For Those Who Want to Write

 For Those Who Want to Write

I'm writing a novel. The idea has been in my mind for nineteen years.  I've attempted to write this novel three other times and never got beyond four or five thousand words each time.

This time is different - better.

Here's what I've learned on this writing journey this time around. Oh, by the way. I'm not finished writing it. But wanted to rush these thoughts out for now.

~I started on January 1, 2024 in earnest to write my novel again. I hooked onto an idea that was a good 'hook' this time that had escaped me before. My title stayed the same. My main character stayed the same. My location stayed the same for the most part.

~What changed? My mindset. One night, late, I was writing and it hit me. I am god (little g) of these pages. I can write anything, do anything to my characters I want. Even death. Once I realized that, it was like a lightbulb turned on and the lid was taken off.

~I also realized that persistence in writing is critical. I work a 40-hour week, and write two blogs each week plus produce at least one podcast and a video podcast every week. And I still find time to write almost every night. I say 'almost' because I give myself permission to take a night off when needed. Yes, permission. I listen to my body, and when the body says 'rest', that's what it gets.

~Since we writers are gods of our writing, we control the destiny of all we create. I killed off a minor character in my book this week. She had outlived her usefulness and I needed to keep the action in my chosen location.

~I took a writing retreat break recently: Thursday - Sunday. What a marvelous retreat that was. My goodness. To have a huge block of hours of concentrated writing time was a real gift to myself. 

It was just me, my laptop and a few groceries at a friend's condo at the Peake of the Snoqualmie Mountains just out of Seattle. There was no one else along. I set no agenda. I wrote and took standing breaks as needed, I napped as needed, and then wrote some more. For two of those mornings I was up by 6:30 and writing shortly after that. And two of those nights I wrote until 11PM or later.

~I had a goal to accomplish for this four-day retreat. I was well into my second story in this book and felt it was time to bring it home. My goal was to finish this particular story. And I met it Sunday morning around 10:30. That felt great.

~I'm the kind of writer who has the idea of where the story is going to go and then I let it come out. I don't outline and stick to that script. I was amazed and surprised more than once in the twists and turns my story took, and in some of the characters that came forth. Toward the end I introduced a 10-yr-old street kid named Ze that I'm going to bring back in another story. He's a keeper. He was also a surprise.

Here's what I proved to myself.

~I have good ideas.

~I have the discipline to attempt a retreat like this and stick to my agenda of writing, writing, writing.

~My characters became real in some unusual ways. They took on traits, personalities, speech mannerisms and behaviors that were unique to each one. I love that. I told my wife before I went on this retreat that these characters were becoming friends.

~~ Thanks for reading this article. It's not for everyone, and if any writers or wanna-be-writers read it, my wish is that it will help unlock and inspire you to keep writing.

Success to all you word-smiths out there.

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

How Far Have You Come?

 How Far Have You Come?

We’re all on the road again, aren’t we? Some of us occasionally have flat tires, we lose our transmissions, our motors give out, we run out of gas, we get dented, bruised, and need a paint job. It’s all a part of the journey we are all on.

And if you think I’m writing about an actual road trip, then keep reading.

Here’s the basis for today’s thoughts.

You Didn't Come This 

Far to Only Come

This Far!

I latched onto the parable of the servants in the Bible story who were given differing amounts of talent.

You know this, perhaps.

One was given 5 talents. He turned those into 10 talents.
One was given 2 talents. He turned those into 4 talent.
One was given 1 talent. He buried his in the ground and it was lost. No growth, no production, no future possibilities.

The moral of the story is to take what you have been dealt and make the best use of it and multiply its value.

Expand your enterprise. Grow.
Become more.
Do more with what you have.

Of course, setbacks will happen. We will get knocked off the horse a time or two. Surgeries will pop up. Illnesses will happen. And twenty or thirty other hurdles will pop up on our path.

And we keep going anyway.

We keep moving. We keep taking our pills. We keep going to the gym. We keep eating better. We keep listening to great information. We keep reading superb books.

WE GET BETTER.

The quote above challenges me.

"I didn’t come this far to come this far!"

Heck no!

There are times when issues arise, medical circumstances happen, job losses slap us down, and perhaps we think “Well, I’ve come a long way. Maybe this is where I get off.”

I don’t think so.

If you have a measure of talent, if you care, if you dream, if you have a goal and a mission in life, then you go a bit further. You reach back for a bit more strength, a bit more creativity, and a bit more will to do something more.

