Hare was once boasting of his writing speed before the other authors. “I can write 10,000 words a day,” he said, “when I put forth my full productive effort. I challenge anyone here to write books faster than me.”
Tortoise said quietly, “I accept your challenge.”
“That is a good joke,” said Hare; “I can write circles around you all the way until my books tower in stacks far above your head.”
“Keep your boasting ’til you’ve beaten,” answered Tortoise. “Shall we write?”
So the other authors convened a panel of judges and a deadline was set for one year. In the first month, Hare wrote five novels totaling 300,000 words, but was burned out. To show his contempt for Tortoise, he decided to take the rest of the year off and watch TV instead. “Tortoise probably can’t even finish one novel this year. I’ve already finished five,” thought Hare.
Day in and day out, Tortoise wrote at his slow pace. He spent four hours a day writing and barely managed 1,000 words a day. By the end of the year, Tortoise had written six novels totaling 365,000 words. And his novels were well-written masterpieces that captivated the judges, while Hare’s novels were barely comprehensible. Hare gaped in disbelief.
Then said Tortoise: “Consistency wins the race.”
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