Ken Fite

I have good news to share: I’ve just spent the last 60 days finishing the first draft of the next Blake Jordan novel! I still need to write the second, third, and final drafts, but having a finished draft I can start working on improving is a great feeling. I’m thrilled!

Most writers aren’t going to tell you this, but I will… whenever I write a new story and see it published and read the reviews, I often think to myself: Can I do it again?

Which has made me do a lot of thinking about habits and how we spend our days. Because when I look at my wall calendar where I mark a big X on each day I wrote, there are a lot of blanks. All of January, all of February, and all of March. Two rows of Xs in April, then two weeks of blanks, all of May is blank, and all of June is also blank.

In other words, I only wrote for two weeks in the first six months of the year…

That’s when I realized, if I don’t act soon, I might not finish my book this year.

July 1st I committed to writing 1,000 words a day, every day, rain or shine, whether I felt like it or not, no matter what was going on, no matter if I knew where I was going with the story, or if I was writing by the seat of my pants. It’s best to plan your work, but if that’s taking too long, I’m starting to learn it’s best to just get started, ready or not.

That was also when my youngest son, who’s really into RL Stine books and can’t believe I met him in New York a few years back, hinted that it would be cool if I wrote a short story for him for his tenth birthday. “Write a book like RL Stine’s,” he’d said.

So in addition to my daily 1,000 word goal for the new Jordan novel, and all of my other daily responsibilities, I wrote ANOTHER thousand words every day for ten days for the “KL Fite” short story, and finished it the night before his tenth birthday. And my son loved the story! Watching him listen to my wife read a chapter every night was one of the best experiences ever as they laughed at some of the events that took place and he begged for Missy to read, “Just one more chapter,” before going to bed. As a writer, when you write what you think is a funny line that makes you laugh, or a clever turn of events, you imagine the reader’s reaction, but you never see it in real time.

Except, in this case, I did.

And it made my heart very happy.

Three years ago, I read a really interesting book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. What stuck with me the most was the idea of the compounding effect. Writing a thousand words today won’t change my life and won’t make much of a difference in a finished novel. But writing a thousand words today, tomorrow, and every day can.

If you want to change something in your life, if you have a big goal you’re not sure how to turn into a reality, try creating a tiny habit, a goal you can reach daily. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish when those daily wins all add up. It compounds.

Tonight, I’m meeting with my editor to tell her about the new story and to make sure I don’t have any plot holes or things to tighten up. Then I’ll start on draft #2. With any luck, I’ll have Blake Jordan #9 ready for you in a few months. Then again, luck has nothing to do with it. When we commit to a tiny daily habit, finishing is inevitable.

I hope you enjoyed the behind-the-scenes how my stories get created, and I hope it inspires you with your own goals. You can do it, too. One tiny habit at a time. -Ken

Just a quick update on Blake Jordan #9. I’ve been making great progress the last several weeks. So much so, I have to be careful with how much I say. I don’t want to jinx myself. But just know it’s coming along and I’m feeling good about the story overall.

When I look at my wall calendar, the one I mark with a big ‘X’ for every day I write a thousand words, I see a lot of blank spaces. Three whole months at the beginning of the year. Then two and a half weeks of Xs, followed by seventy-five blank squares, before I finally got in gear and started showing up every day whether I felt like it or not.

It’s easy to get discouraged when life gets busy and you have nothing to show for it aside from an empty blank square representing the day and a dream you didn’t pursue.

But we have to remember that those blank days did get filled up with something. With helping others, with spending time with our kids, with doing things that were important.

At the same time, I’ve learned that the people who are the most successful weren’t the most talented. They were the ones who kept hacking away, little by little, day by day. One of the greatest character traits is perseverance. People who don’t ever, ever quit.

We might get sidelined. We might get sidetracked. We might have to press pause for a while, but we never give up. Because those with ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance understand one thing: that success is the sum of small efforts done daily.

It’s hard to believe tomorrow will be July already. Every year over the July 4th holiday, I try to take a few days off to reflect on the year so far and how I’m doing with my goals.

Because on New Year’s Eve, we all came up with crazy goals for the year. We said:

“I’m going to lose all of the weight!”

