Here’s a wonderful story about Jimmy Durante, a legendary performer who made the journey all the way from vaudeville to the movies:

Jimmy was asked to be part of a show for World War II veterans. He told the organizers that his schedule was very busy and he could only afford to donate a few minutes. He’d be happy to come if he could do one short monologue and then immediately leave for his next appointment. The show’s director happily agreed.

But when Jimmy got on stage, everything changed. He ran through his short monologue and then stayed. He was on a roll. The applause grew louder and louder and he kept staying and entertaining the troops forgetting all about the time passing. Soon, he’d been on stage for 15, 20, and then 30 minutes.

Finally, he too one last bow and left the stage. Someone took him aside backstage and said, “I thought you had to go after a few minutes. What happened?”

Jimmy replied, “I did have to go, but I can show you the reason I stayed. You can see for yourself if you’ll look in the front row.”

In the front row were two men, each of whom had lost an arm in the war. One had lost his right arm and the other had lost his left. Together, they were able to clap, and that’s what they were doing, loudly and with enormous good cheer.

What a story! It reminds us that generosity of heart brings its own rewards. Jimmy showed generosity when he let his schedule slip away amid the joy of giving others joy. And those soldiers—those soldiers! What generosity they showed in applauding his efforts!

There’s another nugget of wisdom in this story: Where there’s a will, there’s a way. There’s always a strategy for coping with life’s challenges with good cheer. The same holds true in our writing. Whatever our writing life throws at us, there’s a way to make it work and to overcome our limitations, whatever they are. We just have to find that path and then embrace it with a cheerful heart. Write on!

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