Strive

1Strive

What is the real key to success that ties together the most famous winners in history? To become successful, you must pursue challenges that are tremendously uncomfortable and outside your comfort zone. Only this type of stretching beyond what you are comfortable with will allow you to achieve success.

Writers often embody the key aspects of Strive: Despite the odds, they frequently step outside of their comfort zone to become more than they dreamed possible. There are powerful risks involved with writing, and financial ruin is only one.

Take one of the most famous writers, J. K. Rowling, the mastermind behind the Harry Potter series. While growing up, Rowling exhibited a talent for storytelling, but did not pursue writing in college. She actually majored in French, since it was seen as a “safer” way to obtain gainful employment. Rowling's idea for the Harry Potter stories went unwritten for some time. As a matter of fact, when she first conceived of the idea, she had nothing to write with and was too timid to even ask for a pen. So one of the best‐selling children's series in modern memory almost went unnoticed, a passing thought on a train, left behind on the platform like so many other great ideas.

But then Rowling's life was flipped upside down. She found herself alone with a child to raise and no job. Most people would have sought out any job to pay the bills. Rowling was, after all, an educated individual with a strong drive to succeed. However, she chose the uncomfortable ...