Little Hinges
“Little hinges swing big doors.” That phrase presents a picture of how small actions can lead to something big or important – such as meeting your goals through consistent, day-by-day effort. Or you could think of it as people you meet along the way who, without realizing, turn you in a different direction.
Fred Rogers gave a well-known speech where he tells the audience to take a moment to think of someone who made a difference in their lives. I suppose in those situations people tend to think of a parent, a teacher, a coach, mentor, a boss, a pastor … someone in a role of influence who had an influence. Yet there are also people who do smaller things that end up making a big difference, and I’ve found that to be the case over and over in finding work as a local writer.
My favorite example of an unexpected hinge is the day my next assignment was in line ahead of me at Target. I’d gone there to buy a new supply of Play-Doh for a young great niece who was turning two, and I ended up at the checkout behind Lenore.
“Are you still freelance writing?” she asked.
“Yes, I am. Here’s my card,” I said.
Within a couple of weeks, I had a new assignment writing a newsletter. That assignment led to referrals for several other projects, one of which put me at a conference where I ran into a client from long ago, Julie. She connected me to Mike, and I worked with him on his book projects for several years. Then, when COVID disrupted my work, Mike connected me back to Julie on projects for her organization.
On another occasion I was asked to chair an alumni committee for my alma mater. Because of that invitation, I was the emcee for an alumni event. One of the people there that night invited me to speak to his civic group where I ran into my friend Rosemary, who asked if I could work on a temporary project for her – a temporary project that was off and on for about nine years.
That’s how the writing life has worked for me – I go out watching for little hinges. But I could also tie this principle to another one: A body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Showing up, being active in the community, being responsive to opportunity – staying in motion gives little hinges a chance to appear.