Looking for a creative boost in your writing? Join us for the Daily Writer Retreat on May 2-4 in historic St. Charles, Missouri! Space is limited so act fast!

* * *

Why are some writers successful and others are not? Is it talent? Opportunity? Or just plain old luck?

That’s what many people believe. When they see a successful writer, they attribute it to chance. They assume that if you bloom, it means you happened to get planted in a good garden, and someone chose to water you.

They see success as something that is totally out of your control. The best you can hope for is that someone takes pity on you and gives you a shot.

Here’s a different perspective. You can choose to bloom wherever you are planted. Today, we all have access to the same resources. There is so much great free content on YouTube, podcasts, blogs, and inexpensive books that you can get the equivalent of a master’s level education practically for free.

It’s not so much about the opportunities you have. Instead, it’s what you DO with those opportunities. And today, we all have more opportunity as writers than at any other time in history.

In the movie The Dark Knight, the Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent carries a two-headed coin as a symbol of his freedom to make the best of any situation. He says, “I don’t leave anything up to chance. I make my own luck.”

You don’t have to wait to get planted in a different garden. You don’t need to wait for someone else to pour into you.

You can bloom right where you’re planted by investing in yourself and taking advantage of all the resources right at your fingertips.

Today’s Challenge: Think about a book, YouTube video, podcast, or course that you can access right now. Before the end of the day, spend 10 minutes with it and take action on what you learned.