~Oh, we may move slower than before the attack happened.
~We may not be able to do the broad jump anymore.
~We may not sing a high C again.
~We may get our sticks tangled up and drop one or both occasionally, but we play and sing and move at whatever pace we can NOW move and play and sing.

If you can no longer speak, write.
If you can no longer sing, hum, or teach, or enjoy the music.

We find ways to continue using our talents and gifts.

I still want to write the blog heard around the world.
I still want to write more books, and especially finish my novel, for I feel it has redemptive power. (This probably makes no sense to you unless we’ve engaged in conversation about my book. It is still my little secret, and yet someday I will present it to the world.)

I don’t bother counting my talents these days. I just find ways to use them. That is the great joy in life at this age and time.

So, I’ll repeat our premise.

We didn’t come this far to only come this far!

Can you go a little farther?

P MiCHAEL BIGGS

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Our Dark Days Make Us Prove We Are Strong

Our Dark Days Make Us 

Prove We Are Strong 

I once thought I was not a strong person. My self-esteem was almost non- existent, my self-confidence was in hiding, and I suppose my mindset was one of ‘I’ll coast through life and see what happens. After all, I’ll take what comes and I probably deserve what comes.’

Oh my. What a lousy way to approach life. Trouble comes, so do nothing, say nothing, assume you deserve it and that’s that.

No way. I say NO WAY.

I’ve had a few dark days in my years of living. And with the living I’ve done thus far, I can look behind me and see those dark days.

And look what I learned and look how I came out.

You don’t know the inner strength you possess until you really must dig down and use it. Oh, my friend. You have strength inside of you. I hope you believe that. What you must do now is let that strength, that intestinal fortitude rise to the surface and show us that you may be down, but you’re not out.

That bears repeating.

“You may be down, but you’re not out.”

Many of us have experienced divorce, or bankruptcy, job loss, loss of a loved one, horrible surgeries, and the list goes on.

The great news is this ... some of us have found the strength to rise from the ash-heap and make a new start. We’ve found the strength from somewhere within us and pulled ourselves up by the bootstrap. We’ve determined that this too shall pass, and this situation is not going to be the end of us.

It is not the end.
It is not even the beginning of the end.

It, however, could be the beginning of a new beginning. That’s not double- speak. That is what it is – a new beginning. Every beginning has a starting point. Where is yours?

A personal story:
When I went through toe amputation surgery on my left foot three years ago, I had dark days. I wondered, questioned, and worried over my ability or inability to ever walk at a normal pace. And I thought pain in walking was going to become the norm for me for the rest of my life.

Look at me today. I can walk. I do the treadmill at the gym. I work a 40- hour week. This past summer I discovered I can ride a bicycle again, and the weekly improvements keep on coming.

My first steps after surgery were not a pretty sight. I was in pain with every step. When I came home from the hospital, I was fearful of having to climb eight steps up and then eight steps down into our condo.

I’m way past all that.

Along the way, with Carolyn's help, I found my inner strength, my intestinal fortitude to persevere, to be persistent and to keep doing what I knew needed doing, for I was not going to let a little thing like missing five toes stop me from living a good and full life.

They were dark days. And guess what. They made me prove just how strong I already was.

I found the strength within. How about that.

Now, I’ve used a lot of “I” words to tell my story, and I trust you will forgive me for that. The point is this ... we all have that measure of inner strength. Sometimes, we never see it until the hard places come, the seemingly unsurmountable experiences in life. And when those times do come, we have a choice.

Will we wallow in our self-pity and doomsday mindset? Or will we rise, take up our bed and walk.

Just to be clear, I am a man of faith. I have no doubt that the God of my understanding was by my side through all that I have experienced in life.

And I do know that He will not do for us what we can do for ourselves.

What can you do for yourself? Sometimes we can only do small acts, and those small, somewhat insignificant acts lead to more small acts, and muscles that start firing, and neurons and nerve endings that fire, and mindsets that start changing from a can’t do to a CAN DO!

Dark days are no fun, granted. And look what they teach us.

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Never A Good Time to Stop

 Never a Good Time to Stop

I don’t want to bore you with my medical history, but I need to use a part of it to illustrate a point.

I had complete toe amputation on my left foot three years ago. Between that surgery (actually four surgeries) and my open-heart surgery 6 years ago my body has taken a beating. Just in the last few months have I rounded a corner and have started to feel better than ever, even before heart surgery.

