Tag: goals

Book Review: Chasing Failure: How Falling Short Sets You Up for Success by Ryan Leak

Posted on by Ian Dawson

Failure.  It’s a concept that most people hate, and everyone tries to avoid it in their personal and professional lives.  While most of us strive for success, we often do our best to circumvent any situation or outcome that could be seen as us failing at those attempts toward success.

But what if we did the opposite?  What if we embraced failure instead of avoiding it?  This is the premise of Ryan Leak’s book, Chasing Failure.  

Leak presents to us that famous people many see as “overnight successes” actually struggled and grew through a series of failures that made them the person we know today.  He makes it clear that the only real pathway to true success is filled with failures.  Failure can make us better people and better at ultimately achieving our goals.

Chasing failure is an excellent idea for a New Year’s resolution since it encourages you to go for your goals even if there is the possibility of failure at the start.  You’ll never know what you can achieve until you embark on the journey toward your goal, so why not take the opportunity to chase after it?  Even if you stumble and fall on the first few tries, Leak explains that those missteps and failures contain valuable lessons that you can use to recalibrate and continue your journey toward your ultimate goal.

The author, Ryan Leak, also uses his personal stories about chasing failure when he tried out for the NBA. The methods he used, the failures he encountered, and the lessons he learned helped make him a better person and more courageous when setting out to achieve future goals.

Chasing Failure is a great book, a quick read.  It is filled with encouragement for anyone afraid of the looming specter of failure.  Leak’s solution is to laugh in failure’s face and not quit if it happens.  Only by failing can one find the strength to succeed.

Grab a copy of Chasing Failure by Ryan Leak and learn more about the author at the link below:

https://www.ryanleak.com/chasingfailure

How can you embrace the concept of chasing failure when it comes to your creative goals in 2023?

Writing Tip of the Week: Story Structure – The Middle, Part Two

Posted on by Ian Dawson

Two weeks ago, we talked about what goes into the first half of the Middle of a story.  This week, we’ll explore what happens after the Mid-Point, what’s waiting for the main character, and other components as we make our way toward the End of the story.

Stronger, Harder, Faster

Your hero might have just achieved a big win, but that only means one thing: obstacles are only going to get more complicated from here.  They may be halfway through their journey to achieve their goal, but that only means that the opposition will be in full force as it seeks to destroy the hero by any means necessary.  This is where the hero really begins to be put to the test.  Do they have what it takes to overcome the challenges and obstacles that await to get where they need to go?

This Is Jeopardy!

The stakes for the hero and their goal are about to increase in magnitude, which means that they will find themselves and others in greater danger if they don’t reach their goal.  It’s time to throw some big-time problems and issues at the hero and see how they work to overcome them, how they fight to stay on track, and what they do when those around them are in peril.  There’s no point in letting up now.  Keeping the audience on the edge of their seat watching or reading as the hero traverses these challenges is important.  Will they make it out okay?  How will they change as a result of these new and heightened stakes?

The Antagonist Steps-Up Their Game

This is no time for the hero to become complacent.  The antagonist certainly won’t.  They know that their plans are now even closer to being thwarted and stopped, so they will be throwing everything they have at the hero to prevent them from reaching their goal.  Whether it’s an army, henchmen, or a field of poppies that put travelers to sleep, the antagonist will do what it takes to slow down and hopefully stop the hero.

All is Lost

Things are looking up.  Your hero has made great strides, overcome obstacles, made mincemeat out of the heightened stakes, and become a stronger person due to the problems they faced.  The goal is closer now than it’s ever been.  Time to celebrate?  Hardly.

The antagonist has one more trick up their sleeve, and this is the moment – the major turning point – when all comes crashing down on the hero.  They lose the deal.  An attack takes out their defenses.  The love interest discovers a truth they can’t handle and leaves.  This moment is a true gut punch to the hero.  A moment when everything they’ve worked toward seems to evaporate.  

This is Turning Point Two.  It’s the end of the Middle, and the beginning of the End.

Will the hero have what it takes to overcome and reach their goal?

In Legally Blonde, Elle is propositioned by Callahan, which is seen by Vivian who turns against Elle (they had become friends during the Middle phase of the story).  Everything Elle’s done up to this point seems to be stripped away from her.  Her confidence.  Her abilities.  Her relationships.  Her very reason for being in the intern program is thrown into doubt as well.  

Did Callahan pick her for the wrong reasons?  Was she encouraged by him because he thought she would sleep with him to get ahead?

In the aftermath of this moment, Elle has to make choices that will make or break her and her goals.

Check out the clip below:

In two weeks, we’ll see how the hero works through this new and devastating moment and how they use what they learn to get to the End of their story.

Happy writing, and I’ll see you in two weeks!

Check out Part One of The Middle below:

Writing Tip of the Week: Story Structure – The Middle, Part One