The Simple Dollar: How One Man Wiped Out His Debts and Achieved the Life of His Dreams

Chapter 4. The Power of Goals in a Random World

I slit open the envelope, a tiny ray of hope stirring, and then saw the standard phrases on the form. A rejection. Even though I had gotten them often enough, each one landed like a punch low in my stomach. Inside I sat down in front of the computer. I had spent three years writing that novel, and now my finger hovered over the Delete button, ready to do away with all that work of many long nights at the library researching, typing, editing, building characters and plot lines, and tying them together in interesting ways, I had finished the novel. I had achieved my great goal. Or so I thought. I wasn’t prepared for what came next. For several months, I attempted to get someone—anyone—in the publishing ...