“I’m going to finally write my book!”

“I’m going to make progress on my dreams!”

And then by February, we let our gym memberships lapse…

We wrote a few chapters and gave up when we got stuck…

We made some progress on the dreams in our heart, but allowed life to get in the way.

Don’t feel bad. It happens to all of us. But the difference is, most people don’t worry about the things they promised themselves. Not until the next New Year’s Eve that is.

July 4th is one of my favorite holidays. Not just because of what it represents, but because it takes place pretty much smack dab in the middle of the year. It splits it in two. And that gives us a chance to sit back and take stock of how we’re progressing.

One of my friends posted this on Facebook the other day:

“There are people with certain skills and talents that could make them very successful. But they are terrified of losing the income they are guaranteed. THEY are the biggest risk takers. It’s riskier to bury your talents than it is to use them. A ‘guaranteed’ salary is a set number. Potential is limitless…”

It seems to me that many of us give up on our dreams not because we’re lazy, or busy, or get distracted, but because we’re afraid. Afraid of what the next goal will be if we ever do lose all of the weight, afraid our book won’t be read—or liked—if we do write it, afraid of failing at that thing we dream about, so we instead focus on the dream itself.

But what if we’re wrong?

Don’t believe the lie. Because every year around this time, I’m tempted by it, too. This is around the time I start to doubt myself, when I start to think the book I’m writing isn’t good, when I start to wonder if I have enough time left in the year to realize my dream.

If you have certain skills and talents, it’s your duty… no, it’s your OBLIGATION to use and not bury them. Unused talent offers no advantage over those with no talent at all.

And if you don’t have a talent but you still have a dream? Go after it anyway. The repetition of small efforts will accomplish more than the occasional use of great talents. Most people don’t succeed from their talent. They succeed because they’re relentless.

The year’s halfway over. It’s not too late to do something future you will be so proud of.

We’re all counting on you to use your gifts, or your grit, to see it through.

I’ve been into personal development for many years. When I started work in corporate America, I read Getting Things Done by David Allen. His techniques were amazing. They helped me get so organized at work. I was always on top of my email, I was proactive with getting projects done, I left the office with my to do list done every day. Since then, I’ve probably read 20 plus books on how to get more done with less time.

But that was when life was much simpler. Because since then, a lot has changed…

Now we get way more email than we used to. My iPhone alerts me to new notifications all day every day. I just checked my Screen Time report, and last week’s average daily notifications was 125. If you check your own Screen Time report, I bet it looks similar.

But I can’t play the victim here. Because I also had 175 daily pick ups. Meaning, aside from 125 daily interruptions, on average, I checked my phone 175 times. Every day.

That’s 300 times a day I’m either getting a notification or checking to see if I got a notification. Again, if you think that’s crazy (and I certainly do), you should look at your stats, too. Because I think nowadays we’re all living in a constant state of distraction.

We live in a noisy world. And the place seems to get louder with each passing moment.

***

Last year, I started doing something different. Something to combat the busyness of life. I started choosing a word for the year. For 2021, I chose the word ‘focus,’ because I believed if I just tried hard enough, if I really gave it my all, I’d be able to drown out the ever increasing noise. I could fight through distractions and get important things done.

And it worked. Kind of. I ignored the digital noise that kept getting louder. I pressed on, working harder to get everything done, feeling like I was swimming with baggy clothes but determined to make it to the shore and finish the big important things, like my last novel. With just a few hours to spare to achieve my writing goal for the year, my new book launched on New Year’s Eve. I pulled it off. I hit the deadline. I did it. I was happy.

Then I woke up on January first with the dread of knowing I had to do it all over again.

***

I’ve made some progress on the next book in my series. I’ve written about half of the first act. A good start. To my credit, I’ve had a lot going on this year. It’s one of the busiest ever. Not to mention the noise factor has over modulated and is stuck on the crazy setting. But in all of the busyness, I’ve realized I never chose a word for this year.

Which got me thinking about how I feel the complete opposite of being focused. I feel distracted which shouldn’t be my word for the year but defines the first few months of it.

