Writing: excuses for not writing

I started this morning feeling tired and not ready to write. It's snowing and I had a chiropractic treatment yesterday which always makes me feel offside for a day as my body adjusts, and I just plain couldn't be bothered.

So I decided to clear my email as something to get me going and found this great piece from John Forde's Copywriters Roundtable e-letter. I've promoted this before and I will do again because whatever type of writing you do, there's food for thought in each of his updates. Today's was on the theme of obstacles stopping you succeeding in 2010. And given my post 60 age, I loved this list. Thanks to John for inspiration - check out his website at www.copywritersroundtable.com

"EXCUSE BUSTERS: THINK YOU CAN'T DO IT? TRY AGAIN...
Think you're just too darn old to start over? Here's a sample of something from Early to Rise that might help you change your mind...
* Verdi composed his Ave Maria at age 85.
* Harlan Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken at 65.
* Ronald Reagan didn't get into politics until he was 55.
* Laura Ingalls Wilder published her first book in her 60s.
* Rodney Dangerfield didn't START in comedy until he was 45.
* Cezanne's most prized paintings were done in his 60s.
* Alfred Hitchcock made his best films after age 50.

How about success for the emotionally drained and depressed? Yep, it's possible. Just ask Academy-Award winning actress Halle Berry, diver Greg Louganis, comedian Drew Carey, actress Drew Barrymore, baseball star Ken Griffey Jr., musician Billy Joel and a host of others, including the late Johnny Cash, journalist Mike Wallace, and Walt Disney.

All were so depressed they attempted suicide... then went on to survive and thrive in their respective careers.

And then you've got Pablo Picasso, Tom Cruise, billionaire Richard Branson, artist and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci, and Jay Leno -- all "victims" of the reading disorder, dyslexia.

Winston Churchill, great speechmaker and leader, battled a stuttering problem and did terribly in school.
General George Patton was such a slow reader, he had to memorize all his speeches before delivering them to troops.
Thomas Edison had so much trouble speaking and with words (he was also a dyslexic) his teachers called him too dumb to be in school.
Seal, the English singer, grew up in foster homes and lived on the streets of London. In his 20s, a skin disease scarred his face. Today he's a stylish mega-success... and married to supermodel Heidi Klum.
Basketball star Allen Iverson grew up in a house so poor, sewage seeped through the floorboards. And his neighborhood so tough, eight of his friends were murdered while he grew up. To boot, he's only six feet tall -- big elsewhere but tiny by NBA standards -- but he made it anyway."

Thanks for that John - here's my pennyworth.

Whatever your excuse or mine, someone somewhere has overcome the same challenge. Let's just get on with it.

And if you want to inspire others with how you overcame your writing challenges then share them with us here.