I’m going to LA Fitness, working on my own and with a personal trainer, and have been doing very well.

I’ve missed working out for the last two week. TWO WEEKS. And I can tell a difference. Climbing steps had been getting a bit more difficult. The simple act of getting out of a chair had become more of a challenge and a few other muscular observations of note. All because I took two weeks off.

Oh, I could rationalize and say I’ve been busy, which I have, or we’ve been out of town, or I’ve been too tired to go for my personal training session, which I missed two weeks in a row.

And I have paid a small price for all of that.

Happily, I returned to the gym today. I was able to pick up where I left off and believe it or not, I can already tell that my body is responding. Rising from a chair has suddenly become easier, and other movings and motions of my body have become easier again.

Can you believe all this? If I want to live a longer life than others with similar medical experiences, then I must keep up with my weekly gym visits, my treadmill walks, my weight machines and all else.

I can never ask, “Can I stop now?” No, not now. Not ever!

Is that a depressing prognosis?

Not on your life. Do you know the euphoric feeling I sense after working out each time? Some of you do. It is like a special kind of drug that is good for you – it’s all good for you.

I felt that way this morning. I’ve felt it before.
And I will continue to feel it every time I pay the price and go to the gym.

Even when I’m ninety-two, which is a long way off, I’ll be doing something in the way of physical activity, for I like the differences I feel in my body.

I wonder where else in life I can apply this idea? And I wonder about this for you, my loyal and faithful readers. When you reach 75 might be considered by some a good place to stop. Probably not. Perhaps curb your activity some but never stop.

I’m already curbing some activities. The weights are a bit lighter than twenty years ago. Some of my personal trainer activities must be modified specifically for me, and Monica, my trainer, is perfectly okay with that.

Changes happen. Adjustments must be made. Stopping because I’m too old or too weak? Not today.

Take a break occasionally if you must.

That’s called sharpening the saw, thanks to Stephen Covey

But keep doing something, some level of activity as you can.

     Your body will thank you. 

          Your heart will thank you. 

               Your family will thank you. 

                    Your mind will thank you.

And you just might find time to write about your own experience sometime and let us all hear of your health successes at your ripe and good age, whatever age that may be.

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

You Can Bounce and Not Break

 You Can Bounce and Not Break

It’s such a simple thought, isn’t it? It almost doesn’t need to be written on, and yet we need to remember this great concept.

Rejection teaches us 

that we can bounce 

and not break!

I love that idea.
I know this to be true. And you do too.

Everybody gets rejected.
Everybody loses out at some point. 

Everybody gets defeated sometimes.

Ever been divorced?
Ever been in bankruptcy? 

Ever had open-heart surgery?

Ever had an amputation?
Ever lost in love?
Ever had a foreclosure or a repossession?

Here’s the thing.

All the bad stuff I mentioned above, and there is a lot more that could be added to this list, all of that stuff is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it could, perhaps, be the beginning for a different take on life or on any of those circumstances listed.

WE CAN BOUNCE AND NOT BREAK!!!

We should take out an ad in every newspaper in the world, yes – the world, and proclaim this from every mountaintop.

This I’ve said in many blogs, and yet it needs saying again and again.

Failure Is Not Final!

~We walk away from failure, (or hardship or sickness or defeat.) ~We overcome failure, (or hardship or sickness or defeat.)
~We bounce back from failure, (or hardship or sickness or defeat.) 

~We learn from failure, (or hardship or sickness or defeat.)

Failure is not the end. Oh no. It is a teacher. It is a hard lesson in life that we take to heart.

Yes, we must grieve our failures. We must take time to process, and reflect, and wonder and ponder and do all that other stuff a smart person does after a failure.

And then we move on. WE MOVE ON!

Is your mindset that of an overcomer? Do you want to bounce, or do you want to break into thousands of tiny pieces?

I say – Let’s Bounce.

Rebuild.
Reinvent yourself, your dream, your one thing that is always on your mind.

Do you remember what Muhammad Ali once said? 

You don’t lose if you get knocked down.

You lose if you stay down.

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

The Courage to Start

 The Courage to Start

Anything worth going after takes courage. To put it another way, it takes courage to start.

You’ve heard this – “The journey of a thousand steps begins with the first step.”

Ben Franklin once said – “Nothing ventured. Nothing gained.” I’ll say it again – 

It Takes Courage to Start.

A wise person once said this:

“If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it.
If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.
If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.”

