by Peter Leavell, @PeterLeavell
A hedgehog plodded along his merry way until a hungry fox spied him. The sly fox noted the spines along the hedgehog’s back, so the clever animal focused its raid on the hedgehog’s face. ‘Not again,’ the hedgehog said as it rolled into a ball, protecting his soft interior with its formidable defense.
The fox was not to be deterred. He tried another way, and another. But no matter how brilliant the fox’s attempts to get at that hedgehog, the hedgehog simply rolled into a ball, defying one of the smartest animals in nature.
Ancient Greek poet Archilochus crafted a philosophy on the fox and the hedgehog. No matter how clever or sly a person is in many things, he or she will always be outwitted by the one who can do one thing well.
The fox and hedgehog principle has been the one major problem with my writing career. I tried to be clever and attempt different genres, write many columns on different subjects, attempt a variety of speaking venues, and be the renaissance man who can know and do all the things. Now, ten years into my writing career, I’m pulled in so many areas that I feel drawn and quartered.
Don’t get me wrong, many of my ventures have been successful and bore fruit. However, none have been truly GREAT.
I know a Pulitzer Prize winner. He writes one genre and does very little speaking.
I have studied CS Lewis’s life. He based his life in literature, and every work he’s written can be connected to mythopoeia, including his theology.
Shakespeare worked with plays and played with sonnets.
England loved Winston Churchill’s wholehearted ability to lead England’s defense against the Nazi’s. Other than that, England and Churchill had a rocky relationship.
Dostoevsky explored the human condition. In every novel.
My dog just wants people food. Not dog food. I’ll be right back, he’s on the kitchen table.
In each of these cases, they did one thing better than anyone else. And to that one thing is what they gave their time and energy and drive. And there’s one trillion more examples.
I’m taking some time to evaluate my skills to understand what I do best and refocus my efforts in a single direction. I recommend you do the same. I’d hate to see you pulled apart by your own cleverness. And if you get the chance, reach out to me and tell me what you’re best at. It’s fun to explore skills and personalities.
Philip Anderson keeps his past close to the vest. Haunted by the murder of his parents as they traveled West in their covered wagon, his many unanswered questions about that night still torment him.
His only desire is to live quietly on his homestead and raise horses. He meets Anna, a beautiful young woman with secrets of her own. Falling in love was not part of his plan. Can Philip tell her how he feels before it’s too late?
With Anna a pawn in the corrupt schemes brewing in the nearby Dakota town, Philip is forced to become a reluctant gunslinger. Will Philip’s uncannily trained horses and unsurpassed sharpshooting skills help him free Anna and find out what really happened to his family in the wilderness?
Peter Leavell, a 2007/2020 graduate of Boise State University with a degree in history and a MA in English Literature, was the 2011 winner of Christian Writers Guild’s Operation First Novel contest, and 2013 Christian Retailing’s Best award for First-Time Author, along with multiple other awards. An author, blogger, teacher, ghostwriter, jogger, biker, husband and father, Peter and his family live in Boise, Idaho. Learn more about Peter’s books, research, and family adventures at www.peterleavell.com