Sometimes, somebody else has already said it better...

I love this quote from Viktor E. Frankl's, Man's Search for Meaning: 


"The pessimist resembles a man who observes with fear and sadness that his wall calendar, from which he daily tears a sheet, grows thinner with each passing day. On the other hand, the person who attacks the problems of life actively is like a man who removes each successive leaf from his calendar and files it neatly and carefully away with its predecessors, after first having jotted down a few diary notes on the back. He can reflect with pride and joy on all the richness set down in these notes, on all the life he has already lived to the fullest. What will it matter to him if he notices that he is growing old?"


Too often over the past few years, I've allowed myself to get caught up in the tasks that need to get done rather than celebrate the accomplishments.  You lose track of all of your successes when you see the deadline (literally or figuratively) racing towards you.  


I've been so busy that there were times when I almost gave up on writing.  Forget drive and passion; who has the time?


After reading Frankl's book, I worry less about the time I have left and prefer to focus on how I will spend the time I have now.


When I look at things Frankl's way, it seems silly that I would think that I would not find time to write.  And if I find the time each day then I'm sure the notes jotted down on the back of my torn calendar sheets will add up to a pretty good story.

A mentor, editor and writer all wrapped up into one

I met Melanie Fogel over 5 years ago, through a creative writing course she offered (and still offers) through the Ottawa School Board's Continuing Education program. Her course caught my eye because she was the editor of Storyteller magazine through the fifteen years it was in existence.  I scoured enough local writing courses to know that it’s rare to find a course taught by anyone who is more than a hobbyist.  I jumped on the opportunity.

She told us that it’s difficult to teach people how to write, but she was able to draw on her experience in reading through endless slush piles to provide  examples of how not to write.  We learned how you can lose a reader by the end of the first paragraph.  How not to leave the reader with a sense of “So what?” by the end of the story and how if you can’t summarize your story in a single sentence, you’re probably in trouble.  It was an excellent course and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in developing their writing skills.  

I was especially fortunate in that she saw something in me and chose to continue to offer mentorship with my writing ever since.

Her latest short story, Pied-à-Terre, can be found in Cutting Block Press' Tattered Souls II Anthology.  A preview can be found here.  

Congrats on another publication, Melanie!

Just the Stats, Ma'am.

I finished my media blitz* to promote the release of the Spirit Legends anthology, containing my short story, Shadows Lost.

*Media blitz = I posted a status update on Facebook:

Kevin Quirt: I recently sold a short story (Sci-Fi) to an anthology publisher and the ebook version came out today. I downloaded the book and showed my five-year-old that his dad is a published writer. He scanned the first page, looked at me and asked, "When's the movie coming out?"

I’m not a firm believer in the power of social networking as a promotional vehicle, but my view might be skewed by the fact that I’ve only populated my Facebook friends list with actual friends. I don’t expect them to drive my career to the next level. That’s not what they’re there for. They’re friends and I'm privileged to know them. I want to share this experience with them, but also want to make sure that none of them think I’m expecting them to start paying my salary as a writer.

It’s crazy to assume that most of your friends would even like your work, no matter what you do. Writer. Painter. Artisan. As a writer, I can see this quite easily. Head into any large bookstore and imagine how many books they have that you would like to read. Is it ten? Hundreds? Compare that number to how many different books are in the store?

Any reader will only like a small percentage of any books available in a book store, and the preferred books likely run down genre lines (e.g,. Thriller, SF, Horror, Romance,…). I’m a stats guy, so I know that only some people like SF. Only a small portion of those people are my friends. The odds are pretty good that while my friends will be genuinely happy for me getting published, most of them probably wouldn’t like the story. (Venn diagram added below for dramatic effect)

If I had a friend who was a writer of speculative bagel stories (what if bagels were square?), I would wish that person every joy and success writing could bring. But, I’d never read any of their work.

It’s seems strange to say that I don’t mind whether or not my friends like my work. I really hope they do, especially if they’ve paid money to read it. But, I’m not going to put pressure on them to prop up my ego as a writer. The market will let me know how I’m doing and the market won’t feel pressure to be nice in giving real feedback.

I've received a lot of positive feedback and support over the past few days from those who are most important to me and I am very grateful for that.   It let me know I was sharing this news with the right people.

Speaking of Writing...

One of my stories, Shadows Lost, has just been released as part of RuneWright publishing's latest anthology, Spirit Legends: Of Ghosts and Gods, edited by Christopher Ficco.

