The lost art of learning for yourself - part 3

Welcome to part 3 in exploring the lost art of learning for yourself.

When I first posted this a few weeks ago, I received such an overwhelming response that I decided to delve further into this subject.

Back at college, I started writing my first novel . . . the first one that I finished.  Prior to this, I had started several over the years, but didn't get much more than 20-30 pages done before quitting.  Looking back, I'm not sure why I quit.  Some of the stories are good--they'd need a lot of refining, though, so they'll sit on the back burner for a number of years.

My first novel was a deer hunting horror story--something that was a pure homage to Stephen King, my second favorite author (yours truly is number one).  When I started it, I decided that it would take me five years to write.  Given that I was going to school, I felt this was a decent time frame, but in looking at it now, five years is WAY to long to write the first draft of a novel.

At the same time, I read a number of books about Stephen King and what his life was like, how he wrote, and the story of his success.  This was even before his monumental book On Writing.  So, as you can see, I was already taking the initiative on studying successful people in the field I wanted to be in AND I was setting a goal on how I wanted to get there.

Who, today, has achieved the level of success you've dreamed of in the field of work you wish to participate in?

You can even go beyond this and explore the biographies of any number of famous/successful people.  Their achievements should inspire you.