Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

Why Artists And Writers Should Remember Walter Payton

Why Artists And Writers Should Remember Walter Payton

Walter Payton was a beast of a professional football player.

But more than talent, work and determination got him there.

The funny thing about grit and persistence is that it might not be that easy to teach though.

If you are thinking about giving up on something, your motivations might just be the issue.

Focusing more on legacy, and less on rewards will usually do the trick.

Walter Payton is a model for all those engaged in arts that don’t properly value effort. How many times have you heard a person say, “He was a great player but just did not work hard enough,” as if work were different from talent, more prosaic, something anyone could do if he wanted. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to believe the ability to persist is as much a gift as speed or soft hands. Not everyone has it. Those who don’t, fail. Those who do, leave no proof of it in statistics.

-Rich Cohen, Monsters

If You Stick Around Long Enough

If You Stick Around Long Enough

Work long enough and who knows – one day you might end up with something.

I mean, the key might just be waiting around until everyone else has given up.

If you are stuck, try the gradual process of incremental investments over time.

Using a system instead of a goal can change your approach to it all.

Be encouraged!

Sometimes, when we see a creative person succeed, we dismiss his breakthrough as luck or the result of pure talent, but neither explanation is accurate. What often allows great work to get the attention it deserves is not a matter of only talent or luck but a matter of the will. Can you stick around long enough to see your work succeed? Do you have enough grit to take a few critical hits and keep going? Or will you get discouraged at the first sign of failure?

-Jeff Goins, Real Artists Don’t Starve

Sterling Terrell