Anthony Burgess was 40 when he learned that he had only one year to live. He had a brain tumor that would kill him within a year. He know he had a battle on his hands. He was completely broke at the time, and he didn't have anything to leave behind for his wife, Lynne, soon to be a window.
Burgess had never been a professional novelist in the past, but he always knew the potential was inside him to be a writer. So, for the sole purpose of leaving wealth behind for his wife, he put a piece of paper into a typewriter and began writing. He had no certainty that he would even be published, but he couldn't think of anything else to do.
"It was January of 1960," he said, "and according to the prognosis, I
had a winter and spring and summer to live through, and would die with
the fail of the leaf."
In that time Burgess wrote energetically, finishing five and a half novels before the year was over (very nearly the entire lifetime output of E.M. Forster, and almost twice that of J. D. Salinger.)
one year to live But Burgess did not die. His cancer had gone into remission and then disappeared altogether. In his long and full life as a novelist ( he is best known for A Clock-work Orange), he wrote more than 70 books, but without the death sentence from cancer, he may not have written at all.
By the reason of his predicament he blew the mind of history by writing 5 Novels, which happens to be the entire life work of other great Novelists. And in all, his death sentence pushed him to the wall and extracted greatness, causing him to do the impossible: writing over 70 Novels.
Many of us are like Anthony Burgess, hiding greatness inside, waiting for some external emergency or some persons somewhere that doesn't exist to bring it out. Perhaps its God you are waiting for to bring it out. A Dear man of God, Pastor Chris often says, "God has done and given you everything you need, its in your place to discover and use them." And Bishop Oyedepo affirmed it when he said, "Predestination is an act of God but the fulfillment of it is the responsibility of man."
Ask yourself what you'd do if you had Anthony Burgess's original predicament. " If I had just a year to live, how would I live differently? What exactly would I do?" EXTRACT your Heart, MINE your Mind.
Be Inspired
Emmanuel Umukoro
CEO,HALLMARKs
In that time Burgess wrote energetically, finishing five and a half novels before the year was over (very nearly the entire lifetime output of E.M. Forster, and almost twice that of J. D. Salinger.)
one year to live But Burgess did not die. His cancer had gone into remission and then disappeared altogether. In his long and full life as a novelist ( he is best known for A Clock-work Orange), he wrote more than 70 books, but without the death sentence from cancer, he may not have written at all.
By the reason of his predicament he blew the mind of history by writing 5 Novels, which happens to be the entire life work of other great Novelists. And in all, his death sentence pushed him to the wall and extracted greatness, causing him to do the impossible: writing over 70 Novels.
Many of us are like Anthony Burgess, hiding greatness inside, waiting for some external emergency or some persons somewhere that doesn't exist to bring it out. Perhaps its God you are waiting for to bring it out. A Dear man of God, Pastor Chris often says, "God has done and given you everything you need, its in your place to discover and use them." And Bishop Oyedepo affirmed it when he said, "Predestination is an act of God but the fulfillment of it is the responsibility of man."
Ask yourself what you'd do if you had Anthony Burgess's original predicament. " If I had just a year to live, how would I live differently? What exactly would I do?" EXTRACT your Heart, MINE your Mind.
Be Inspired
Emmanuel Umukoro
CEO,HALLMARKs
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