We’re all addicted to being distracted. We need the dopamine hit of something ‘new.’ And if it doesn’t find us, we’ll go out and find it. For creative people, that’s a problem. We don’t get bored anymore. I don’t know about you, but when I’m bored, that’s when I’m the most creative. Boredom is part of the secret sauce of creating something new.

But what’s interesting is this: the opposite of distraction isn’t focus.

The opposite of distraction is traction.

***

I once heard a football analyst talking about the losing team. He said, “The problem with these guys is they’re not running north/south. Every time they get the ball, they look busy, there’s a lot of motion, but they’re not gaining any traction. Run north/south!”

That’s always stuck with me. Maybe because there’s a lot of wisdom in that. Think about it. How many times have you seen a running back take the ball and run toward the sideline… only to run the clock and waste a down and have nothing to show for it?

Are you gaining any traction with the big important things you want to do this year?

Are you running north/south with a relentless pursuit of getting another first down?

Are you letting yourself be distracted by things that won’t get you to the end zone?

It took five months but I finally figured out what my word for the year is. It’s traction. Because consistent action is the best way to gain traction for the dreams you’re after.

Back when I managed people, when my teams would struggle with being distracted I’d tell them this: slow down so you can speed up. I think it’s time I took my own advice.

On a cold January morning just before rush hour, Joshua Bell stepped out of a cab and walked into the subway station at L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, DC. He found the spot he’d picked out before, a place where the acoustics would carry, and he sat down. Wearing jeans, a T-shirt, jacket, and a baseball cap, Bell watched the crowd for a moment. Busy commuters walked by, some eyeing him cautiously, most not making any eye contact at all. He could hardly contain his excitement for what would happen next. Bell took off his jacket, opened an old violin case he’d brought with him, and took out his instrument. He paused and took a breath, and at 7:51 AM, Bell started playing.

He started with a bang, playing Bach’s Chaconne, a fourteen-minute piece generally considered to be the single greatest solo violin work ever composed. And he watched.

One minute in, nothing happened. Two minutes in, nothing happened.

Nobody paid him any attention. None at all. Not for a lowly street musician.

Three minutes in, there was hope. A man turned his head and looked in Bell’s general direction, becoming somewhat aware that someone was playing some kind of music.

But the man kept walking.

A minute after that, a woman walked by and dropped a dollar bill down by his feet.

Two more minutes passed by and a man stopped and stood against the wall, listening.

Bell continued, masterfully playing pieces such as Ave Maria by Schubert, and others.

He played brilliantly, to the best of his ability, for a total of forty-three minutes. Throughout his entire performance, only seven people stopped and paid attention. None any longer than a minute. They watched, they turned; then they walked away.

Bell glanced down at the donations and added them up.

Twenty-seven people donated a total of $32, dropping a buck or so as they passed by.

Twenty dollars of the $32 was from one person who seemed to recognize the violinist.

But the most shocking stat he learned later was that one thousand and seventy people walked by oblivious to the music… and oblivious to him.

The few who stopped were interviewed later and said they thought Bell was good.

They just didn’t know how good.

When he played his final piece, Bell packed up his $3.5 million dollar Stradivarious, handcrafted close to three hundred years earlier, and stepped out into the cold and left.

The next night, Joshua Bell played the same music with the same instrument in one of the world’s most recognizable venues, and charged over $100 per audience member.

To be fair, nobody that morning was expecting an impromptu concert during their commute. I imagine the many people walking by, some as close as three feet away from him, had other things on their mind as they passed him by… maybe they were late for work, or had to stick to a schedule, or were preoccupied with busy lives.

But the fact that so few people saw Bell there and recognized his talents is also telling.

In life, you will be taken for granted.

Your talents, your contributions, what you have to offer will often be ignored.

You will feel like I assume Joshua Bell did that cold January morning, doing your absolute best, using the best tools you have at your disposal, giving your all, only to feel like nobody sees you, like you’re invisible, like what you’re doing doesn’t matter…

But it does.

You just have the wrong audience.

It’s easy to imagine how confused, frustrated, and heartbroken Joshua Bell must have felt as he packed up his Stradivarious and walked out. But I have to believe that when Joshua Bell stepped out into the cold and got in a cab, he left with a smile on his face.

