Living for the process

“If the desire to write is not accompanied by actual writing, then the desire must be not to write.” – Hugh Prather

An American self-help writer, lay minister, and counselor, Prather was most famous for his mega-selling first book, Notes to Myself, which was first published in 1970 and has remained continuously in print since, now selling well over 5 million copies.

A native of the Dallas, TX, area, he was born on this date in 1938 (he died in 2010).  In his writing, Prather often draws on Christian language and themes – his work underscoring the importance of gentleness, forgiveness, and loyalty.  All told, Prather authored 15 self-help books and became a sort-of “go to Guru” in the field.

Prather said his advice to would-be writers, and others          

for that matter, is to live for the process, not necessarily what comes out of it.  “To live for results would be to sentence myself to continuous frustration,” he said.  “My only sure reward is in my actions and not from them.””

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