You know that saying, Rome wasn’t built in a day? I don’t know if it’s because I’m reading Percy Jackson (or rereading, for the third time, to be precise), but Greco-Roman history has been on my mind.
Don’t worry though; this is not a history lesson. All I’m going to say is this: Rome was not built in a day.
Understatement of the year, right?
I think we expect this, though; we want things to happen instantly.
I’m learning this the hard way.
As many of you know, I’ve recently taken my writing to a business level. I’m sending out A LOT of pitches to businesses and am in conversation with quite a few. But I thought it would be quicker.
I didn’t think it would take days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months, to hear back from potential clients, if they respond at all. If I get a business email, I respond instantly, so I figured everyone else would do the same. It’s been a wake-up call to realize that people aren’t going to be responding ASAP, and perhaps I don’t need to be either.
Maybe I don’t need to be tensely glued to my computer, refreshing my email just in case. Maybe, just maybe, I need to lower my expectations. (This is definitely NOT a ‘maybe’, in case you can’t tell.)
I want to build Handiworks, my own little Rome, as quickly as possible. If I had it my way, I’d already have clients on backorder by now. But that’s not realistic.
All good things take time.
That’s another one of those very true but very annoying statements. I want instantaneous results– what about you?
Most likely, you’re not embarking on a freelance copywriting journey, but I’m sure you are pondering something. Something is keeping you awake at night, something is replaying in your head all throughout the day. Something should’ve been done or completed or solved by now.
We all have that thing that tempts us to be impatient and worrisome. And more often than not, we succumb to that temptation. But we don’t have to.
It may be hard to believe, but we don’t have to live in a tension-filled, always-on-edge life. We can choose to be still, to take a deep breath and trust that God is working everything out for His good purpose (Psalm 46:10).
Patience is a virtue.
Yet another ridiculously true saying. How about one more…
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9).
Take heart, friends. Keep working, and soon, your Rome will arise.
Comments