< you’ve no idea what you can’t see >

I’ll be demonstrating to participants of my forthcoming “Writing Expo 2.0” how every good writing is backbreaking work. It promises to be game-changing and I think you should sign up – or lend someone a helping hand (I’m just a private message away).

Now, much of what gets in the way of good writing is in the eyes. You think you know what you’ve done until you reread your stuff to find the dog’s breakfast you’d made of everything, genuinely shocked at how the errors made it through and how you’d allowed such humiliating omissions pass. Even after going your work through and through, you still get to embarrass your ancestors by what you eventually turned out. Poor eyes there!

“Windows to the soul” we call the eyes, right? And we keep getting people sneak into our souls by rigging our sense of sight. We call it “packaging,” don’t we? You go lover-hunting, for instance, and what you’re on the look out for is just “tall,” “dark,” and “handsome,” forgetting that “tall,” “dark” and “handsome” say nothing about the real deal, character. You go scouting for employees and your first port of call is CV looks, turning a blind eye to such sterling qualities as humaneness and teachability.

Don’t get it twisted, though. Because life is what it is, being that people are head over heels for packaging, give it to them all you can afford. But when it comes you, when you’re the one at the receiving end, endeavour to “package-proof” yourself. Ensure that people don’t ‘sneak’ into your soul through those weak eyes. Yes, it’s a great CV, but don’t be carried away by aesthetics; have them prove their mettle before taking the hiring decision. Yes, he looks great or she’s breathtaking, but ensure you don’t get swept off your feet; ask real questions.

Whatever you do, don’t let packaging fool you. Give it to them to stand a chance, but see through them when they give it to you.

Your No.1 fan,
Cornel