WEBVTT - It takes as long as it takes

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that sometimes it is good to be patient.

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<v Speaker 1>While plenty of things can be done more efficiently, some

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<v Speaker 1>things just demand more time. The best way to deal

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<v Speaker 1>with this is to decide to be certain of the

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<v Speaker 1>outcome while recognizing that the process takes as long as

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<v Speaker 1>it takes. So I have been thinking about this topic

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<v Speaker 1>of patience a lot lately because I write books for

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<v Speaker 1>a living, and that means I spend a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>time writing. But it also means I spend a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of time thinking about what my next book should be.

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<v Speaker 1>The idea has to be big enough to justify seventy

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<v Speaker 1>thousand words. It has to be new enough not to

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<v Speaker 1>waste my reader's time, and the concept has to interest

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<v Speaker 1>me enough to justify spending big chunks of the next

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<v Speaker 1>two years of my life on it. I get a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of ideas. I mean, there's a new episode of

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<v Speaker 1>this podcast every weekday morning, but a book idea is different,

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<v Speaker 1>and consequently I go through a lot of brainstorming and

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of trying things out and a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>false starts Before I feel like I've got anything workable,

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<v Speaker 1>and sometimes this is frustrating. Searching for the right idea

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<v Speaker 1>takes a lot of time and a schedule where a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of time is already spoken for. So when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to book ideas, I try to remind myself of

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<v Speaker 1>a few things. First, it would be better to spend

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<v Speaker 1>a year thinking and iterating and come up with an

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<v Speaker 1>excellent idea, then spend a month thinking and iterating and

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<v Speaker 1>go with something I don't like so much just because

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<v Speaker 1>I'm impatient to move forward. I have made this choice

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<v Speaker 1>in the past, and I have had projects fall flat

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<v Speaker 1>or else feel like I am pulling teeth to write it,

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<v Speaker 1>or I put a book out into the world and

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<v Speaker 1>have the world go eh. But alongside this frustration, I

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<v Speaker 1>can decide to feel certain of the outcome. I have

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<v Speaker 1>written books before, I will write books again. I will

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<v Speaker 1>find the right idea, and at some point in the

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<v Speaker 1>future this next book will take its place with the

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<v Speaker 1>others on my bookshelf. I just need to recognize that

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<v Speaker 1>this is an area of life where things take as

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<v Speaker 1>long as they take. Holding on to that certainty eases

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of in the moment frustration, so I can

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<v Speaker 1>keep trying and iterating again. Maybe you have something in

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<v Speaker 1>your life that is also demanding a large and uncertain

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<v Speaker 1>quantity of time. Maybe it's finding a new job, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>it's finding a new house. Maybe it's meeting someone special.

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<v Speaker 1>Or maybe it's a journey to parenthood. Maybe you're trying

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<v Speaker 1>to refine a business model, or invent a new product,

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<v Speaker 1>or design a new study. There is no set timeline

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<v Speaker 1>for any of these things. There is a hoped for outcome,

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<v Speaker 1>but no certainty on how long it will take. No

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<v Speaker 1>one can guarantee that if you look for a job

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<v Speaker 1>for three months you will absolutely find a great one.

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<v Speaker 1>No one can guarantee that if you would like to

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<v Speaker 1>be a parent, in a year you will be holding

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<v Speaker 1>a newborn. You simply have to trust that most likely

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<v Speaker 1>in the future you will be in a great job.

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<v Speaker 1>If you'd like to be a parent, you will be

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<v Speaker 1>in some way or another. You can take a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of comfort from holding onto the belief that the outcome

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<v Speaker 1>will happen, even if the timeline is unclear. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>for all these things, just because the timeline isn't clear

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't mean there's nothing you can do in the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>A brilliant and fully formed business model won't just come

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<v Speaker 1>to you. You are going to have to think about

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<v Speaker 1>it and talk to people and research and try things out.

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<v Speaker 1>If you'd like to meet someone special, you should go

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<v Speaker 1>places where you'll meet people and ask people to set

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<v Speaker 1>you up, and use the existence of online dating sites

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<v Speaker 1>to go on lots of first dates. I carve out

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<v Speaker 1>time each week to think about my book ideas and

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<v Speaker 1>to write about different topics and see what seems promising.

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<v Speaker 1>We also shouldn't confuse patience with waiting for perfection. The

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<v Speaker 1>perfect job doesn't exist, the perfect mate doesn't exist. There

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<v Speaker 1>is definitely no perfect book idea. At some point, you

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<v Speaker 1>do have to go with something that excites you and

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<v Speaker 1>seems good enough. But there is also no point in

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<v Speaker 1>setting a strict timeline and feeling like a failure if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't meet it. I certainly hoped to have a

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<v Speaker 1>workable book idea by the time my last book came out,

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<v Speaker 1>and I didn't. I've got something I'm hopeful about now,

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<v Speaker 1>but it has been a full year. Sometimes in life,

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<v Speaker 1>it takes as long as it takes better to accept

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<v Speaker 1>that and be patient. Love, which includes self love, is patient,

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<v Speaker 1>which is really another word for being generous with time.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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