When I think of what I want from writing, it’s easy for my opinions to be swayed by the thoughts (mainly marketers) of others.

Yes, the idea of publishing books and having one become a massive bestseller with movie deal (or TV series) is alluring. So is the idea of writing to market and cashing in on what’s hot.

Even more is the idea that something I write will be culturally relevant (“The Great American Novel”) a hundred years from now.

All of that is predicated on others… which is something you can’t control (at best, you can mildly manipulate).

I’m already making a great living, so for me, the path of writing is my own.

I get to post my thoughts every day on a space I can claim to be my own for the whole world to see and write books that I’d want to read. My cost to do so is minimal and I love doing it.

I want my writing to be fun because most of life is work. This is my outlet.

I used to be a professional magician and had fun while doing it. People ask why I quit and the answer is simple: that path was over for me.

Magic hit a point that in order for me to keep it at the level I was at, I would need to sacrifice my writing, speaking and potential (at the time) family. That’s when I bowed out and shifted priorities.

Too often when we set a path for ourselves, we look at outliers and try to emulate them. We attribute our contentment (or our goal) with what they have accomplished.

In the writing world, this can be something as ostentatious as wanting to be the next Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. In magic, wanting to be David Copperfield.

It never occurs to people they can derive contentment on their own terms. They can still have the skill, practice and polish of a veteran without their notoriety or following their path.

Nor does it seem to occur to people things don’t need to happen overnight. Sometimes it happens… but again… those are outliers.

Even more important, who cares what others think?

Put yourself out there, follow your own path and you will see where it leads. At times, it will fork and you’ll need to make a decision. Other times, it will change.

At the end of your life, one thing will always be certain – your path was your own.