It's 9AM

Are Rules Worth Breaking?

Chris Lowry

Jun 30, 2023

I feel like I never see you, she said.

Long days and short nights have made a mix up of summer expectation.

Chasing sunrise to beat the punch in.

Chasing sunset to make dinner.

And in between, chasing dollars, chasing dreams, chasing thoughts and avoiding screams.

Because there is a monotony in same in/same out, just grit your teeth and get it done kind of work.

Still, time to plan and time to think.

Time to shoot off emails to folks, and capture ideas for exploring later.

Like Ben Logan and Najinn Matos.

I’ve got them dumped into a lot of trouble and am working on how they’re going to get out of it.

And Bat and Mona Lisa.

Trapped, outnumbered and about to be overwhelmed.

And more.

Just not enough time to spend with either once the long day is done and before the short night begins.

Plus touch on all the other things.

I tried to remind you to remind me that there is time.

Still it’s hard to remember which timeline I’m working on at the moment.

The ten year, ten month or ten minute line.

Except…

I learned something again yesterday.

I’ve moaned about Amazon closing one door to publishing because of the total number of books I’ve published through that channel.

And another author who had the exact same thing happen to him, a big name thriller author, reminded me that while “I” can’t publish those books on Amazon, “I” can start a new publishing company and publish new books.

It will make for a weird kind of series hopping, but yesterday, I figured it out.

The older series have to stay wide.

Which is fine.

I could tell by the numbers that they had found a lot of the readers they were going to find on that platform.

Going wide on Barnes and Noble and Kobo and other places gives me new opportunity.

We’ve started that process, and now just need to finish it and market it.

Maybe using some of the tips, techniques and plans we studied Ryan Reynolds doing for a small time FC out of Wales.

Anyone want an Old Magic soccer scarf?!?

But adding Amazon back to the mix opens up a new market and the author told me that it doesn’t stop the first fight.

I’ll just have to speak to someone about combining the accounts, a real actual human.

Which is a good plan.

One to execute over the weekend and start setting up today.

Or a piece of it, anyway.

Remember, three things per day, all working toward a big goal or project gets it done.

If not fast, then fast enough.

One of the things I realized was just how much indignation I was holding because of getting the account closed.

A real “how dare they” attitude.

I get it when a cop pulls in behind me and runs the plates, even if he doesn’t pull me over.

I get it when I get “checked on” at work.

A very visceral “Shouldn’t you check or watch or follow real problems” kind of attitude.

Which made me wonder something about myself.

Have I become such a stickler for rules and regulations that I’m getting…rigid?

When I came back to Arkansas from Florida, I bought two small businesses.

I did it with a couple thousand dollars and talking and a complete lack of fear.

Just jumped.

When I pitched to producers in Hollywood, I can think of three occasions where I just took a shot with a thirty second spiel at the large gym we all shared.

Once in the locker room while we were wearing towels.

Once walking up the stairs to the fourth floor.

And another over scrambled egg whites and turkey bacon for breakfast.

No fear of repercussions or rejection.

In fact, I expected rejection, which is a default setting for men with the strings to the purse over the myriad movie makers who want to tug them.

Heck, when I was small business owning and doing the day to day, I rejected a lot of people too.

Door to door salesmen, and phone call sales all trying to get me to try a new credit card processor or a new marketing technique.

Or sell me bottles of knock off perfume.

I was thinking of all of this over the past few days and realized that I’ve fallen into a groove.

Trying to follow the rules.

Trying to stay in the lines.

And nothing gets done between the lines.

The rules are designed to narrow to an average and a mean and a way of doing things.

They are, by design, made for everybody in an attempt to make things normal.

But nothing awesome is ever normal.

It is on the edge of normal or way over into the unexpected that awesome thrives.

Even if awesome is just telling new stories on an old platform.

It is awesome for people who are used to finding and getting them that way.

And awesome to find a way to get back what once was lost.

That’s my challenge to me today.

Finish thinking about all the rules I’ve decided to stick to and why?

Because it’s a heck of a lot more fun to break all the rules.

When is the last time you went rogue and tossed the rules out of the window?

9AM

It's 9AM

Are Rules Worth Breaking?

SUPER SECRET SPACE MISSION

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