'Actual writing is required'

 

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

 

An American self-help writer, lay minister, and counselor, Prather was most famous for his book, Notes to Myself, a work that underscored the importance of gentleness, forgiveness, and loyalty. 

Prather, born during this week in 1938 (he died in 2010), also wrote or co-wrote over a dozen other books that touched on thoughts about life, love and spirituality, one of the most well-known being I Touch The Earth; The Earth Touches Me. “It's this simple: If I never try anything, I never learn anything,” he wrote in that book.   “If I never take a risk, I stay where I am.”

While many readers loved his work, others scorned it as thoughts seen through rose-colored glasses.  

 

“Negative feedback is better that none,” Prather responded.  “I would rather have a man hate me than overlook me. As long as he hates me I figure I must’ve made a difference.”