The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of Defeat and Writing a Book

Photo by Amada MA on Unsplash

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis

Years ago, ABC Sports which used to be THE place for sports, had opening credits that featured these words: The Thrill of Victory, cue an ebullient gymnast sticking the landing on floor exercise or a sprinter running the fastest mile. and The Agony of Defeat, think a skier who doesn’t make the turn or a figure skater who falls on the ice.  

The Pursuit of Excellence

ABC Sports used to also cover the Olympics and did a stellar job. I love both the summer and winter Olympics. Why? It’s all about the pursuit of excellence and following a dream. Athletes often train for years to compete and hopefully win. But there are no guarantees.

Take the Quad God Ilia Malinin, a two-time World Champion, three-time U.S. Champion and the first skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition. Although he helped the U.S. team win the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, and was a heavy gold medal favorite, after multiple falls and his failure to  land his quadruple Axel he landed in twelfth place.  

Maybe it was mental, too many negative thoughts as he’s said or maybe the pressure was just too much. The good news is that he’s just 21, so there’s no reason why he can’t come back for the games in the French Alps in 2030 and dream a new dream.

The Quadruple Axel & Writing a Book

So, what does this have to do with writing a book? Everything. When you write a book, (even when you’re under contract) there are no guarantees that it will sell and you’ll stick the landing. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth doing.

It’s the act of writing that matters. It’s the pursuit of excellence that matters. Winning the gold medal (or in this case selling millions of copies isn’t guaranteed) unless you’re Stephen King or Elizabeth Gilbert, an A-list movie star or a famous health expert with a huge platform.  

Finding Your Own Meaning in Writing

Whether or not you hit it big and win the gold, just the act of committing to writing and finishing a book, following your dream is important. It matters.

 If you work with book coach to up your game, improve your writing and your book, there’s an even better chance that you’ll be transformed as a writer and produce a book that in turn, transforms reader’s lives.

By hiring a book coach you’re signaling to yourself and to the world that you’re serious about being a writer, that you’re willing to pay to be guided and to take your work to a new, professional level. Regardless, when you commit, you’re changed from a person who wants to write a book that’s meaningful to you, to actually doing it.  

When you write regularly, you enter what psychiatrist to the stars and co-author of The Tools, Phil Stutz calls The Plane of Will which I love. Showing up on a regular basis brings you in line with higher forces, just like Malinin who hit the skating rink every day for hours until he finally landed that quad. There is meaning in the pursuit. Life is about the journey, not the destination and that goes for writing too.

And if you fall?

You pick yourself up again, hopefully learn something that you can use to succeed the next time and dream a new dream.

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