I Didn’t Prepare For My Future. Now I’m a Writer Over 50.

How Desperation Became My Best Friend.

Because I didn’t prepare for my future, I had to work my way out of financial peril. The stress was at times overwhelming. Yet, that period had unexpectedly become the most professionally productive of my professional life, a reward that continues to this day.

The Greatest Mistake Becomes a Godsend

I only cared about making my career. Hindsight being everything, the clarity that was missing then is present in abundance now. I identified as a writer from an early age, and I never saved money. I worked 100 day jobs over the years so I wouldn’t be homeless, and wrote a book based on those experiences due to the absurdity of that number and the lack of any consistent professional progress. As an author and screenwriter, I made a lot of money at times by selling scripts and taking assignments, then hit years-long droughts and emptied my bank accounts.

The security I had promised my wife was non-existent. I stubbornly persisted pursuing my dream at all costs as I was stuck in the perception that we were “this close” to a financial windfall. Those thoughts, however, lasted several years as my career stagnated. My wife stuck around, and I began to question her judgement. Checks bounced. I…