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Here’s a definition of an entrepreneur that I love: an entrepreneur is someone who will go over, under, around, and through any obstacle they encounter on the path to realizing their dream. Obstacles actually ignite their ingenuity — their inner wellsprings of resourcefulness.

There are all kinds of roadblocks that we hit in our writing: lack of focus, procrastination, too much research, too little time, a thorny plot point, lackluster dialogue. Any one of these can affect the quality and quantity of the work we produce. It takes resourcefulness — and lots of it — to find a way beyond whatever barriers life or our own inner demons throw in front of us.

But here’s the good news: Every time we overcome a barrier, however large or small, it increases our confidence in our creative resourcefulness. Success breeds success: the more problems we handle and roadblocks we blast through, the more prepared we are the next time around.

Let’s not forget that we homo sapiens are by definition a resourceful crew: how else would we have survived and thrived? Consider the Paiutes, who lived in the Great Basin of the American West. So desolate was this region that it made permanent settlements impossible. So the Paiutes wandered over vast stretches of land in small bands. Moving constantly and forced to subsist on meager resources, these roving bands still found ways to express themselves creatively.

In fact, the Paiutes became the finest basket weavers in the world. They wove so artfully and so tightly that they could carry water for long distances in grass baskets made without any type of seal. Not only were these baskets highly durable, they were also objects of incredible beauty.

Some time today, we’re all going to hit some sort of obstacle in our writing. Instead of being discouraged, let’s become deeply engaged; instead of being tripped up, let’s tap into our inner wellsprings of creative resourcefulness. Write on!