Thank You, Nettie.

I’ve been writing news articles for decades now, and books for a while, too.  I do it because it gives me satisfaction and puts food on my table, and because I don’t have the ability to do anything else–I can’t be an astronaut or a bridge-builder or a U.S. Senator, because I don’t have the skills. Yes, and I do it to feed my ego, too.   A couple of months ago, I self-published an ebook called Finnegan’s Way: The Secret Power of Doing Things Badly.  Of course, I hoped it would bring me tons of money and loads of glory.  Then, a couple of days ago, a woman in Vancouver named Nettie McClain bought the book and reviewed it on Amazon.  She said, for her, it was “a life-changing gem.”  As I read her review, I realized I don’t need tons of money and loads of glory. This is really what I want out of writing. Thank you, Nettie. 

 

 
By
Nettie McClain (Vancouver, WA USA) –
 
 
This review is from: Finnegan’s Way: The Secret Power of Doing Things Badly (Kindle Edition)

This short and sweet little fable has an amazing amount of comforting wisdom in it. I’ve struggled with the fallout from not meeting perfectionistic standards my whole life. This amazing book shows why that approach fails, and how giving myself and others the permission to do things badly works. There are a lot of books out there now about self-compassion, but this little book sums it all up perfectly, as far as I’m concerned, and it’s really entertaining and easy to read, too. I’m so grateful that I discovered it!

 


  • Donna Frank

    Thank you, Charles, for an amazing short story. I just happened to click on it on my Amazon Kindle Fire as this month’s freebie. I didn’t know what to expect, but liked the premise of doing things badly. I think this little snippet may have just inspired me to relax a bit (I have perfectionist tendencies in some areas of my life). It is so sweet, short, simple but says so much. I am already enjoying life a little more thanks to your insights. Not that it makes any difference, but I also like that you are from Nebraska (a lot of good people are, including me).