Time

I read two things about time this morning:

Scott and Helen Nearing needed a 420-foot wall built around the garden at their Maine homestead. So they built it themselves—one stone at a time—over a period of 14 years. It cost $450 in materials and 14 years in time to build what they needed. When they finished, Helen was 67 and Scott was 87, meaning they began their task at ages 53 and 73 respectively. Scott died at age 100 and Helen at age 91, so they enjoyed the fruit of their labor for many years. (Helen and Scott Nearing, Continuing the Good Life, p. 116).

Award-winning historical novelist Jack Cavanaugh (see "The Life of a Novelist: A True Story") wrote and queried for 13 years before a publisher gave him his first contract. Hundreds of thousands of words and 13 years of time to achieve his goal.