For thirty or more years I dreamed of and talked about being a writer. Oh, I wrote a few things here and there. I had my first article published in a magazine in 1978 and got paid $22 for it. I wrote other stuff but not on any kind of consistent basis. I certainly did not earn the title “writer” with what I produced.

Finally, in 2009 I started in earnest to write with one blog site. I had the courage to start on that day and have continued ever sense.

What do you want to do? Write, draw, paint, sing, act, start a business, build products? Now is a dandy time to begin.

What’s that you say? You’re too old? Nonsense.

I wrote a blog on January 23, 2023 (What Will I Accomplish Today). Here’s a reminder of some important facts.

A study in the U.S.A found that the most productive age in human life is between 60-70 years of age.

~The 2nd. most productive stage of the human being is from 70 to 80 years of age.
~The 3rd. most productive stage is from 50 to 60 years of age.
~The average age of NOBEL PRIZE winners is 62 years old.

~The average age of the presidents of prominent companies in the world is 63 years.
~The average age of the pastors of the 100 largest churches in the U.S.A. is 71.

~The average age of the Popes is 76 years.

This tells us that the best years of our lives are between 60 and 80 years. A book review published in NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE found that at age 60, you reach the TOP of your potential, and this continues into your 80s.

Does that inspire you, encourage you? I hope so.

Here’s the thing. Begin. Just begin. And in the early days, it’s okay to copy your heroes. Copy the people you love. Who inspires you to do what you want to do? Copy what they do, and sooner than soon you’ll find your own voice and start making your work your own with your unique touch and style.

Seth Godin inspired this next bit of writing. I call this his Manifesto to Begin Something.

Draw the art you want to see. Start the business you want to run. Play the music you want to hear. Write the books you want to read. Build the products you want to use. Do the work you want to see done.

Just find the courage within you to start.

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Baloney and the Banquet

 Baloney and the Banquet 

We had some good friends over for a meal recently. Never in our wildest imagination would we have considered serving them baloney sandwiches. Not on your life. Carolyn whipped up an amazing lasagna with all the appropriate side dished and we feasted.

Baloney ...

Not the food for kings and good friends. Now, I like baloney as an occasional sandwich for lunch, but not for serving to guests.

Keep reading, please.

This story is from Come Share the Being by Bob Benson
Do you remember when they had old-fashioned Sunday school picnics? It

was before air-conditioning.
They said,
“We’ll meet at Sycamore Lodge in Shelby Park at 4:30 Saturday. You bring your supper and we’ll furnish the tea.”

But you came home at the last minute and when you got read to pack your lunch all you could find in the refrigerator was one piece of dried up baloney and just enough mustard in the bottom of the jar so that you got it all over our knuckles trying to get to it.

And there were just two stale pieces of bread.

So, you made your baloney sandwich and wrapped it in some brown bag and went to the picnic.

And when it came time to eat, you sat at the end of the table and spread out your sandwich.

But the folks next to you – the lady was a good cook – and she had worked all day and she had fried chicken, and baked beans, and potato salad, and homemade roles, and sliced tomatoes and pickles, and olives, and celery, and topped it all off with two big homemade chocolate pies.

And they spread it all out beside you and there you were with your baloney sandwich.

But they said to you, “Why don’t we put it all together?”

“No, I couldn’t do that. I just couldn’t even think if it,” you murmured embarrassedly.

“Oh, come on, there’s plenty of chicken and plenty of pie, and plenty of everything – and we just love baloney sandwiches. Let’s just put it all together.”

And so, you did and there you sat, eating like a king when you came like a pauper.

Sometimes, we don’t have much to offer ... in life, to friends and family, and to God. It seems our contribution is a dried-up piece of baloney between two pieces of stale bread, and yet we’re offered a feast from some kindly neighbor next door, or a friend far away, or a measure of mercy from God himself.

This is not a pity party, so please hold a more lofty thought of me for a few minutes.

At this very moment, it seems I’m in the baloney days of my life. I had amputee surgery 4 1⁄2 weeks ago on my left toes. For three weeks, I had to be waited on hand and foot, no pun intended.

As I write this, I can see a dozen cards from friends and family wishing me healing, peace, comfort and good thoughts and prayers. And my in-box has been filled with words and expressions of love and healing thoughts as well. My baloney has turned dry and moldy during this ordeal, and yet, these cherished ones of mine have given me banquet food to eat in the form of thoughts, prayers and actions. I haven’t even been able to respond to anyone, but I cherish each and every gesture, prayer, meal brought in, and kind word expressed.

