Be...The Best

by G.Parker

There are many examples in our lives we are given which encourage us to move forward. As a writer, many times we see these examples in things not necessarily related to writing, but they fit. Today's message is one of those times.

A great man, Gordon B. Hinkley, passed on to the other side this week. He was such an example to us all -- I'm sure his reunion on the other side took several hours. He will be remembered by those of us left behind for many things -- not the least of which were his 'B's'. I was past the point where I really paid attention to the Young Women program when he expressed those ideas to the youth, so I didn't quite catch on. I have since, and I'm going to display those B's in my home as soon as I paint them up.

But I was laying in bed the other morning, taking the opportunity to try and sleep before having to get the rest of my family up and thought: "What would the prophet have done during this time? He would have gotten up and read the scriptures. He would be having a light breakfast perhaps and reading the newspapers." And thus this blog was born.

I have a different set of B's that I want to share from his life of examples. They are useful for any writer to follow.

1. Be Diligent. He was always working on the Lord's errands. He was in his 90's, but he didn't let that slow him as it would have others.

2. Be a Doer. One of the comments I heard about him was he was a 'doer'. He was always doing things for others, following up on ideas and coming up with new ones. He was not one to sit and relax for very long. I'm told that the schedule he kept would have had a younger man exhausted.

3. Be of good cheer. While most writers don't set out to be funny, laughter is always good. Humor will help anything sell and makes life go much smoother. This man had a marvelous sense of humor.

4. Be loving. We need to be loving to our family, friends, neighbors and everyone we come in contact with. We need to think of that love as we write what we're given to share with others. My goal in my writing is to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to bring comfort and strength to those that read my work -- that means there needs to be love felt within the words. He drew normally tough men to his side and made them his friends. He loved everyone, regardless of faith, religion, affiliation, or tie, and they knew it.

5. Be constant and always moving. I'm not sure if his was the story of the North Star or not, but it fits the analogy that I'm sharing. Be consistent, constant and steady. Don't let fear dissuade you from your goal, he never did. Some of the things he attempted would have had me be a nervous wreak, but he had such faith, such strength of character that no one ever knew if he really felt any of that. It didn't matter, he was on the Lord's errand. As a writer, many things will come to try derailing you from your goals. Story lines will falter, friends will be harsh in their criticism, and publishers will reject your words. What will keep you moving? What will be your driving force? Make sure it's something that can be printed and done on a poster on your wall by where you write. Have it be your mantra. You can do it.

I know that there is much more that could be used as examples from this man's life. I'm sure there is much I have yet to learn from him, but I hope that perhaps this weekend as we say our final goodbyes, we can take some of what he tried to show us and put it into our own lives. Become better at whatever it is we do, be it writer, parent, child. Be the best we can be.