Because when you know your own worth, it doesn’t matter what others think.

And when your talents aren’t recognized, it just means you have the wrong audience.

They say how we treat others when we face adversity reveals character. But I think how we treat others when times are good says a lot about us, too…

I recently had a construction project at the house. It was supposed to take 90 days.

But it took close to a year to finish.

There was bad communication from the very beginning. Conflicting explanations. Large gaps between visits to do the work. Unanswered emails. No shows to meetings.

Broken promises.

We contacted the owner by email, by phone, by text message. He didn’t get back to us.

We spoke with VPs and were brushed off and told it’s an industry issue. Supply chains, labor shortages, too many customers, more business than they could handle. Their business grew ten fold and they kept their foot on the gas. They’d get to us, eventually.

In other words: Times are good, and you need us more than we need you.

We should’ve fired them, but we didn’t. We did what we all do when our gut tells us something’s wrong but it would be less work to wait it out and see if things improve.

We thought, it’s only 90 days, and we just wanted our project to be done. We had a contract and they had started. And their competition was supposedly in the same boat.

So we did nothing.

In life, we often accept less than perfect situations…

Because firing contractors, finding another job, whatever it is, fixing things that aren’t completely broken takes a lot of effort. We tell ourselves, “It could be worse” instead of, “It should be better.” We take the easy path, because we’ve got so much to do already.

The whole thing got me thinking and wondering what I would do differently if the roles were reversed. And I realized that they are, in a way. Because I run a business, too. We all do. We’re all the CEO of Me, Inc. We all disappoint or delight those around us.

It’s not hard to stand out. Keep promises. Follow through without having to be reminded. Especially when nobody’s watching. Get back to people. That’s a good start.

Eventually the winds will change. They always do. Our reputations catch up to us.

Reputations are important. And how we treat people in good and bad times matters.

But the truth is, our character is what really matters. Because our reputation is who people think we are, but our character is who we really are when nobody is watching.

Put another way, reputation is who we are in the light, and character is who we are in the dark. It’s character that’s revealed when pressure is applied. Character is a choice.

And if we focus on our character, our reputation will take care of itself.

For the last few days, I’ve been watching the ongoing invasion of Russia into Ukraine. I’ll admit, I’m surprised it’s not over already. Russia is the largest country in the world by area. It spans 11 time zones. It borders 14 countries. In short: it’s David vs Goliath.

So how has Ukraine been able to stay in the fight for so long? Why isn’t this over yet?

For one reason and one reason only: because its leader believes they can win.

Before last week, I had no idea who President Zelensky was. But as the situation started to unfold, I could see very different strategies between the opposing presidents and it became clear what I was seeing: the difference between a boss and a leader.

Because a boss inspires fear… but a leader simply inspires.

A boss makes decisions based on numbers. A leader makes decisions with their heart.

A boss works behind closed doors. But a leader stands with their team in the trenches.

A boss orders you to, “Go,” while a leader suits up, looks at you, and says, “Let’s go.”

After seeing so many images of Zelensky in military garb, refusing to give up or give in, and urging his people to fight, I wanted to know what drove him to be so determined.

So I did some digging and started at the beginning…

In his inaugural address, three years ago, President Zelensky said, “I do not want my picture in your offices: the President is not an icon, an idol, or a portrait. I want you to hang your kids’ photos instead, and look at them each time you’re making a decision.”

After reading that, I knew.

Leadership doesn’t start with ability. It starts with responsibility. And knowing what and who you’re fighting for. I have no doubt that when the time came, Zelensky took a hard look at the pictures of his kids before exchanging his suit and tie for a military uniform… understanding what he was up against, knowing no matter the outcome, it was worth it.

Leaders don’t always win.

But they always answer the call.

And if their heart’s in the right place, regardless of the outcome, they’ll be remembered.

Hey there, hello from Orlando!

I’ve started a tradition where in January of each year I share with you my what my wall calendar looked like from the year prior. Maybe it’s an accountability thing. Maybe it’s to show you how many blank days there were where I didn’t work on a book. Or maybe it’s to show you that in spite of yourself, you can still reach your goal if you keep trying.

