Lesson #3: Every Spare Second Counts For Success
Lesson #3: Every Spare Second Counts For Success
The day that Harry Potter came to life was the day that Rowling was stuck on a train between Manchester and London during a four-hour delay. The passenger sitting next to her might have used the time to catch up on some sleep, but Rowling was determined to use the time to her advantage. Indeed, whether it was a 15 minute break from her secretarial duties at Amnesty International or a 30 minute nap time break from her baby daughter, Rowling used every spare second to dream up and jot down points of her story.
Today, Rowling claims that “Harry just strolled into my head fully formed.” But it was precisely because Rowling used her idle time to be inspired that she made her seconds count. And, once the idea for Harry popped into her head, she made sure not to let it go.
“Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences,” says Rowling. She knew that great ideas come often unexpectedly. Indeed, the greatest ideas come precisely when we are not anticipating them. But that is why Rowling made sure to use her time wisely. A great idea had grabbed her on a train delay that fateful day and she was going to grab back.
Even after the fifth book in the Harry Potter series was finished, and Rowling had had her newborn son, she began immediately working on the sixth book. “I started it when I was still pregnant with David,” she says. And even during her son’s time-consuming early months, Rowling still found the time to write.
That being said, however, Rowling also made sure that she did not rush into something she was not ready for. She wanted to make her time count, but she was in no rush to publish something that she herself was not even happy with.
Rowling had been a self-admitted writer since she was six years old, but that is not to say that she was regularly published. Indeed, she had written many a story before Harry Potter came along, the pages of which she just let get dusty in her desk drawers. “I had written two novels before I had the idea for Harry, though I’d never tried to get them published,” says Rowling, “and a good job too – I don’t think they were very good.”
Rowling knew not to rush to roll out her product. Though she spent most of her free time writing, she knew that not all of her stories were market worthy. She used her time wisely and made sure that when she went to the masses, she was ready.
Lesson 3 Every Spare Second Counts For Success
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“Where the idea for Harry Potter actually came from, I really couldn’t tell you,” says Rowling. “I was traveling on a train between Manchester and London and it just popped into my head. I spent four hours thinking about what Hogwarts would be like – the most interesting train journey I've ever taken. By the time I got off at King's Cross, many of the characters in the books had already been invented.”
The day that Harry Potter came to life was the day that Rowling was stuck on a train between Manchester and London during a four-hour delay. The passenger sitting next to her might have used the time to catch up on some sleep, but Rowling was determined to use the time to her advantage. Indeed, whether it was a 15 minute break from her secretarial duties at Amnesty International or a 30 minute nap time break from her baby daughter, Rowling used every spare second to dream up and jot down points of her story.
Today, Rowling claims that “Harry just strolled into my head fully formed.” But it was precisely because Rowling used her idle time to be inspired that she made her seconds count. And, once the idea for Harry popped into her head, she made sure not to let it go.
“Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences,” says Rowling. She knew that great ideas come often unexpectedly. Indeed, the greatest ideas come precisely when we are not anticipating them. But that is why Rowling made sure to use her time wisely. A great idea had grabbed her on a train delay that fateful day and she was going to grab back.
Even after the fifth book in the Harry Potter series was finished, and Rowling had had her newborn son, she began immediately working on the sixth book. “I started it when I was still pregnant with David,” she says. And even during her son’s time-consuming early months, Rowling still found the time to write.
That being said, however, Rowling also made sure that she did not rush into something she was not ready for. She wanted to make her time count, but she was in no rush to publish something that she herself was not even happy with.
Rowling had been a self-admitted writer since she was six years old, but that is not to say that she was regularly published. Indeed, she had written many a story before Harry Potter came along, the pages of which she just let get dusty in her desk drawers. “I had written two novels before I had the idea for Harry, though I’d never tried to get them published,” says Rowling, “and a good job too – I don’t think they were very good.”
Rowling knew not to rush to roll out her product. Though she spent most of her free time writing, she knew that not all of her stories were market worthy. She used her time wisely and made sure that when she went to the masses, she was ready.
Lesson 3 Every Spare Second Counts For Success
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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