I started writing a post about writing and how long it might take for a writer (or anyone else, really) before their writing would be critiqued by anyone other than the writer. I wrote the phrase ‘thousands of hours’ and immediately thought of Malcolm Gladwell. Zach had an infatuation with Gladwell at one time and actually introduced him to me while he was at Xavier.
Gladwell famously posited in his book The Outliers that ‘the key to achieving world-class expertise in any skill, is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing the correct way, for a total of around 10,000 hours.’ The quote is from the Wikipedia article so it may not be completely precise, but it makes my point.
Searching ‘Gladwell’ in my folder of Zach’s journals gets 11 hits. In one of the earliest, he reflects on the 10,000 hour concept which leads into a discussion of another article which leads into his own goals and how he could direct his own learning and development. He says, ‘ . . . one of the great things that I always am trying to improve is my deliberate approach to my own growth . . .’ This was in December 2011, six months after he started working at UREC.
Zach points out that the Gladwell concept was focused more on motor activity but my thought was that it could also apply to writing. Specifically, my own writing, here in this blog. I’m putting in the time, writing something, just to write, in the hopes that eventually I’ll get a result that is more worthwhile. I admit that I’ve become obsessed with the fact that very few readers of this blog are commenting here. I have gotten some nice comments via email and in person but those are somehow not the same. I have to admit that of the probably thousands of books I’ve read, I’ve only sent feedback to the author a handful of times. (Of course this all begs the question as to what is ‘worthwhile’. The act of writing is itself worthwhile to me but I also would like my thoughts to have value for others.)
Early on, the posts seemed to flow from my fingers. Lately they haven’t and it bothers me. I’ll keep trying. Thank you, dear reader, for coming here and getting this far.
Good writers write a lot. Also, all writers, like athletes, have times of being in “the zone” and having slumps. I would like to read this Gladwell. Do you have it? Have you ever read Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’? I recommend it.
Jane I don’t have any Gladwell at home but he’s easy to find in the library. NY Times bestseller and all. I’ll check out the King.
Well, here’s Malcolm Gladwell in today’s dispatch [<< this is a link but it's hard to see on my monitor] from FAIR. It's a little dense but it's clear the writer doesn't have much respect for him. I think I mentioned that Zach was over him as well.
I found the newer quote from Zach’s journal on Gladwell. It’s dated October 17, 2015. He says, ‘ . . . it’s interesting how critical I have become of Gladwell, considering he was like a deity to me at one point. Now I think he has a nasty tendency to reduce major issues into quaint articles . . .’
I tried reading his books and basically came to the same conclusion.
If it helps, I’m a former co-worker of Zach’s at YMCA Camp Greenville, and have read every one of your blog posts. I don’t comment because of shyness, mostly, and because of the fact that it seems a little weird that I am still thinking about someone I met back in 2007…and that virtually anyone can see what I write.
But Zach was like that, you know? It doesn’t surprise me that I still think about him almost ten years later. I only spent time with him that summer, but was struck by the depth and sincerity of his approach to life. When I heard about his accident last year, I couldn’t help thinking of it again, and again, and again.
Please know that I also ride a bike, but I ride it differently now. I never get on it without a bright yellow helmet. I bought flashing lights to adhere to my wheels. I never assume any driver sees me. Every time I start riding I think of Zach.
It’s a big thing to attach your name to a blog post, which can be publicly searched. I’d wager that has a lot more to do with your lack of blog posts than anything else, at least from my realm. I’m much more likely to comment if I can remain anonymous.
I would like to leave you with a quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s “Le Petit Prince”…I feel certain you are familiar with it, but it uniquely reminds me of Zach every time I see it. I hope it provides you comfort in this holiday season.
“All men have stars, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems… But all these stars are silent. You-You alone will have stars as no one else has them… In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars will be laughing when you look at the sky at night..You, only you, will have stars that can laugh! And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me… You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure… It will be as if, in place of the stars, I had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh.”
You…you, only you, will have stars that can laugh! I believe it. In one of the stars he is living. In one of the stars he is laughing.
J,
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I sympathize with your desire to remain anonymous. You are welcome to send private messages to me if you like. See the ‘Contact me’ link at the top of each page.
Or not. It’s totally up to you. You may have noticed that I try to identify people by first name only in my posts. I haven’t been completely successful but I do try because I am sensitive to privacy concerns.
I believe Zach’s two summers at Camp Greenville were a major watershed for him. He was thrust into a leadership position and he found he could handle it and he liked it. Of course, Greenville at that time was led by the outstanding Greg McKee.
‘The Little Prince’ is a charming story that I haven’t read in many years. I’ll have to go back to it. Saint Exupery’s autobiography, ‘Wind, Sand and Stars’ is very beautiful in a different way.
For myself, I believe that Zach is everywhere. That is, wherever we remember him is where he is. Thank you for remembering him.