“Sometimes doing great work requires taking several steps backward.”
~CANDICE COATES

I don’t know of a single human being throughout the span of time who has not desired some level of success and greatness.

I am not talking about the greatness that world conquers sought, the empty success that only leaves you with an insatiable high for more in all the wrong ways, the kind that leaves victims wounded, and bloodied in your wake.

I am talking about the great work of authentic meaning and self-expression. I am talking about that work that comes from an honest and sincere heart, that one that you can whisper to God with a smile and say, “We did good, eh?”

Be it your art, your writing, your marriage, your conquering of the daily grind whereas you force yourself to say, “This is the day the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it! I will do well today no matter the odds, no matter the discomfort.” This is the great work I speak about.

It cost. It takes time. But it is worth it.

As a writer, one of my greatest desires was to be published, to share the fruits of my imagination with others, and beyond that, to be self-sustaining financially through my craft.

Sometimes I get so eager to share my written works that the desire to forgo proper editing and revisions tempts me with an itch that I can hardly bear not to scratch.

Editing takes time, sometimes that time is spent in rewriting one’s ‘masterpiece,’ completely … this is taking several steps back. The finish line that was only a few strides ahead now seems so far away.

One moment, you believe you are finished with your work only to realize you have to go back to the starting line, or close to it, in order to actually achieve the goal you were aiming for.

The beauty of taking these steps back lay in the wisdom that was gleaned from the first attempt, your dry run. Taking steps back and aiming for the mark a second time lends you an advantage you did not have before.

When we aim the second time, or the third or even the twentieth, we know how to consider the ‘winds’ around us because we have learned to consider them.

Greatness is worth every detour. It is worth every tear. It is worth all the strain.

Take your steps, step back if you must, but continue to move forward. Greatness is just ahead.

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

 

–Candice Coates is an author, blogger, and contributor to Ambo TV. To read more from her, follow her blog at www.icameforthesoup.com