Galaga and Purpose

 Today I played an old video game from the 1980’s called Galaga.  One gets the best results from Galaga by doing two things. 

1.     Shoot as much as possible.

2.     Shoot strategically.

Using these two principles may be helpful in life as well as in video games.

First it’s important to shoot as much as possible.  Not every shot will score a hit. 

Some shots may be wasted.   But the more you shoot, the better your chances.  This is why I write so many blogs.  Maybe not every one will score a hit.  Maybe some are even a waste of time.  But the more I write, the better I write.  The more I work, the better my chances of doing well. This is why I’m almost afraid of stopping.  I don’t want to be the person who gives up.  I don’t want to quit.  Of course, there’s a part of me that does want to quit sometimes, or at least take some time off.  But I (almost literally) can’t.  The greater the temptation to stop, the more certain I am that I need to be doing this, that I can’t quit, and that I am, in fact, doing the right thing, the thing I’m supposed to be doing.

So I keep shooting and I keep writing and I keep reading and walking and spending as much time with those I love as possible.  Not one of those things makes a difference if I only do them once or occasionally, but if I Keep Going, if I keep shooting, I will score well.

I will also score well with a strategy.  There are certain ways to score well, by shooting the right ships and creating combination ships.  So strategy is also important.  Quantity without quality is a waste of time and effort.   Quality without quantity is the same.  But with regard to the first idea, I knew a man who was introduced to me as an author of 40 books.  I remember thinking this was odd, because I’m fairly well-read, but I had never heard of him before, despite the number of books he had written.  The reason I had never heard of him was that all his books were self-published, which is not necessarily a problem.   The actual problem was that he wasn’t a very good writer.   Perhaps because he published his own books, he didn’t feel the need for an editor; but he needed one.  His writing was almost incomprehensible.  The fact that he had written a lot didn’t help him.  He needed a strategy; more specifically, he needed an editor, writing courses, and/or someone who could tell him the truth.   

Quantity and quality go together. 

This is why I Get Started and Keep Going every day.  It’s also why I read and study and do al I can to improve.  I’m not fighting invaders from outer space.  I’m fighting for my Purpose.  And I plan to win.