By John Wood
One of the most memorable moments in “Gone With The Wind” happens just before the intermission.
A weary Scarlett O’Hara is walking outside at Tara. The bluish-crimson night-lit sky is behind her. She spots a carrot in the ground. She uncovers it, bites into it, and then slumps down in tears as she reacts to the dirt she’s just ingested.
Then in one of the greatest moments in film history, she rises up fist clinched, head and eyes pointed proudly upwards, and says:
“As God is my witness, as God is my witness they’re not going to lick me. I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again.”
Tara’s theme reaches a crescendo and her silhouette grows smaller against the southern sky as the camera zooms slowly back.
Scarlett had a few qualities that were less than admirable, to say the least, but you had to give her credit for her fortitude and grit. Thanks to her steely-eyed determination she eventually saves her family from poverty, pretty much guaranteeing they’ll “never be hungry again”.
That’s what I admire most about her. She made a declaration that she would not fail – and she didn’t. (Sure Rhett Butler walks out on her, but oh what a fool – walking out on the woman he loves, just after she realizes that she does indeed love him.)
Dare I say to be successful at copywriting or anything, adopting a “Scarlett O’Hara-type determination” to conquer your goals could only be a good thing. Especially if your career is not progressing as fast as you’d like.
It doesn’t cost anything and it’s something you can start immediately.
Because even though “tomorrow is another day” there’s no time like the present to take action.
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This article appears courtesy of American Writers & Artists Inc.’s (AWAI) Writer’s Blog. For a complimentary subscription to AWAI’s free newsletter that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on the best wealth careers, lifestyle careers and work-at-home careers available, visit http://www.awaionline.com/signup/.
