Striving to Get Better: Stephen King and Larry Winget

I heard a good interview with Stephen King this morning on public radio.. There are a lot of connections between what King says in the interview and Larry Winget’s book, It's Called Work for a Reason!: Your Success Is Your Own Damn Fault. In particular, Winget talks about being good at your job and striving to get better.

In King’s interview
On his prolific production in writing: 
"There are plenty of people who have got lots of talent. This world is lousy with talent. The idea is to work that talent and try to get to be the best person that you can, given the limits of the talent that God gave you — or fate, or genetics or whatever name you want to put on it. A lot of people have suggested that the stuff that I do may be second-class because there's so much of it. My response to that is: I'm going to quit and be dead for a long time. This is the time that I've got, and I want to use it to the max. I really want to try and mine everything that I've got."

On blaming your situation and past:
(On why alcoholism plays such an important role in Doctor Sleep) "I was interested in [alcoholism] for a lot of different reasons. There does seem to be a genetic predisposition to alcoholism — that's the nature part. The nurture part is that if you grow up in a household where there's a lot of drinking, you have a tendency to become a drinker yourself. I wanted to see if it was possible to escape those things."

Link to radio story: http://www.npr.org/2013/09/24/223105565/stephen-king-on-getting-scared-nothing-like-your-first-time

Football Player Sherman on work ethic from father

During an interview, Seattle Seahawks Player Richard Sherman talked about learn about the value of hard work from his father.

From NBC Sports:
On his father, who gets up at 3:45 a.m. to work as a garbage man: “He’s shown me work, what it is to have a work ethic, a blue collar mentality. He’ll go to work, work for the eight or nine hours, and then he’ll come home and mow the lawn. He’ll miss some games before he’ll miss work because he works every holiday. He works every chance he has to put more food on the table. He does it. Those kinds of sacrifices you see throughout your whole life. It builds a certain rapport with you.”

Link to interview highlights on NBC Sports:  http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2013/09/15/notes-quotes-from-football-night-in-america-week-2/

Dedication: Third Parent and Fourth Child

In the first episode of Season One of Downton Abbey, the patriarch Lord Grantham is challenged by his mother about his dedication to the Downton Estate.  He gives a compelling answer.

"What do you think? I've given my life to Downton. I was born here, and I hope to die here. I claim no career beyond the nurture of this house and the estate. It is my third parent and my fourth child. Do I care about it? Yes, I do care!"

"Third Parent and Fourth Child" is a powerful way to explain one's dedication.

"Downton Abbey"
Produced by PBS Masterpiece Classics
Created by Julian Fellows
Episode Directed by Brian Percival
Air date 9 January 2011

Downton Abbey website:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/