Jack London Told Me To

         Jack London, born John Griffith Chaney,  was an American author, journalist, and social activist. London began writing in 1893, when he was only 17. That same year he ventured on a sealing voyage, and had almost been killed by a typhoon. When he got home, his mom pushed him into writing his story and submitting it into a writing contest. London won first prize, beating out university students from Berkeley and Stanford. He wanted to dedicate his life to writing, but had troubled finding publishers. London began to find fame and fortune when he was 27 with his novel Call of the Wild (1903). A story about a dog which became a sled dog in the Yukon. London was always writing, and made it a practice to write 1000 words a day or more. He had substance abuse problems with alcohol and often wrote about his lifelong battle. However, he kept pursuing his dream. London had quite a bit of health issues, which included Kidney Disease. This disease ended up taking his life in 1916, at the age of 40. 

“You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” 

Jack London, 1903

- Jack London

          I can connect with this quote because I have a very hard time finding inspiration to write, and basically everything else in life. To get inspired you need to put yourself out there, and experience things out of your comfort zone. Just like Jack London did with his sealing voyage. I like being in my comfort zone though. I always wait for things to happen, and most of the time they never even happen. So, I just got to go after it with a club and do what I need to do. Even though I find it hard getting inspired to do things, I want to be inspired to do those things. It sounds crazy but it's the truth. I want, and need, to be pushed out of my comfort zone. Once that happens, I will get the inspiration to do anything. I also think inspiration is very important in life because without it we wouldn't advance in the world, we would be stuck. Inspiration makes things happen. Whenever you get inspired to do something, make it happen. Don't wait for a better idea to write down later, just write and you will achieve greatness.