I have received grace and kindness, my friends. God has turned my baloney experience into a banquet of esteeming loving gestures and thoughts and prayers of health and good will.

It has been 4 1⁄2 weeks since surgery. I am now able to hobble about our condo sometimes with my walker, but most of the time without. I hold onto walls and furniture for balance and am making it OK. It’s not pretty, but I’m improving.

God’s grace IS sustaining Carolyn and me through it all. Her care for me is the BEST, and to my medical team – you are my heroes.

If you’ve ever gone through ‘baloney’ days, be encouraged. When you can’t give out as in days past, perhaps it is time to feast on the goodness of others. They will graciously take your ‘baloney’ offering and replace it with your own personal feast.

And know this ... God is nearby. Always and forever.

Morning Notes Blog Site

This is my morning reflection.

P Michael Biggs Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Keep Throwing Darts

Keep Throwing Darts

Figuring out life is the GREAT challenge for all of us.  And now, at my ripe old age of 71 I have come to this conclusion. 

We keep throwing darts at the dart board.  The goal is to hit the bull’s eye.  I rarely hit the bull’s eye, but I kept throwing.

It took me a while to figure out what my real magnificent obsession in life was.  I’ve chased many obsessions.  To name a few …

~A great minister of music

~A producer of musicals and dramas

~A great drummer

~A stellar business man

~President of a certain publishing company by age 45

~Minister to ministers of music

~Writer of best-sellers in the motivational and self-development vein

~A great encourager

~A great music clinician

~A world-famous orchestral director

Oh, there have been other pursuits along the way.  And where have I ended up?

It hit me one day that in all of my pursuing, in all of the dreams I chased, the one thing I kept coming back to was this … I simply wanted to help people.  I wanted to encourage people. 

I accomplished that in some ways through many of these pursuits, and for that I am grateful.  However, once I settled on my major chief aim in life, my magnificent obsession, I feel I began to make some real progress in my own sense of self-fulfillment and had a sharply defined focus of how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. 

I believe that was the day I quit throwing darts and began focusing on the one talent in my hands and in my heart that mattered most.  I began focusing on ways to benefit mankind, to help and encourage mankind.  I realized that many people I met had a great need for validation, self-esteem, self-confidence and to know that there was at least one other human being in this world who cared for them.

I must confess, it took a lot of dart-throwing to finally narrow my focus, my aim and see the bigger-than-life target for which I had been aiming all along.  I am very thankful I discovered this magnificent obsession.

Now, my friend, I turn to you.  Have you been throwing darts in search of a target, an obsession?  By all means, throw those darts.  Throw as many darts as you can.  Some will stick, some will fall off.  Some will hit dead center and some will miss by a country mile. 

And when that fine day comes, and you finally hit upon that one obsession for which you have been seeking, then stop throwing.  Look closely at what you’ve discovered, and set your cap for a fresh journey toward your life’s purpose.

And become that person you have desired to become.  Move in the direction of your dominant goal and dream.  It matters not your age, now how much money you’ve spent, now where you live, what your dress is, your language nor your favorite food.  The main focus for the rest of your life is this … how can I best serve mankind with this fresh focus of my attention.

That is graduation day, my friend. 

Celebrate!

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Ring the Bells that Still Can Ring

Ring the Bells that Still Can Ring

I have a friend named Jim.  You should have seen Jim in his forties.  He was what one might call an up-and–commer.  And now, Jim is 90.  He moves a lot slower, his mind isn’t as sharp as it once was.

Ah, but he can still speak, and write, and pray.  He loves to pray.  Jim is ringing the bell that he can still ring.  How about that!

Leonard Cohen gave us this phrase from one of his songs

Ring the bells that still can ring.

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.

~Leonard Cohen

My goodness. That is a profound idea. 

And so, we ring our bells in these days and in these times.

If that is all we can do for now, then that is what we should do, for now!

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

The Hardest Sale Ever Made

The Hardest Sale Ever Made

I am uncertain as to who said this originally, however, it makes a great blog thought.  Here goes:

The hardest sale you'll ever make

is to yourself.  But once

you're convinced you

can do it, you can.

It comes down to the old adage, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Of what are you convinced?  What is your dream, your goal, your chief aim in life?

Are you convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can, indeed, pull it together?

Sell yourself first, then sell the world.

That is all I have to say on his topic for tonight.

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration