Comments on: What’s out beyond your headlights?

By: Caryn

Caryn — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:55:12 +0000

Hi Carly,

Wonderful post – I love the Doctorow quote.

Interestingly, I think this idea can also be very helpful for those who have recently been laid off from corporate jobs. I’ve spoken with many of these folks, and often they are afraid to go out on their own because they feel being self employed lacks security. In reality, regardless of whether we are self employed or an employee, we all can only see as far as the headlights go.

Thanks again,
Caryn
Caryn´s last blog ..Yes, you CAN alter your memory

By: Carly

Carly — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:26:20 +0000

Thanks Dee! What a beautiful addition to this post – to trust that the road will continue beyond your headlights. You bring up a great point – so many of us are paralyzed by the unknown so we stay stuck in the familiar, even if its miserable.

I hope your headlights shine on the right next step and get you past the roadblock or writer’s block soon!

Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!

By: Carly

Carly — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:23:46 +0000

Hi Mona – I love your addition – start the engine with the first sentence! Thanks so much for reading and sharing your comment.

By: Carly

Carly — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:44:36 +0000

Thanks for your comment Joe! If you haven’t read Bird by Bird, I highly recommend it for any writer (or anyone) looking for some great tips on getting started and doing great things. I think you’ll especially love her chapter called “Shitty First Drafts!” Great reminder that its getting the words the page unedited that serves us because even if you end up with one great sentence, its more than you had before.

And thanks to you too Phil for the inspiration and for getting me thinking. Great point on staying alert and keeping an eye open for the unexpected!

By: Philip Bolton

Philip Bolton — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:48:42 +0000

Carly – thanks for the great post and for sharing my post too!

I always use the maxim “start from where you are” to consider any process of change. You’ve got to look at where you find yourself today and plot your course from there. With those headlights, you can see the road ahead. When we set goals for our career or life it is like having a route planned in the car. Yet the smart plan is to stay alert whilst driving – we might see a sign to somewhere even more interesting and head off that way!

Phil
Philip Bolton´s last blog ..Discover 5 ways to have an amazing day

By: Dee Relyea

Dee Relyea — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:21:34 +0000

As a career coach, I use the analogy of “trusting the road will continue to exist beyond your headlights” to trusting the journey to realize your “right livelihood”. I’ve also been struggling with my own writers block. Your post really speaks to me. Thanks for sharing!

By: Joe Incantalupo

Joe Incantalupo — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:26:27 +0000

Thank you so much for this post Carly! It’s such a good strategy for writing. I can tell you that I’m 94k words into a fictional book and I could have used this advice from the beginning. That being said I’ll use it going forward. I think some nights I stop myself from creating because I tell myself that I don’t want to write myself into a corner.

Maybe if I allow myself to create more often without over thinking things my work will be even better. I definitely look too far down the road. I can always change things if what I write doesn’t work and at the very least I’ll make more progress each night. Thanks again for this post!

By: Mona Gustafson Affinito

Mona Gustafson Affinito — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:00:43 +0000

I love this. I’d add one thing. Write the first sentence. You can always go back and change it, but at least, to use the driving analogy, you’ve turned on the engine.