300 is a nice movie. Admittedly, the movie is mostly blood, gore, screams and half naked men with great abs, yet it is a great movie. The quality of the movie, however, is not what this post is about. This post is about something I realised as I was watching the movie.
In one scene, King Leonidas, and his 300 men, meet a group of Arcadians, led by Daxos. Daxos is dismayed at seeing only 300 men, and he tells Leonidas that he was expecting the number of Spartans to be at least as much as the Arcadians. At that Leonidas asks three Arcadians what their profession was, and the answers he gets are potter, sculptor, and blacksmith respectively.
Spartans, of course, were soldiers by profession, each and every one of them. That was exactly what made Spartans a formidable fighting force.
The lesson to be learnt here is simple.
There are times when the best of us look towards others for advice to succeed. The advice we are most likely to get is,“Do whatever you do with passion, and you just can’t fail.” Unlike most advice which might, or might not, be applicable to everyone, this little piece of advice is perfect for anyone who wishes to succeed in his, or her, chosen field of work. But, then why aren’t more of us passionate about things? Why aren’t more of us successful?
I use the word writer in the title to signify someone who writes, and then gets read by a substantial number of readers. One might look at some of the bigger names in the field, and assume that writing is a short cut to name, fame and money. Many believe in this fallacy, take the plunge, and realise later – often, when it’s too late – that they have made a mistake.
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