Habit is persistence in practice.
-- Octavia Butler
About the Quote
Success happens when we are both consistent and persistent in our efforts to reach whatever goal we set for ourselves. Inspiration is great, but it's unpredictable and unreliable in its timing. Anyone can be inspired when things go well; it takes habit to continue when things go badly.
There are Hivers who have been through more than one bear market cycle, and the successful ones kept showing up out of habit to do their thing and to produce content and to engage with fellow Hivers. We know about many entertainers who spend years or even decades performing before they become an "overnight" sensation. Then there is the case of Thomas Edison who went through 10,000 experiments to find the perfect combination of materials and quantities which would lead to a working incandescent light bulb.
Habit picks up the slack when inspiration is lacking. Habit takes us to a higher level when talent plateaus. In a world dominated by All-Stars, it is habit which can lead to the ultimate award.
Some (More) Information about Octavia Butler
Although Octavia Butler was dyslexic, she devoted herself to writing as early as the age of 10. Although science fiction is a genre numerically dominated by men, she chose to write many of her works in this genre. Although she was African-American, she staked her claim in a field where most writers where white. Whatever Octavia Butler did as a science fiction writer, she did it on her own terms. Whatever honors she received, she had earned them through merit and effort.
Many writers use science fiction as a vehicle for indulging in fantasy, and they aren't wrong for doing that. Some writers use science fiction to address the pressing issues of the day which will affect humanity in years to come. Octavia Butler fall into the latter category of writers.
Genetics and race were integral to many of her writings, especially her award-winning works. However, Octavia Butler wrote about race in a way which transcended the discussions and propaganda of the day. This could be seen in her 1979 novel Kindred and in her Xenogenesis trilogy of novels published in the 1980s (Dawn in 1987, Adulthood Rites in 1988, and Imago in 1989).
When she died in 2006-February-24, Gregory Hampton wrote of Octavia Butler that wrote "stories that blurred the lines of distinction between reality and fantasy" and in the process "she revealed universal truths."
-- Source
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