In a few weeks, I am (hopefully) going to self publish a book through Amazon’s Kindle service. Shortly thereafter, we’ll print physical copies of the book and put them up for sale on Amazon. I am waiting on the last details for the cover art to come together, and then it’ll be a go. Since I was a kid, I have wanted to write books and have started the process many times, only to get discouraged and give up.

To be honest, I am a little surprised to find myself at this stage of the process after so many starts and stops. I’ve spent a bit of time trying to figure out what made this time different, and I have come up with a few thoughts that I think are applicable to any major life goal or effort. The crazy reality is that I meet folks all the time who say: I have always dreamed of , but have just never done it. The following is a short list of things I think made the biggest difference.

My brother and I talk and text daily. He is very encouraging and has been helpful all along the way. One of the biggest helps he has offered has been in recommending books to read that have inspired me to continue in the effort. Two short essays in particular are: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Man in the Arena. Both are about failure, oddly enough.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is about a man who lives his life dreaming of doing great things but never does anything. Walter Mitty is a mediocre character who fantasizes about greatness. In the end, the scary part is that it’s so easy to become that guy. It’s easy to dream, because it’s safe. Doing more is hard and scary. Still, the underlying message about the danger of dreaming without doing is something I found scary. It prompted me to work. The Man in the Arena is an excerpt from a speech delivered by Theodore Roosevelt. In it, he argues that it is better to be the man in the arena who tries and fails than to be a critic on the sideline. Daring to do great things and failing is better than wondering.

I recommend reading both books. They are the kind of reading that can get stuck in your head and change how you see your own life. They prompted me to adopt the motto as I have worked on my book: :”I’d rather do it and fail than not do it at all.” That attitude has made all the difference in the world. It’s entirely possible my book will only sell a few dozen copies. I am painfully aware of that fact. Still, it’ll be something I have done.

The other huge difference in the process has been setting goals. A year ago in January, I set the goal of writing a novel that year. Last January, I set the goal of publishing it this year. Along the way, I have set smaller goals, like writing 500 words a day or reading a book a week on publishing.

These little goals are like steps on a ladder. They help because there are so many little tasks that play a part in the process and have to be dealt with to get to the end. In addition, from a psychological perspective, seeing a small task and accomplishing it is easier than working at a huge thing and taking years to do it.

A final element that made a huge difference for me was surrounding myself with folks who have encouraged me and held me accountable. I have a few people a week who touch base to cheer my efforts on or ask me about my progress. It makes a huge impact because there are so many ways to get discouraged or other projects to get distracted by. Having folks who encourage me has kept me focused.

I believe that these three things have made the difference between giving up and finishing.