The Power of Your Greatest Enemy

by James L. Rubart, @jameslrubart

Without an enemy, we have no story — as a writer, I’m confident you know that. The greater the villain, the greater the odds the hero has to overcome, the greater the tale.

But have you thought about your story? Not the one you’re writing, but the one you’re LIVING.

You have an enemy too. If you’re like me, you have multiple enemies that are extremely powerful.

Here are a few of mine:

  • Procrastination (“I’m not in the greatest frame of mind today, but tomorrow. Look out, Cubby. I’m really going to hit it hard!”) 
  • Energy (“I’m just too sluggish today, didn’t get enough sack time last night, but tonight I’m going to get to bed early, get up early and have plenty of gas in the ol’ tank to really crank!”)
  • Tomorrow (It’ll always be there so I’ll get my critical things done today instead. Then my mind will be clear for writing.”) 
  • Fear (“Those skinny branches are looking particularly thin today, but I’m sure they’ll get thicker soon, so I’ll get more confident and then I’ll crawl out on them and write the story of my deep heart.”)

The most insidious thing about these enemies is they’re subtle. Their whispers make sense.

Or, as the wisest man who ever lived said, “There’s a way that seems to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)

Waiting till tomorrow, feeling we’re too tired, thinking there’s always tomorrow, and the fear of failure, or the fear of getting too vulnerable, or a million other fears … SEEM RIGHT!

But they’re not. They lead to death.  So why do we let them sink into our souls again and again?

We must learn to recognize the enemies in our stories, whatever they might be. Then we speak truth and fight against those enemies with everything inside; like our lives depend on it—because if we’re honest, they do.


The Man He Never Was

What if You Woke up One Morning and the Darkest Parts of Yourself Were Gone?

Toren Daniels vanished eight months back, and his wife and kids have moved on—with more than a little relief. Toren was a good man but carried a raging temper that often exploded without warning. So when he shows up on their doorstep out of the blue, they’re shocked to see him alive. But more shocked to see he’s changed. Radically.

His anger is gone. He’s oddly patient. Kind. Fun. The man he always wanted to be. Toren has no clue where he’s been but knows he’s been utterly transformed. He focuses on three things: Finding out where he’s been. Finding out how it happened. And winning back his family.

But then shards of his old self start to rise from deep inside—like the man kicked out of the NFL for his fury—and Toren must face the supreme battle of his life.

In this fresh take on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, James L. Rubart explores the war between the good and evil within each of us—and one man’s only chance to overcome the greatest divide of the soul.

James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski and dirt bike with his two grown sons and loves to send readers on journeys they’ll remember months after they finish his stories. He’s the best-selling, Christy BOOK of the YEAR, CAROL, INSPY and RT Book Reviews award-winning author of nine novels, a speaker, branding expert, co-host of the Novel Marketing podcast, and co-founder of the Rubart Writing Academy. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in Washington. More at jamesLrubart.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *