So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds, And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds.
Countee CullenRead
There is no secret to success except hard work and getting something indefinable which we call 'the breaks.' In order for a writer to succeed, I suggest three things - read and write - and wait.
Interpretation
Success comes from hard work and a bit of luck.
Countee Cullen emphasizes that achieving success is not based on hidden secrets, but rather on diligent effort and the unpredictable circumstances that can aid one's journey. For aspiring writers, he suggests a simple formula of reading, writing, and being patient, indicating that mastery and opportunity play crucial roles in finding success.
In practice
During a motivational speech to aspiring writers, one might say this quote to inspire them to keep working hard.
So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds, And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds.
The truth is... everything counts. Everything. Everything we do and everything we say. Everything helps or hurts; everything adds to or takes away from someone else.
All day long and all night through, One thing only must I do: Quench my pride and cool my blood, Lest I perish in the flood.
Your love to me was like an unread book.
I am fortunate: my parents told me the world was my oyster, when they could have said I wouldn't make it for a lot of reasons - rural, girl, small African country. So, no regrets.
Success is achieved twice. Once in the mind and the second time in the real world.
When I was 15, I left school to start a magazine, and it became a success because I wouldn't take no for an answer. I remember banging on James Baldwin's door to ask for an interview when he came to England. Then I got Jean-Paul Sartre's home phone number and asked him to contribute. If I'd been 30, he might have said no, but I was a 15-year-old with passion and he was charmed. Making money was always just a side product of having a good time and creating things nobody'd seen before.
Fame comes and goes. Longevity is the thing to aim for.
The goal, then, isn't to draw some positioning charts and announce that you have differentiated your product. No, the opportunity is to actually create something that people choose to talk about, regardless of what the competition is doing.
It is more difficult to stay on top than to get there.
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