One MEEELION Reasons

Okay, I borrowed the misspelled million from Austin Powers. That just means that my perception is exceptional and that I’m awesome, or something. Anyhow, this blog entry is not about Mr. Powers, but about what we do, and what it means to us.

This can go for any occupation or hobby but mostly, I’m speaking to the writers. Admit it, you’d do ten times more of what you do now for a million dollars. That figure doesn’t mess around; it speaks to us very loudly. One million dollars. Man, oh man, that flows off the tongue well.

There aren’t many things I wouldn’t do for a million bucks, and I’m speaking literally. If it didn’t cripple me for life or cause serious mental disorders, I’d probably do it for a mil. No kidding. I think most people would, too. While it’s true that a million dollars isn’t as big as it once was, most people could just bank it and live off the interest. Even at 3% interest, that’s still $30,000 a year, totally for free. Add in a part-time job you enjoy, and you’re bringing in $50k; I don’t think there are many of us who would argue with something like that.

So, why don’t more of us make a million dollars at what we do? Any writer I know who was propositioned with that kind of money would be able to put together any kind of story or article collection without question. Wouldn’t you? And that leaves me with only one logical conclusion: We don’t believe in ourselves as much as we should.

You’ll never, ever make a million dollars from the story you didn’t finish, or didn’t start writing in the first place. You’ll never make a mil watching TV or playing Facebook games instead of writing, or whatever it is you love. You’ll never make a red cent on stories that aren’t submitted to a publisher. If you have ever once thought about how nice it’d be to become well-off doing what you love, then I bet you have the talent; all you are missing is the drive.

Unfortunately, in most lines of work, the task has to be completed first, and *then* someone pays for it. You simply have to write if you want to make it your living. Of course, a million dollars is neither here nor there, and if you can pull in enough to live on, that’s still successful. But the mil is out there, waiting, and if you don’t snag it, some other author will. Go get what’s yours. Write the damned story and wow the world!

There are a million reasons to do so.