Whatever the reason, here is my calendar, with Xs representing the days I worked on a first draft, and numbers showing the chapters where I went through additional reviews.

Similar to the prior year, you’ll notice a lot of white space in the first few months (I need to do something about that). But in my defense, it was a very busy year! I still have a day job, a family, outside obligations, and I took on a few projects like getting all of my books put into paperback format which took a lot of time… more than I thought it would.

I also finally realized that I need to start embracing being a pantser instead of a plotter (someone who writes by the seat of their pants). My first few books I plotted. Actually, all of my books I’ve plotted, to a certain degree. But what almost always ends up happening, especially with my last two books, is as I write the story things change. Characters take on a life of their own. They make decisions I didn’t expect. Plot twists surprise me. I get to the end of the book and I think to myself, I didn’t see that coming.

All this to say I’m realizing that yes, I need an idea, but I should just run with it quickly.

Not wait until it’s perfect in order to begin.

I always smile when I read a review that says, “I figured out who the bad guy was early on.” I just sit here and think, Really? Because I wrote the thing, and I had no idea! 🙂

Having just released Blake Jordan #8 a few weeks ago, and after I get the paperback file ready, my plan is to spend the next few weeks thinking of where the series goes from here, and what could be next. Then I’m going to start… whether I’m ready or not.

Because just like you, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Blake Jordan. -Ken

December 2021

Hello from Orlando!

I love New Year’s Eve… not only because it’s my wife Missy’s birthday, but it also marks the end of the year and the start of something new (which we’re all ready for).

For the last few years, December has been a down month for me. But that hasn’t been the case this year. Sure, I’ve taken a little time to rest and recharge, but I’ve also been busy publishing paperbacks and I’m close to finalizing the next Blake Jordan novel.

December is also when I like to reach out to my readers to ask them a few questions…

What do you love about the Blake Jordan series? What do you want to read more of? Last year’s survey responses were so helpful to me. Like TV shows that listen to their fans, your feedback helped me write a story this past year that many of you loved.

Would you please take a moment to complete this year’s reader survey?

I consider your input invaluable to help me write the best stories possible for you in 2022… and you’ll enjoy many hours of reading in return. It’ll be quick, I promise!

Just click here and give me your thoughts. Thank you so much. -Ken

November 2021

Hello from Orlando!

I just finished the second draft of the next Blake Jordan thriller. It’s really coming along! I have a writer friend I joke around with because whenever I ask how his writing is going, he’ll tell me that he doesn’t know if his work-in-progress is a book yet. After writing this story, I know what he means now. This one was a hard book to write. And now I need to write the final draft over the next few weeks, so I’m not done yet and I don’t want to get ahead of myself… but let’s just say, this story is definitely turning out to be a book. And one I know you’re going to love reading as soon as it’s ready for you.

I’m still plugging away at the paperbacks. I really want to get them out soon so maybe they can be available for Christmas. I’ll send you an email as soon as they’re available.

Other than that, things have been really crazy lately. My youngest son broke his collar bone (he’s better now), everything with the family is always busy, just life in general is crazy. It’s like someone accidentally flipped the switch to hyperdrive and life is just whizzing by. Sometimes I wonder what the point is. Why do we have to have so many struggles? Why does it feel like things are never going to slow down and get easier?

I think it’s because we’re supposed to learn something through the struggles…

Because the truth is, there’s always something to learn in every challenge, in every difficult situation, in every experience. The key is to look for it and to pay attention.

One day, someone we care about will go through the same challenges. And we’ll be there for them, able to walk them through it, able to share how we overcame the odds. We’ll be able to encourage them and reassure them that, if we could do it, so can they.

One day, your story will become someone else’s survival guide.

You will be someone’s living proof that they, too, will make it to the other side.

They say life is lived forward but is only understood backward. So embrace it and know that everything will be okay… and you will end up exactly where you’re supposed to be.

And so will they. The one you’re supposed to help. The one you’re supposed to guide.

Because every challenge is an opportunity for transformation, to learn, and to grow.

Without it, we’d never become who we were meant to be. -Ken