How To Harness Failure Like JK Rowling
By: Deborah Oyegue
Tags: Life Lessons, Lessons Learned, Writers On Writing, Advice, Writing

Talent is 10% Inspiration and 90% Perspiration

Now, we marvel at JK Rowling’s creative prowess. The magnitude of her imagination to create a world so real and captivating as to inspire a lucrative franchise. And to think it all started with an idea.

Yes, JK Rowling had the inspiration to write when she wasn’t actively seeking the story; her muse gifted the idea to her. Yet, she spent five years building on that idea.

Her creation of the make-believe world of magic was painstakingly planned. From visualizing every character to assigning them personalities, to establishing the wizarding world, JK Rowling made sure that she understood every element of her story.

Believe in yourself and others will too

JK Rowling admitted she felt insecure about other areas in her life, but her belief in telling a story was solid. It was that belief that kept her pushing.

In her Iconic interview with Oprah, JK Rowling admitted she never predicted the success of her book. She believed in her story, and that was enough to stay the course.

Her belief must have strengthened with the effort she put into developing the story. She was so vested that she rewrote the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, 15 times!

It is that same belief that kept her seeking new publishers after each rejection.

As Theodore Roosevelt said, “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

Dare to dream, but always remain present

JK Rowling lived in the present. She wasn’t living the best of life, yet she channeled her energy into something productive. She didn’t use her power of imagination to escape reality; she worked with it to create magic.

This advice worked itself into the Harry Potter books: “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” (Dumbledore to Harry — Book 1)

Work with failure by being Open-minded

It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to the greatest success. — JK Rowling

Zen Buddhist monk, Thich Hanh, describes the beginner’s mind as the deepest intention or desire one might have. It is the willingness to start afresh without presumption. The desire to learn with an open mind and approach things as a beginner would- with eagerness and vigor. JK Rowling overcame the fear of failure by writing with her beginner’s mind.

“I was the biggest failure I knew,” said JK Rowling, “had I succeeded in any other area, I might never have found the determination to do so in the one area I believed I truly belonged.”

She listened to her heart and continued to work with her head. Because she believed in writing and had wanted to do it all her life, she wasn’t afraid to do it, even if it meant not getting anything out of it.

Write, write and write

When Ngugi wa Thiong’o was asked the secret of writing, he replied, “Write, write, write and write again, and you will get it right.”

JK Rowling reiterated this secret when she said, “Resign yourself to writing rubbish, you’ve got to write it out of your system and sooner or later, you’ll hit what is your genre… writing is not a career for people who are easily discouraged.”

Even gold goes through a furnace to become.

Write with a giving spirit

JK Rowling didn’t write for what she could get, she wrote to give.

Here is an excerpt from her speech:

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice, if you choose to identify, not only with the powerful but with the powerless, if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change.

The End justifies the Means

Since almost doesn’t kill a bird, the process only matters when the results are favorable.

If JK Rowling had stopped with the fifth publisher, no one would accuse her of not trying. However, if after twenty years, she tweets, “I once wrote a book about a young boy who got admission to wizarding school.” No one would care, because people are only interested in results.