Pop Idol years ago and screaming at the TV.
How could Simon Cowell find Will Young’s voice ‘average’? What? I was in love with his voice. He didn’t let Simon win, despite the fact that at the time he was the successful guy with all the power. He was polite about it but he said ‘I don’t think you can ever call that performance average’. He then went on to win the show out of thousands.
This does not just apply to our careers. It can apply to an interest we have. I started running last year and it became part of my life. I recently decided to go for a distance which scared me, the full marathon. If I had listened to the sceptics that told me I was crazy I would never have completed it. Do I regret it? No way. I dare you to do something that scares you and see what happens.