Giving Up

You Can Land, But Never Settle

Garth Beyer

If the chair is uncomfortable, find a new one.

If the book is uninteresting, quit reading it and toss it away.

If you don’t like what you ordered, get something else.

Settling is a habit that we get ourselves into. Settling does not occur sparingly – it’s not just about relationships, or classes, or traveling, or other worthwhile situations. We only find ourselves settling in the high risk situations because we settle for all the little things each day instead of changing them, redirecting, restarting, giving something new a try, or simply walking away.

When we land somewhere new, it’s sometimes a combination of anxiousness and excitement. When we settle somewhere, well, being drastic, we’re giving up.

 

Stay Positive & Never Give Up, Never, Never Give Up (HT to Chuck for teaching me this)

Garth E. Beyer

Fear Grows Old With You

Garth Beyer

Sure, the older you get, the less you fear. Fantastic. Knowing that doesn’t help too much when your young and inspiring to be a journalist or a magazine editor.

It’s been two weeks that I sent an email to a student I met on a PR agency tour, who was interested in writing for a fashion magazine, asking her to submit a work example to me. I know a few people in the magazine industry that would either interview her or point her in the right direction if I referred her to them.

Two weeks and I haven’t received a response. There is no question about it, fear ate her and won’t spit her out. Once she thought of five or six reasons why she shouldn’t respond to me, she deleted my email. Fear got to her.

That’s the harsh reality of those aspiring to be journalists. When this happens, it’s not about being pushed two steps back, you have to start all over again.

If you’ve done something similar to this girl – and sure, you can love writing all you want – but maybe journalism isn’t your passion.