This is an excerpt from Impossible: The Manifesto. It’s available tomorrow, December 6th, for free.
“A story involves a character that wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.”
What do you want?
What do you want out of life? Our of your job? Out of your family? Out of your relationships? Do you even
know?
Sure, you might want something, but it’s not enough to just want something.
Great characters want great things. But even more than that, great characters want great things…that are worthwhile.
Now I can’t tell you what’s worthwhile for you. What’s considered worthwhile is different for everyone and it’s something you have to decide for yourself. Be careful because there are a lot of things that are desirable, but very few are worthwhile. Ever seen SkyMall?
Unfortunately, it’s rare to find somebody pursuing something worthwhile, because those things are a lot harder to acquire and you’re going to have to fight for them.
There are a lot of things that are commonplace that people pursue, but they’re not really worth fighting for. They’re token. They’re dull. They’re ordinary.
They’re mundane. And nobody fights over the mundane.
But the Impossible…that’s another story. The rare things in life. The things that most people don’t do. The things that are hard to acquire.
Those are worthwhile. Those are worth the investment. Those are worth the fight.
When you want something, make sure you want something worthwhile.
Because eventually you are going to have to fight for it.
And it better be worth it.
***
The manifesto is available for download tomorrow here for free – just cause I like you guys that much.
I just flipped through a SkyMall last week on a flight. Who comes up with some of that stuff? Who would actually buy it too?
Excellent excerpt choice – one of my favorites! Can’t wait to see the Impossible happen when this thing finally launches live on the site tomorrow. 😉
BOOM!
Love it, Joel! Your posts are off the hook lately. This was a wake up call for me, just like that last post about nice people. I focus my energy on too much crap, so I never have enough of it to pursue something worthwhile. Thanks for this.
Thanks Anum. I really appreciate that :). Thanks.
It is amazing how many people have no idea what they want out of life. They may say a nice house, a great car, family, etc. If you were watching the story of your life, how quickly would you turn it off?
We all say we want great things but when it comes down to it, often those great things get eroded to what we think is easy to achieve.
Personally, I think I’ll take your advice and go after great things, even if I have to fight for them. Thanks for the great post