How to Respond to Adversity with Dignity

Brad Pitt made an interesting comment about the value of movies, during the Academy Awards presentation on Sunday. He said (and I paraphrase), 


"By watching movies, we see how other people act with dignity, particularly when they are faced with adverse circumstances. And, it make us better people by experiencing that."


 Movies Show Us How to Act


I thought about the movie True Grit, one of last year's award nominees (since I haven't seen any of this year's nominees yet, and I am presently reading the book version of True Grit.) I note how the main characters portrayed very high levels of courage, moral integrity, and care for each other. 


The characteristics that they display far surpass what we see in daily life. The movie protagonists are willing to forget about their own safety to rescue their companions, or perform their sworn duties. 

Marshall Cogburn rescuing Mattie Ross

Movies inspire us to live up to our own highest calling.


Books Inspire Too


In writing books, we do the same. One of our goals in writing should be to show people how to overcome obstacles and give them steps, or examples, to allow them to reach their aspirations. That's what the best "how to" books do, and, in fact, what any great book does.

David Copperfield

Take the book David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens. The story told of how a young boy overcame the death of his mother and father, growing up with mean and calculating in laws, and being forced to do fend for himself through most of his childhood years. 


Yet, he also encountered kind and inspiring people in his life. When the boy becomes an adult, he is able to transcend, or transform, the tribulations of his past, to become a successful writer and to lead a life that reaches out and helps many other people.


So, as you write, keep in mind that one of your primary objectives is to inspire. People should be better off from having experienced your book.


Other recommended articles:

What’s Up With You Lately and How You Can Use It to Inspire Others

An Amazing Time to Buy a Foreclosure

Authors Helping Authors on Amazon and Beyond

We must all, indeed, hang together, or most assuredly we will shall hang separately.
 -- Benjamin Franklin

Yes, we're as helpless as a bunch of clowns if we don't stick together

I think there is a great bond between writers of books. We all share a common experience of delving into the great void that is our soul, and we were able to find our way back and to transcribe our seemingly inexplicable findings into book form.

I read an article recently that said that 80 percent of the people in the United States would like to write a book, but only 3 percent ever actually write a book. We are a small and ancient brotherhood of writers.

That's why I believe that writers seem so eager to help out other fellow authors. We read their draft transcripts, we encourage each other, and we review each others' books.

We All Need a Boost on Amazon

In particular, it's really useful for new authors, and indeed all authors, to get lots of reviews on Amazon. A good book with a few dozen positive reviews on Amazon can actually compete with some of the most popular books.

Self-Publishers at an Unfair Disadvantage

We self-publishers are at a distinct disadvantage against books published by the big publishing houses. We don't have the Madison Avenue publicists, with slicked back hair and martini lunches, behind us, or the mulitfaceted ad campaigns, or the endorsements from Oprah.


That's why we have to stick together, like Marshall Cogburn and Mattie Ross in True Grit!

How, you ask? How can we small ants compete against this thundering herd of elephants.

Here's How Even the Playing Field

When you read a good self-published book:

1. Write an Amazon review.

2, Review the book on your own blog.

3. On the Amazon book page, mark "agree" with the good reviews and "disagree" with the bad reviews. Sometimes it only takes one disgruntled reader to write a bad review and discredit what most people think is a very good book.

4. Mention someone's book on Facebook, Twitter, Stumble Upon, or whatever other  dazzling new internet tool they've come up with that I (invariably) am the last to know about.

I, for one, am always agreeable to do review exchanges with other writers.

Writers of the World Unite, You Have Nothing to Lose but Your Absence of Publicity!


Also recommended:

7 Simple Ways that Authors Can Pay it Forward

Paying it Forward - A Great Example

I found this video over at the See Beautiful blog. It's a great example, produced by the Life Vest Inside organization, that shows how one act of kindness can touch many lives.




As I have said before, sharing your knowledge and wisdom with others by writing a book is another way to pay it forward. There is no telling how many people will have their lives improved from reading your book.

Even if you don't have a clear idea for a book, you can begin moving in the right direction  just by getting up an hour early every morning and writing three pages (with notebook and pen) of "morning pages." Just write what ever comes to mind; use your stream of consciousness.

At first, it may not seem like anything is happening, but soon you’ll find you are coming up with some insightful ideas for your book. It’s a way to connect to your creative consciousness.

The important thing is to keep writing. That's the only path to becoming an author.

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