Gold Rush Alaska: smell it and weep

One of my secrete pleasures is Gold Rush Alaska, minus all the talk show specials. (Where the producers bore us.)

If you watch this show, one thing becomes clear. Gold mining ain't easy.

Gold mining is often asociated with getting rich fast. Writing is also often associated with this as well. The average Joe, Jane and Dick think that writers in general are rich.... that writing a book in and of itself is a way to get rich quick.

I think the real reason I like Gold Rush is not gold, but how hard the people work. There's also a gamblers element to the work, something I think every writer can understand. We are all estentially rolling the dice, playing for a chance at the big time.

However, reaching the big time rarely comes without struggle. And whether it e mining for gold or writng stories, tears will be shed. Perhaps the most interesting part about it is, is not the pursuit of riches, but the pursuit of a dream.

Gold miners don't quit their job because they struck it rich. In fact they reinvest almost all their earnings back into mining. Why?

I think it's the because the pursuit is more rewarding than the destination. In other words, life's about the journey. Remember smell those freaking roses... or diseal fumes, horse manure, or old glue bound books. Smell it and weep because it's rarely about the money.