In the Boy Scout program, Life Scout is the rank immediately
below Eagle Scout. Whenever a young man advances to the rank of Life in my
sons' troop, the scoutmaster delivers a special message to him, his peer
scouts, and all the parents. He recites the statistic that only about three
percent of boys who start the scouting program advance all the way to Eagle. He
also states that when a boy completes that final, arduous advancement from Life
to Eagle, it proclaims to everyone (such as future employers) that he is a
person who finishes what he starts.

When it comes to books, do you finish what you start?

If you're a reader, do you finish books that you start
reading? If not, is it because the book wasn't to your liking? Or do you allow
the needs of others to overrun your sacred reading time every day? Finding the
opportunity to read presents a great challenge if you're a parent with young
children, or you're a caregiver of an older relative. Take a book with you
everywhere. Insist on squeezing in the reading moments each day: at lunch,
before bed, in the bathroom.

If you're a writer, how many manuscripts have you cast
aside, unfinished? Ask yourself why you quit working on them. Do you allow the
needs of others to overrun your sacred writing time every day? Do you continue
to produce manuscripts that you don't complete? Maybe you discovered that a
plot ceased to work or an idea wasn't viable. Take a workshop to get over the
hump. Talk with other writers about what it took for them to reach "The
End."

Both my sons have attained the rank of Life Scout. My older
son, a senior in high school, completed the physical portion of his Eagle
project at the end of August. Now he must document the project, submit the paperwork,
complete the two remaining merit badges he lacks, and pass his Eagle Board of
Review — all by his eighteenth birthday in a few months.

Between now and then, he doesn't have the leisure to devote
sole attention to his Eagle project. His younger brother is watching him,
learning from him. We're all encouraging him to finish what he started as a Cub
Scout over a decade ago, despite less-than-ideal circumstances.

The truth is that if you wait for optimum circumstances,
what you're trying to complete will never happen. Most people who finish what
they start admit that they didn't have ideal circumstances.

What stops you from finishing what you start?