I’ll be continuing my series on about the power of serialization and suspense as a content marketing strategy.
(See: How Content Marketers Can Use a Literary Technique That Made Charles Dickens Famous)
But in honor of the new Charlie Brown movie, The Peanuts Movie, I thought I’d share a story about the real Charlie Brown.
For those of you who are waiting for Pt. 2 of my post, pay close attention.
Because I’ll be applying serialization on a micro-level like I talked about in my last post.
The Connection Between Passion and Success
Some of the greatest things that have ever been achieved throughout history were accomplished, not because of intelligence or power, but because of passion.
They were achieved by people who were so passionate about what they were doing that they saw no other option but to accomplish their goal
What do you think made Thomas Edison try 9,000 times before he perfected the light bulb?
If he wasn’t passionate about it, he would’ve quit after the 10th or 20th try.
It takes passion to go past the 8,000th failed attempts and keep trying 1001 more times.
A Boy Named Sparky
There was once a young boy who went by the nick-name “Sparky.”
School was almost impossible for Sparky.
He failed every subject in the 8th grade.
He flunked physics, Latin, algebra and English when he was in high school.
He didn’t do any better in sports.
He finally managed to make the school golf team, but he lost the only important match of the year.
There was a consolation match and he lost that, too.
All through school, Sparky was socially awkward.
He wasn’t actually disliked by the other kids; just ignored!
He was surprised if any kid ever said “hi” to him outside of school.
In high school, Sparky never once asked a girl out. He was too afraid of being rejected.
Sparky was what other kids would call a loser.
Sparky, his classmates, and everyone else knew it so he just accepted it.
But one thing was important to Sparky: drawing.
He was proud of his own artwork, even though no one else seemed to be.
In his senior year in high school, he submitted some cartoons to the editors of his yearbook. His drawings were turned down.
Even though this was a pretty painful rejection, Sparky knew he had found his passion.
After graduating from high school, he wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios.
They told him to send some samples of his artwork and they gave him the subject matter for a cartoon he needed to submit.
Sparky drew the suggested cartoon. He spent a lot of time on it and on the other drawings.
One day the reply from the Disney Studios finally came.
He had been rejected again.
Sparky ended up writing his autobiography in his own cartoons.
His cartoons described his childhood self: a little-boy loser and chronic under-achiever.
He was the little cartoon boy whose kite would never fly, who never succeeded in kicking the football, and who became the most famous cartoon character of all… Charlie Brown!
Sparky, the boy who failed every subject in the eighth grade and whose work was rejected again and again, was Charles Schulz.
Image from Wikipedia
The Reason Charles Schulz Never Gave Up
Why did Charles Schulz keep trying?
What gave him courage to face all those rejections? Passion.
A passion for drawing.
You could also call it “enthusiasm” or “desire”.
Emerson said this…”Every great and commanding moment in the annals of the world is the triumph of some enthusiasm.”
W. Clement Stone in his book, “The Success System That Never Fails”, says the first step to achieving success is to possess what he calls “inspiration to action.”
That’s what I’m talking about when I’m talking about passion.
I want you to see that it’s so important for you to have. Why?
Because succeeding in any area takes courage, persistence, and determination.
- If you have enough passion, then it will give you the enthusiasm, desire to do something!
- Passion is what will get you to take action – even when you’re scared.
- Passion is what will get you to keep trying when you fail.
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), the Nobel Prize-winning author of the classics Gunga Din and The Jungle Book said it all when he wrote:
“If you do not get what you want, it is a sure sign that you did not seriously want it.”
What I want to remind you today is that one of the most important keys to succeeding in business or in life is passion.
Not because it’s a magic ingredient, but because it causes you to do all of the other things that lead to success.
If You Liked This Post…
If you liked this post, then you might want to:
- Subscribe to this blog, so you don’t miss part two of my series on serialization and suspense for content marketers. (The pop-up should’ve popped to up by now for you to do this.)
- Read my last post: How Content Marketers Can Use a Literary Technique That Made Charles Dickens Famous
- Read this other post about: Building an Audience: What All Successful People Have Done Throughout History
- Read my book: 51 Content Marketing Hacks
- If you use content to attract prospects, and it’s not working as good as you’d like, then discover why your content marketing isn’t working here
- Hire me to come speak about this topic (or another topic)
- Hire me to do consulting with you
- Share this post with your friends and followers
- Or ALL OF THE ABOVE!
I’m a business strategist, consultant, content creation specialist, and speaker. I’ve been studying effective marketing and business methods (both online and offline) since 1999.
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Scott, this is a heartwarming, inspiring post. Well done! thank you for sharing Charlie Brown’s story.
Thanks, Sandra! I am glad you liked it. Take care!