Believing in the power of genius is a comforting fiction. I don’t have it, but I’m certain others must. Let’s set aside the geniuses for science. I still believe in them. Instead, let’s look at the wonders of the creative world. I recently spent a disconcerting thirty minutes watching an interview with Rod Serling, the ‘genius’ behind The Twilight Zone. His writing credits leading up to that, throughout the 1950s and early ‘60s are amazing. His ‘Requiem for a Heavyweight’ is still impressive, even as the world of professional boxing fades from popular culture. If ever there was a genius, it was Rod Serling.
The interview was conducted just prior to the premier of Twilight Zone, and is remarkable for many reasons. The question and answer that made me lose my faith concerned Mr. Serling’s work habits. When asked how many hours he works each day, he answered, “twelve to fourteen, sometimes more”. How many days a week? “Seven”.
That’s not genius; that’s hard work. It’s also no different from other successful men and women I’ve encountered.
In my former life as part of the corporate world, we’d sometimes ask each other how many hours it took to ‘do the job right’. The consensus was forty or forty-five hours per week for a simple, entry level position. At least fifty to lead a small team. Management was a sixty hour a week gig unless you had aspirations to become a senior manager. Eighty was the sweet spot. Anything less was treading water.
When I retired from that world to pursue writing full time, I expected to be able to set my own schedule and have some fun with it.

I was wrong. To do it right, the writing part is a forty-hour a week job. The other two-thirds of being successful takes a little longer. Toughest job I’ve ever loved.
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