The king of horror fiction, Steven king has made people uncomfortable, terrified and enthralled with his books and movies. Born on 21 September 1947, Stephen has transitioned himself into a highly successful, multi-award-winning writer of novels, short stories, novellas and screenplays. Considered a legend in the horror genre, most of Stephen’s works have been adapted into movies, television shows and comic books.
But everything that looks perfect has a sad story to tell.
Growing up Stephen had a rough childhood. His father left him when he was young. During his teens, he took up several odd jobs to sustain his family. However, his passion for writing never dwindled as he continued drafting ideas for novels and short stories.
Rejection came knocking at his door almost every day. He recalls pinning all his rejection slips on a nail in his room until there were too many and he had to replace the nail with a spike. When he finished transcribing the manuscript of his first novel “Carrie” in 1973, he remembers looking at a rejection slip that declared Carrie as a failure even before giving it a shot.
But Stephen had his last laugh when ‘Carrie’ was finally published. The novel went on to sell over a million copies in its first year.
Over the years, King published 63 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five non-fiction books. His books have sold more than 350 million copies worldwide, making him one of the richest authors of all time. Some of the King’s best work includes The Shawshank Redemption, Cujo, The Shining and The Green Mile.
Table of Contents
Forever engraved in our minds as one of the greatest storytellers of all time, here are some of the life lessons Stephen King has taught us:
1- Don’t sit around:
Ignoring deadlines and leaving behind a giant pile of work isn’t going to benefit you in any way. Whichever field you may belong to, avoid procrastination. Complete the work in the said time so that you don’t have to worry about the insurmountable workload.
Stephen pretty much hates dilly-dallying. According to Stephen, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
2- Your health matters:
Stephen believes that solely dedicating your time and efforts to your craft is foolish. At one point, blind devotion to anything is going to cost your health. Even though you are immersed in your work, you must consider taking care of yourself. After all, a healthy body fosters a healthy mind.
3- Be true to yourself:
No one can be famous by imitating someone else. Yes, you can be influenced by someone else’s work ethic or ideas. But your work must be original. Your work of art is what separates you from others. So, be you and set your path. Let people be inspired by you.
Conclusion:
Throughout his lifetime, Stephen faced many rejections. Ultimately, it upset him but the rejections never bothered him. He believed in his craft and kept trying. He could have stayed in the shadow of his poor financial background and given up. But he didn’t. He pushed on regardless.
Stephen King is the prime example of the phrase ‘where there is a will, there is a way’. His success and failure taught the world a great lesson. The lesson of perseverance and ultimately, success- opines business development expert Hirav Shah.
Image Source
Stephanie Lawton, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
