Popeology: Life and Writing Lessons from the Pope's Election byRochelle Melander

The new pope was installed yesterday. Though I’m not Roman Catholic, I’ve followed this story with awe. It contains many lessons for writing and life—here are three of them:

1. Let go. I wonder what happened when Pope Benedict XVI started tossing around the idea of retiring. Maybe it was New Year’s Eve and before his midnight mass, he and his advisors were throwing out New Year’s resolutions. Amidst the declarations to lose weight and pray more, the pope said, “I think I’ll retire.” Holy wow, what? No doubt some of his advisors said things like, “You’re the pope! You can’t retire.” Whatever really happened, we can take away this lesson: it’s okay to let go of something. The pope retired, and the world has not fallen apart. You can let go of whatever jobs or responsibilities keep you from writing or delving into your true passion.

2. It’s never too late. The new pope, Pope Francis, is 76. Other cardinals up for the position were much younger than Pope Francis. Historically, some of the popes have been quite young. (Pope Benedict IX was thought to be 18 or 20 when he became pope, and that didn’t go very well.) Every day I hear people tell me that they’re too old for something—going back to school, writing, exercising. So what about you? What are you saying you cannot do because you’re too old? Maybe you need to rethink that. The new pope is 76. Helen Hooven Santmyer was 88 when her bestselling book, And Ladies of the Club, was published.  The 101-year-old marathon runner Fauja Singh didn't start running until he was 89.

3. Some decisions need to be made in secret. The media marveled over the Cardinals commitment to secrecy: the Vatican put in place high tech Internet jamming devices to protect their process. (Evidentally, some of the cardinals are active on Twitter while others love their iPads and smart phones. Who knew?)  Despite the fact that Facebook seems desperate to know how you’re feeling, it’s not a bad idea to take your big writing (and life) decisions offline. When no one is watching, when we aren’t multitasking our communication, we have the space to thing big about our writing and life.

Your turn: What lessons did you take away from the election of the new pope? What other news stories have prodded you to think about your life?

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Rochelle Melander is an author, speaker, and certified professional coach. She is the author of ten books, including Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Live to Tell About It). Rochelle teaches professionals how to create a writing life, write books fast, get published, and connect with readers through social media. Visit her online at http://www.writenowcoach.com