Growing pains
Sometimes it feels like the more I push forward, the further from my goal I get. I was reminded of this recently. As I have been working on the editing process of my book, it seems like the more I write the more I have to rewrite. I constantly have to remind myself that these rewrites aren’t failures, they are just helping me understand on a deeper level the process I am trying to write about. Thomas Edison tried over six-thousand times to invent the lightbulb before he found a way that worked. Instead of giving up, he used each failure as a chance to grow. As a matter of fact, after a thousand attempts instead of getting discouraged he said, “We now know a thousand ways not to build a lightbulb.”
Well, I have learned a dozen ways that don’t work, kinda work, and definitely work when it comes to writing. I have been stretched physically and mentally. I am tired, I am fried, but most importantly, I am feeling accomplished. I am living my dream and I know that through this process I am going to come out the other side stronger, wiser, and humbled.
Cliff, congratulations on your website and blog!
I found my way here from your SART testimonial — surfing when I should be swimming
How, how, how did you create such a beautiful spot? I love your left hand links – gorgeous graphics and adorable home page video.
Your stories are well told, and benefit from their brevity. I look forward to hearing from you.
P.S. I notice that there seems to be no way to comment with a gravatar or other than through your wordpress sign up link. This seems a bit unusual; I’m wondering what guided you in this decision –
Thank you so much @uforia for our compliments on my website. I am grateful to have a wonderful team working with me to help create this space. I found a template online that was close to my vision for the site, although it still required extensive reprogramming to create the feel I was looking for. The photography is a combination of a friend’s work and stock photos I found and licensed through iStock. I was able to license the fonts through a developer for commercial use. The video was created through a site called XtraNormal which was pretty user friendly, although it was a cumbersome undertaking. That said, the process was still affordable, although it took a lot of time.
I thank you again, for your compliments and am glad that you took the time to message me. I definitely appreciate you sharing with me and am glad you found inspiration from the site.
Thanks, Cliff for taking the time to respond so fully. You’re a mensch!
The reason I didn’t add the ability to comment with a gravatar was honestly a programming decision. It required a little more coding for the site than I had time for.
As for asking people to sign up before commenting, it was solely to protect all users on this site. It was important to me to create a safe space where all people are honored. Recently, I had a friend create a site that didn’t require people to sign-up before commenting, etc… The result was disastrous, as an immature individual decided to use the space to attack others for their opinions. Without requiring people to sign up, I would have no way of preventing this from happening. My utmost concern is that everyone feels comfortable here.
Again, I thank you for taking the time to comment, ask questions, and share your thoughts on the site. I will see what I can do to allow gravatars. If the recoding process isn’t too involved, I would be happy to add them.