My friend Dave shared a link yesterday, to an article that knowingly suggests that most of us set ourselves up for failure.

When I was in college, I became acquainted with a lot of very different, very smart people. Even on a larger campus, you start to run into the same faces over and over again. I met lots of people with novels to write, albums to compose, and other things to give. They would offer share their ideas with me in great detail.

Later, I would try and make a point of following up. If I ran into them again, I'd ask how things were going with them. Almost always, there had been no follow through on their part.

There's no judgment on my part. Honestly, people do what they do, and many people have different priorities. I learned lots from socializing in college, but one very important lesson: the difference between a writer and a non-writer is that a writer writes. Talent, skill, style...those things matter, but in the old adage about practice making perfect, the order matters. And many people believe, incorrectly, that meditating on an idea will beget perfection, after which point they can get started practicing.

This year, I want to learn how to sketch with pencil. I'm bad at it. The biggest obstacle is picking up the damned sketch pad, because I know before I even start that the result will be terrible.

But I won't let that stop me.