Beethoven used a holiday habit to turn ideas into fruitful rewards.
You can too in three proven steps.
#1 Savor ideas like a holiday feast
The great art historian Romain Rolland said that Beethoven treated ideas the way most folks treat a holiday feast. He savored them.
Whenever an idea popped in his head, he stopped everything and “made it his own.”
He wrote them down and then he cataloged them.
Beethoven valued ideas and didn’t let them go.
How easy is that with a smartphone or a journal?
“Learning to write is learning to think. You don’t know anything clearly unless you can state it in writing.” U.S. Senator S. I. Hayakawa
Savor ideas this holiday season like a holiday feast and enjoy the rewards.
#2 Value a hiding place like Lew Wallace
Every day, while writing the great novel, Ben-Hur, Lew Wallace worked under a beech tree.
I can’t imagine how much time I’ve wasted looking for ideas I lost.
So, inspired by Lew, I commit two hours every day to writing in my study.
Writing is like tasting life twice.
“When you have a designated place for something, whatever it is, there is the sense within you that it needs to be filled. And you’ll find yourself doing what it takes to fill it. That holds true for your thinking.” John Maxwell
#3 Value the next tiny step like Bob Wieland
Bob doesn’t worry about speed when working on projects.
In fact, he won the 1986 New York City marathon finishing dead last.
Compare Bob’s 98 hour time to Gianni Poli at 2 hours 11 minutes.
He lost both legs while rescuing a buddy in Vietnam.
It’s no surprise the NFL Players Association called him “The Most Courageous Man in America.”
Bob summed up how he finished the Los Angeles Marathon in a week.
He walked on his hands, at age 57.
“This was supernatural. It was done by the grace of God. I do it one step at a time.” Bob Wieland
Holiday reflection
Value thoughts like Beethoven, a hiding place like Lew Wallace and the next step like Bob Wieland.
“Oh the places you’ll go!” Dr. Seuss
How are you recharging over the holidays?