In one scene, just after George’s mother slams the door in his face because she doesn’t know him, the angel Clarence can see he is distressed. He tells George, “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. And when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

George Bailey had a chance to see what life would have been like without him. He had no idea that he had changed the lives of every person in Bedford Falls.

What about you? Do you know how many lives you have impacted through your writing and your overall life? It’s far more than you know. The world would be less without your influence, your words, your inspiration, your story.

Don’t doubt it for one second. You’ve really had a wonderful life, and you’ve made others more wonderful because of it.

Daily Question: If given the chance to see what the world would be like without you, would you take it?

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Each day is a thread you are weaving into an epic tapestry.

One day, the threads will run out and your life will be over. When your friends and loved ones reflect on your final tapestry, what will they see? Will they see shadows and a hint of greatness that was never fulfilled? Or will they stand in awe at the bold shapes and bright colors that helped them see they could create a beautiful tapestry, too?

Which picture will they see? The choice is up to you.

Your words are the most powerful tool you will ever own. Don’t let another day slip away without using them to weave a better future for yourself and those you care about.

A master craftsman weaves one thread at a time. When you stand back and look at the complicated pattern, you wonder how in the world they managed to create something so complex and beautiful. How did they do it? One thread at a time.

Years from now, people will wonder how you achieved so much with your writing. But it won’t be a mystery. Like a master artist who weaves a tapestry, you used each day as a thread to weave a life and legacy of words.

You will have done it because you were a Daily Writer.

Daily Question: Are you using today—THIS DAY—to weave a beautiful tapestry with your words?

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When I became a college professor in 2004, one of the courses I was assigned was Introduction to the Arts. It was a basic survey course covering visual art, architecture, music, theatre, and film from a Christian philosophical viewpoint.

The area I knew the least about was architecture. I had always been fascinated by it, but never studied it in-depth. Over the years, as I have learned more about architecture, it has become one of my favorite subjects.

I’m especially drawn to Gothic cathedrals. These medieval works of art represent one of the pinnacles of human ingenuity and creativity. The designers, laborers, and craftsmen worked for decades, in some cases centuries, to complete these massive projects.

My personal favorite is Chartes Cathedral in France. Built from 1194-1260, it’s one of the oldest Gothic cathedrals. Chartes is famous for several iconic features, including its beautiful stained-glass windows, a medieval labyrinth, and a purported relic of the Virgin Mary’s tunic.

Consider the mindset of the artists and craftsmen who built Gothic cathedrals. They worked to build something they knew would outlive them—not only by decades, but by centuries.

That’s a stark contrast to today’s creative world, where we don’t normally think in centuries or decades, or even years. We think in weeks and days, hours and moments.

Today, most of our creative work is designed for quick consumption. We share social media posts that we hope people “like” in the 30 minutes after the update. We write blog posts that we hope go viral in the days after they are published. We hope our book or album gets traction in the weeks and months after it’s released. We hope our podcast or video gets downloaded thousands (or millions!) of times.

I’m not saying those things are bad. I engage in all those mediums, and more. But is there a way to balance the need for relevance and timeliness with a more long-term perspective on our creative work?

The real question is: Will your creative work outlive you? We don’t create just for today. We create for decades from today. So let us create, work, and write with excellence. With high standards. And with a view to impact not just people today… but many years from now, just as we enjoy the Gothic cathedrals today, many hundreds of years after they were built.

Daily Question: How do you think your writing might impact people decades into the future?

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In the Hero’s Journey storytelling template, we begin with the main character. He or she exists in what is called the “ordinary world.”

The ordinary world is Luke Skywalker on Tatooine, Dorothy in Kansas, Frodo in the Shire, Michael Corleone before he gets wrapped up in the family business, and a thousand other examples from movies, literature, and comics.

The ordinary world is a place where the hero is comfortable. They are not fulfilled but they feel safe. Then comes a “call to adventure” where some situation suddenly pulls them out of their comfortable existence and calls them on a journey where they will become the hero they are meant to be.

You know about all the opportunities to be an amazing writer. You have skill. You have resources. You have some connections. You have been called to join the adventure.

But will you break out of the ordinary world? Are you going to keep doing the same things over and over and expecting different results? Are you going to embrace your identity as a writer and do the work required to make it happen?

Are you going to break out of your comfortable, ordinary world and join the adventure?

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When you look back over your life, you can see a pattern. We spend lots of time and energy going from person to person trying to find an answer to the central question that drives our lives: What is my purpose?

It’s more than a metaphysical or spiritual question. It’s also a practical one. We spend a pretty good chunk of our lives in a career or vocation, so we might as well be doing something we love, right?

How do we find the answer to this question? The bad news is that other people can’t totally answer it for you. They can give you hints and clues. And, of course, we should consider the input of people we respect. They can help us understand our giftedness and strengths, sometimes far better than we can.

But ultimately, only you can answer the question about your purpose. What do you want to accomplish with your life? As a writer, it probably has something to do with communication and using your words to impact other people.

The central task of our lives is to discover the answer to this question of purpose, then take action on it. Or, as Dolly Parton said, “Figure out who you are and then do it on purpose.”

Do you know your purpose, and are you living it out? If you don’t know the answer to that question, take some time today to think about it so you can move forward with confidence and boldness.

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A powerful movie, if you haven’t seen it, is Dead Poets Society from 1989. The late Robin Williams plays John Keating, an English teacher who has an unorthodox way of teaching his students. In one of his lectures, he challenges his students with this line, from Walt Whitman’s poem “O Me! O Life!”: “… the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”

This is a question not just for John Keating’s students, or for Walt Whitman’s readers, but for all of us. We are all part of an eternal human drama. You have the opportunity to contribute a verse to the story. What will your verse be?

Will your verse be excellent or halfhearted?

Will your verse be true to your story or designed to conceal it?

Will your verse be long, as if you had worked on it for many years, or cut short by a lack of effort?

Will your verse be designed to serve people or serve yourself?

And, finally… will you write a verse at all?

We all get to choose what we leave the world. In a hundred years, what will people remember about your verse?

In the powerful play of life, it’s time for you to take the stage and share your verse.

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