It was great finding a home for Shadows Lost, a story about a troubled neuroscientist who elicits an out of body experience in a research setting but doesn't find what she expects.  The tale borders science fiction, fantasy and the paranormal without settling in one genre, which was why I was so glad to find an anthology open to this type of story.

Thanks to Christopher for accepting my story in his publication.

This isn't my first published work involving a neurophysiology lab.  I was fortunate enough to be involved with an excellent neurophysiology research team at the Royal Ottawa Hospital and they offered me a co-authorship on one of the projects I worked on.  The lab experience I gained working with them was invaluable in putting together the setting for this story.

On a whim, I checked to see if I was a findable author on Amazon now that the anthology has been released.  It turns out I am, providing one is willing to accept that they misspelled my name as "Various" in the author section.

I'll bet this never happened to Stephen King. :)

Insanity- The Asylum

Guest blog by Jon Nicholson.


The program was titled Insanity: The Asylum - Volume 1 - Sports Performance.

What drew me to it was two-fold:

1- I didn't want to lapse out of the work-out routine I had grown accustomed to. I wanted a structured challenge.

2- This program was ALSO led by Shaun T from Insanity, and his style and motivation suited me fine.

When I saw some videos online of exactly what this program would entail, I thought: "No WAY can I do that."

It was kind of unexpected considering how positive and empowered I felt after finishing Insanity.

He's the difference as I saw it then: Insanity was a battle of cardio and time.

The schedule of 6 days a week for 9 weeks was brutal, but once I got the moves down, there were very specific points when I knew the only battle would be adhering to the schedule.

Asylum, however, physically, appeared to be in another category. Jump rope, agility ladder, pull-up bar... contrary to Insanity that relied only on my body as the training tool.

Asylum was a 6-week, 5 day / week course though... so less grueling? Seemed like a trap.

I watched the 2-minute highlight videos for the various workouts: Speed and Agility, Strength, Back to Core, Vertical Plyometrices, Game Day and Overtime.

Theory was that every 2 weeks you complete a "Game Day" that tests all the training you do.

The last two "Game Day" workouts also include "Overtime" making the workout over 75 minutes.

Here's some of the routine highlights.

I seriously worried I couldn't do this. I has some trepidation about my Achilles during Insanity. Sure the doctor said it would heal as strong or even stronger than before, but I'm guessing he didn't anticipate me training like a professional athlete...

I ordered the Asylum regardless. I needed to keep my momentum going.

I finished the 6-week program yesterday. (like Insanity, I don't know anyone who has completed this either)

Hands down, it was the most difficult thing I've ever done physically and mentally for a workout.

In addition, what I learned was different too.

There are particular moves in the program that seem impossible- physically impossible, even THOUGH the instructor and class does them.

Major mental hurdles. One example:

In a push-up position, (in the down part of it), you leap out of the position, thrusting your legs forward and your feet land where your hands were, except now you're standing up. One motion.

As I held the pushup position, I was frozen. I couldn't visualize the feeling of it, the energy required. I could only imagine failing.

Question: If you cannot visualize yourself doing something outside of your comfort zone how do you do it?

The first time through this section, I skipped it.

There are 3-4 other moves in Asylum that fall into this category: Ridiculous moves requiring explosive plyometric power, flexibility, and sheer force of will.

There were moments when my mind just stuck me in place, rationalizing the fear.

The instructor reminded me: "You are an athlete. You GRADUATED Insanity, now you PUSH THROUGH."

and "This is when it all counts. You're exhausted. Your body is broken down. NOW is the time where you're going to keep going and get the rewards. THIS is where it really matters and what will change everything." and "I know you're tired. I don't care. You MOVE!"

As the weeks progressed I broke through these mental barriers, one by one. Not every break-through was perfect or even successful, but I didn't let my ability to ALMOST do the move stop me from trying harder the next time.

By the end of the program, I could do ALL of the moves, even the impossible ones.

So there's the value, and the reason I learned. Even after being successful at something (like Insanity), there were STILL mental barriers.

Success doesn't magically disintegrate mental hurdles. They will always be there, but now I know that I WILL get through them, if not physically, then fine, but it won't be because my mind refuses my body the chance.

My mental action forced the confrontation over my perceived physical limitations.

My mind, and only my mind, was the jailer and the paroler.

