{"id":1576,"date":"2014-02-25T15:38:51","date_gmt":"2014-02-25T23:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1576"},"modified":"2014-02-25T16:21:08","modified_gmt":"2014-02-26T00:21:08","slug":"taking-stock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2014\/writing\/taking-stock\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Stock"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a month to go before spring \"IMG_4329\"<\/a>raises its lovely head. I’ve been taking stock. My husband, Robert, and I just got back from touring Machu Picchu<\/a> and a trip around the Horn of South America, so it’s been a good time for reflection.<\/p>\n

I was all set to self-publish my novel, but met an outstanding author on the cruise, who put me in touch with her agent, also outstanding.\u00a0 So, I pitched my novel to her. She was intrigued and wanted to see my manuscript. Now, I\u2019m waiting for her to get back to me. Hurry up and wait. The nature of the biz.<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a>

My Baba, Lukia Mazurec<\/p><\/div>\n

Meanwhile, I\u2019ve completed the first draft of my baba’s story<\/a> and need to start pitching that one as well. It takes place between 1915-1929, in what is now Ukraine. So, of course, the battles there<\/a> have kept me glued to the TV. My heart goes out to all Ukrainians\u00a0 who are hoping for a better life.<\/p>\n

I’ve also been fortunate to audition for a couple of wonderful projects, one, a movie of the week, the other, a pilot for a new TV series. It’s been a chance for me to brush up on my acting. Carol Rosenfeld’s wonderful book, Acting and Living in Discovery<\/a>, has been a big help.<\/p>\n

Besides all that, I\u2019ve been watching the Olympics and learned once more what it takes to be successful in any field. \u00a0Surprisingly, the athletes who failed to get a medal taught me more about success than those who got one. \u00a0Most of us know that to achieve any goal it takes passion, perseverance, and hard work. And even with that, you can still fail at getting what you want. I saw athletes fall or make an error\u2014due to nerves, a nick in the ice, or a skier or speed skater falling down in front of them. Yes, they \"Olympics\"<\/a>failed to get on the podium, but I also saw them pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and keep going. It’s heroic.<\/p>\n

To do your best at whatever you try is worth celebrating. \u201cIf at first you don’t succeed<\/a>, try, try, try again.\u201d Also, better to have tried and lost, then never to have tried at all.<\/p>\n

Our human potential is boundless. We are all more than we think. What do you think?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a month to go before spring raises its lovely head. I’ve been taking stock. My husband, Robert, and I just got back from touring Machu Picchu and a trip… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88,4],"tags":[576,590,571,78,9,589,569,358,591,387,5],"class_list":["post-1576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-writing","tag-acting-and-living-in-discovery","tag-audition","tag-carol-rosenfeld","tag-diana-stevan","tag-novel","tag-olympics","tag-self-publish","tag-success","tag-taking-stock","tag-ukraine","tag-writing-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-pq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3133,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2017\/writing\/a-writer-takes-stock-in-february\/","url_meta":{"origin":1576,"position":0},"title":"A Writer Takes Stock In February","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"23 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As a writer, I've enjoyed February so far, even though the early weeks brought some disappointment. It was a rough winter by Pacific Coast standards. We normally get little snow, but this year the big snow dumps did some damage. We were lucky though to get away with just a\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2254,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2015\/writing\/how-a-fly-inspired-me-to-self-publish\/","url_meta":{"origin":1576,"position":1},"title":"How A Fly Inspired Me To Self-Publish","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"21 \u0421\u0435\u0440\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Inspiration comes in many forms. 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The problem she shared was that she was having trouble getting\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Inspired By A Fly","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/fly-photo-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/fly-photo-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/fly-photo-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/fly-photo-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/fly-photo-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1565,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2014\/writing\/the-brother-roars-and-more\/","url_meta":{"origin":1576,"position":2},"title":"The Brother Roars and More","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"9 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"2013 was a great year on a number of levels. 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