R is for Results

We are all judged by results..we judge ourselves and are judged by others.

Most of my life has been shaped by results one way or another. I've been a soccer coach and fitness coach for most of it and the success or failure of any undertaking, the happiness of many days have been conditioned by whether I or the people I have coached have won.

It's the most precarious of jobs, because of the variables and the characteristics of the people around me. In fact winning meant a hell of a lot when I was a teenager and a boxer. If you lost at boxing it hurt, physically and mentally, though it may surprise some people to hear that getting knocked out doesn't hurt at all, for at least ten seconds anyway.

At soccer losing always hurt mentally, always. I have watched people hurt and I have been hurt, but I have cried worst when I lost. In the Faeroe Islands even I was sick on the evening we lost a home game in the final minutes of a fixture and one of our fans shook me and told me to "go home!"
In these conditions your whole countenance is determined by the actions or in actions of the players on the pitch.There is only so much a coach can do and the fans only look at one thing, "did we win." I have coached teams that played so well, the opposing goalkeeper makes great saves, the posts intervene, the referee is against us..everything except I may not be a good coach!! No, I know that's wrong.
So, what has this got to do with writing?

You see it's the exact opposite really because unlike bad or lucky coaches where a one nil win is enough, how do you judge a bad writer Bad writers never get read and some writers who are labelled "bad" make millions of dollars. How can this be?

What is a bad writer?

Who makes that choice when often the millions come about because of good marketing. In the UK we had a writer by the name of Jeffrey Archer, a member of the government whose life took many negative turns through his habits and life style. Yet because of, or despite, this he sold millions of books worldwide while the critics here panned him calling his books "lightweight" while they were writing serious tomes that sold in there hundreds only.

What have results in writing got to do with me? Take a look at my contributions to the A-Z list and notice the number of letters I've missed, some of these were because I came to the challenge late and was told to begin where the group were at the time. But, over the last week my need to write marketing material and the need to gather clients has taken president. If the materials bring clients through the door and if my hours of talking to prospective customers bring money into the bank balance the result is success. If not then the material I could have been writing will never see the light of day, and I failed. But, what results do bring home is the need always to reflect and re shape your actions. For instance, I have just finished reflecting on the fact that I should be writing three of four days in advance when I get the opportunity.

Results, reader always have a part to play in the final scenes of an adventure and for the results of my work this week you could go to my post and leave a comment!!