I've (Probably) Got Nothing For You

But you never know.

When I was 6 years old I discovered that I like to write. For a contest at my school, I wrote a short story about a ladybug that falls into a pit. While she’s wallowing in self-pity, a horned beetle comes by and rescues her by lowering his horn into the pit and helping her up. He makes some remark about how they can be friends even though they don’t look alike. The End.

Not too bad for a 6-year-old right? It was also deeply inspired by/stolen from the Pixar masterpiece A Bug’s Life. My relatives at Thanksgiving were amazed. For 25 years I’ve thought that I won a contest. I recently found out that like 6 other kids from my class also “won” the contest. Kind of a bummer.

I kept writing little stories in my free time though. My favorite was about a young boy who lives under a staircase and learns he’s a wizard overnight. That one did VERY well at Thanksgiving until I discovered what plagiarism is. Definitely a bummer.

But then I stopped writing. Publicly, anyway. I’ve had notes on my phone and little thoughts jotted down in Moleskine notebooks forever, but I’ve never shared them with anyone. And it’s because of a little conundrum that I’ve learned a lot of writers have.

There’s a constant ping-pong match in my mind between two extremes. The first player says “I’ve got a great idea that everyone needs to hear about.” But the second player says “I’ve got nothing for anyone.” And the second guy is very good at ping-pong. Like “had a table in the basement growing up” good. In my case, he’s been winning the match for close to 20 years.

But recently I’ve been reconsidering. Because the truth is that I don’t have something for everyone. I don’t even have something for most people. But what if I’ve got something for one person? And what if today, that person in you?

I think that would be enough for me. So welcome to “Growing Pains”. A little newsletter about growth, even when it hurts. I’m Mitch. I’d love for you to join me.