A Writer's Patches

In Three Minutes to Success, I ran across an interesting quote from author Jim Blasingame:

A small business is more like a patchwork quilt than a gilded security blanket. Some patches represent good things and some not so good; some patches are about the business, others are about the owner, and some are hard to tell. The happiest small business owners are those who find a way to feel successful regardless of which patch is before them. (80)

That's a great philosophy to have, especially for a writer.  Maybe sales aren't going well.  Maybe a project is giving you trouble.  Perhaps an agent passed on a partial.  In those cases, it's time to switch to a different patch.  It's time to think: What beyond the obvious are the advantages and values you see in being a writer?

For me, one is the ability to create and share characters or worlds or situations that won't leave me alone.  Another is that this job, being a writer, especially a self-published writer, fits nicely with my other job.

What about you?  What else do you value and appreciate in your chosen occupation?

Cites:  Blasingame, James. Three Minutes to Success: 52 Classic Small Business Lessons You Can Read in 3 Minutes. Aflac Special Edition. Florence: SBN Books, 2006.  Print.