6 weeks of reprogramming, violent effort at times, and a brutal physical challenge leaves me today stronger than I've every been physically, but more importantly, absolutely CLEAR on how my mind and body must work together for such extreme challenges.

I can't wait to take on the next challenge....

Good News and Bad News

Big thanks to Jon for taking me up on the offer for a guest blog. I am so inspired by what he was able to accomplish and maintain with his exercise and diet program. What surprised me even more was hearing him talk about how a limiting belief he had about himself (thin-athletic) was demolished through commitment to his goal. His self-perception as a thin person changed when the action he took resulted in a growing muscular physique.

Actions shape self-perception.

He brought up a critical point that he doesn’t know anyone else who finished the program. Neither do I. It’s incredibly grueling. Sixty-three days of strict diet and 1000-calorie/hour exercise.

I read his blog and saw his challenges as he was experiencing them. I saw the days when he was worn out, sore and worried about potential injury. These were the same things that had stopped me in the past. He didn’t stop. And by not stopping when most would, he changed a limiting belief through action.

His actions epitomize the thinking behind “Smart as a Mouse.” Pick a goal and approach it like there’s no other choice.

I think about the challenge Jon set for himself and I am inspired to set my own. What it/they are, I’ll let you know. There’re other steps I need to take first. But I’m going to take them fast.

Jon’s post is a good news/bad news reminder for people looking to take their life to the next level:

The Bad News: There’s no secret to success.

The Good News: There’s no secret to success.

Part 2 - Insanity

Guest blog by Jon Nicholson.


I wasn't in good enough shape to do Insanity. Not at 199.6 lbs.
I vowed once I hit 185 I would start it...

What is Insanity?

It is a 63 day, 6 day per week, 45-60 min per day "total body conditioning program" of about 13 DVDs utilizing "Max Interval Training."

The propaganda from the site:

The secret to these mind-blowing results: MAX Interval Training. Shaun T took traditional interval training and flipped it on its head—you perform long bursts of maximum-intensity exercises with short periods of rest. Each workout keeps you constantly challenged as you alternate between aerobic and anaerobic intervals performed at your MAX. The result: burn up to 1,000 calories in an hour and get the most insane body in 60 days.

I could do this. There's no dance moves (thankfully) and no equipment. Just using your own body.

I bought it.

63 Days later, I was done. I had not missed a single workout. Not one, even when traveling across the country for 1 month on and off.

I stuck religiously to a lean smart diet of 5 small meals a day and plenty of protein.

I chronicled every day on a blog what it was like and to keep me accountable. I always wondered if these infomercial were BS or could these programs really work.

I had my answer.

170 lbs. Fitter than I has been in my entire life.

I also was the only person I knew who actually finished this program. It was a real achievement.

 It was more than that though. It was transformative in my mind.

Insanity didn't get me fit. I did. There's no miracle. I ate healthy and smart and worked out hard 6 days a week. That's the simple equation of any successful program that will work in a healthy manner.

Some of the things I learned and was taught to me through the 63 day process:

1- When I don't feel like working out, I accept that feeling but it absolutely NEVER affects whether I will work out or not. This is a very freeing experience: allowing yourself to feel tired, unmotivated, or just plain lazy, but those feelings NEVER having any power.

2- Exercise needs to be something INTERNAL, and cannot depend on something external. If you create gaps between the time you work out and other activities, those gaps will wedge your exercise out. It will rain, you will be "too busy", you forgot your gym bag.

Work out at home at the same time every day when possible. When impossible, make the adjustment, but not the compromise. With Insanity, there was me, my yoga mat, and the TV in the basement. That's it.

3- We all have an image of ourselves. We also have a historical image (at your best and at your worst). None of these are real. You characterize yourself based on the limitations of yourself that you believe in. For me, this was having a thin athletic build (at my best). So if that was my goal, then I'm missing out. I learned from this program that I can absolutely NOT accept that image and re-shape myself any way I choose. This is huge. You are not "big-boned". You are not "skinny". You will NOT always have puny arms, or big legs, or any of it. These are your mental compromises and justifications for where you are.

You must be 100% honest with yourself about why you are where you are. The vision will not work if you give yourself excuses.

Mine were simple: cigarettes, cheese, bread, beer, carbs... laziness and indulgence.

Since then I've moved onto a new physically and mentally tougher program (Asylum). I have 1 week left on that and perhaps I'll guest blog again to discuss what that program taught me.

Until then,

Jon