Ben's Writing Samples

The Ultimate Course for the Aspiring Writer:  Lesson 3 Success Is Just a Word "Success"   by  DennisM2  is licensed under  CC0 1.0 I had some interesting phone conversations just a few days ago. One was with my best friend, the other was with my brother. Both conversations were very different, yet they both converged to a single point of interest: the topic of success.  To give you an idea of what that looks like, I’ll delve into both conversations one at a time, retelling and reflecting on each one in the context of what success really means to me, and what I want it to mean to you .  At the end of this lesson we will reexamine that word and try to provide some insight into how redefining it and other words that you may, like me, have been putting on a pedestal for too long can make things a lot easier for you going forward.  Shall we then?  Phone conversation #1: My friend (2 hours 30 minutes) I have a burning sense that some of you are loo...

The Ultimate Course for the Aspiring Writer: Lesson 5 Stay Connected "cables all over"   by  j00p_  is licensed under  CC BY-SA 2.0 This is the end, my friend. We’ve reached the final installment of How to Get Paid to Write and I must say, it has been an absolute pleasure. I hope you will continue on this journey with me. I learn just as much in my attempts to convey these invaluable lessons I have learned along the way to you as I did learning the lessons themselves, perhaps even more. And I have so much more to say.  It brings me so much joy to think that I have something to offer that may help you get past even one hurdle on your way to becoming the writer you want to be. That you know you can be. And I know it too. So, without further ado… To be a writer, you have to be wired in—a conscious observer sensing and feeling and questioning everything that is happening in each moment, paying special attention to the task of keeping yourself in check. A lot of us...

The Ultimate Course for the Aspiring Writer:  Lesson 4 Facing Adversity: Fighter or Philosopher? "Path at Mill Lane"   by  Shaun Ferguson  is licensed under  CC BY-SA 2.0 Hello again and welcome back! It’s a confusing journey being a human being, isn’t it?  We start out receiving so much praise for every little thing. Our first steps. Eating food without throwing it. Making new facial expressions. It’s a really funny thing watching a room of adults get excited over a newborn performing the simplest tasks.  But as our ability to go to the bathroom the right way becomes less and less impressive, we find ourselves desperately longing for the attention we no longer seem to receive.  As we progress into toddlerhood, the praise comes less and less and the expectations grow more and more. We say: “Hey dad!” or “Mom, look!” a hundred times or more a day until they reluctantly turn their gaze on us. Half the time we don’t even have anything planned so mayb...