All Work that you do will take a toll on you, no matter what work you decide to do.

Whether it is work you Love or Hate, Enjoy or Despise, find Inspiring or drains your Soul - All work will take some sort of toll.

It is simply part of Energy (Mg-ATP) cycles we all have.

Highs and Lows.

It also ties into which Thoughts you give Energy and Attention to.

No matter how Positive your Mindset, how Meaningful your Work, and how Talented you are, at some point you will get struck with Melancholy.

The first thing you need to understand is that it is alright, there's nothing wrong with you, it's simply a part of being Human.

All Emotions have Purpose.

All Emotions have something they are trying to tell us.

This includes Melancholy.

Today I experienced that Melancholy.

On one of the platforms I publish to, I noticed something.

Some of the promising writers who were doing well simply fell off their streaks.

Poof, the Progress they had is gone.

I see it frequently - only a handful make it to the point where Writing starts to become a Habit.

Even then, I have yet to see another writer on that platform hit at least a Year straight other than me.

Now, it's not the only platform, and I know that there are other Writers who consistently publish daily - but it is harder to see on most Platforms.

How many Writers start on a Path, only to abandon it?

How many People start on a Path, only to abandon it?

I Fear that it is far too many, and the Melancholy makes that Fear strike harder.

Writing over 400 days straight now, I wonder how people stay on the Path for so long.

I think of the song Non-Stop from the musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda in reference to Alexander Hamilton.

"How do you write like you're running out of time?
Write day and night like you're running out of time?
Every day you fight, like you're running out of time
Like you're running out of time
Are you running out of time? Awwww!
How do you write like tomorrow won't arrive?
How do you write like you need it to survive?
How do you write every second you're alive?
Every second you're alive?
Every second you're alive?"

As the song went through my mind, I began to wonder how much did Hamilton "truly" write?

I discovered that he wrote 22,000 pages by pen before his death at 49.

Most Non-Fiction books are recommended not to go beyond 300 pages, but for easier math and because Hamilton was known to be... thorough... let's use 500 pages.

That would mean Hamilton wrote enough to fill 44+ Non-Fiction Books.

Considering his untimely death, that is an Impressive feat.

At the rate that I'm currently writing, I would need to maintain my pace, daily for approximately another 19 years to match Hamilton.

By Chance or through Irony, I am right now realizing that would put me at the exact same age as Hamilton when he died.

With that feeling of Melancholy that is Inside me, I think about how Hamilton, and others who have written incredible amounts, maintain?

How do they face that Melancholy and continue forth?

If you think about it like that, you can become overwhelmed easily and wonder if it is even worth it.

I can't blame those who have dropped off the long March to Progress.

However, a lesson I learned one night as I pondered my life with that feeling of Melancholy was that you must reframe that type of question.

You need to ask, How "DO" they face that Melancholy and maintain?

It is in realizing that the feeling of Melancholy is NOT trying to tell "you" to give up.

It is NOT trying to tell "you" that it is not worth it.

What it IS trying to tell "you" is that you are feeling that Melancholy because there is something that isn't right today.

That feeling is trying to tell "you" Why you MUST keep going.

It is a Call to Action - there is something that is troubling you so much that you NEED to move forward toward that Goal.

That is how you maintain - you understand these Emotions that surge through you are Motivation, are Signals, of something that you have within your Power.

My Melancholy is telling me that there is a LOT wrong in the World.

People with genuine talent who could Change the world are giving up.

Leaders are Struggling to Succeed all over the place.

Burnout is coursing through Society like a Poison that will kill it.

We have Epidemics and Pandemics that are taking the lives of people who have so much Potential within them.

The Melancholy is telling me those are the Reasons I MUST continue forth.

I can't say for certain if my words will Inspire others... but this I do know...

If I do not Write, then I Guarantee that no one will be Inspired by me.

I see a Future where these problems do not need to Exist.

We may not solve every problem, but I know that most of the Problems we are seeing ARE completely avoidable.

We can Change it, we can do it.

But we must embrace and Design a Regenerative Legacy to get there.

The echoes from the song ring through my ears...

"Are you running out of time?"

The answer is Yes, we are all running out of time, and that is why you must March to Progress like tomorrow won't arrive, and like you need it to Survive.

Now is the Time.

I will continue the March to Progress - Will you join me?

Melancholy On The March To Progress - Thoughts From The Long Path

Thoughts From The Long Path

What will you write today?