Lessons Learned

by Beth Vogt @BethVogt

I like John Wayne. To be more specific, I like his movies. Some of my favorites are Hatari, Hellfighters, The Quite Man, Rio Bravo, The Searchers … okay, I’ll stop there. I had fun weaving my love of John Wayne movies into to my newest novel, Somebody Like You. My heroine, Haley, likes John Wayne movies too.

I have a few favorite John Wayne quotes — and I added today’s quote to the list. “The Duke” is often remembered as the actor who portrayed cowboy heroes or military heroes and had a bit of an odd hitch in his giddy-up.

But then you read a quote like today’s … and you realize the man-of-few-words was watching life, living life — and forming some insightful opinions.

There are several nuggets of truth in John Wayne’s quote and I appreciate his perspective on how tomorrow arrives “clean.” But my favorite segment of today’s quote is this:

[Tomorrow] hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.

That sentence gave me pause. Do I take the time to stop and think — and process — the lessons learned from each day? Do I apply them to my life so they make a difference in who I am and how I live out the next day?

Sadly, I don’t think I’m always that intentional.

But I want to be.

In Your Words: What did you learn from yesterday — and how does it change today?

TWEETABLES"What did we learn from yesterday, and how does it change today?" Thoughts from @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Are we intentional about learning from today and applying it to tomorrow? @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt is a nonfiction author and editor who said she'd never write fiction. She's the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she'd never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She's a mom of four who said she'd never have kids. Now Beth believes God's best often waits behind the doors marked "Never." A women's fiction novelist, Beth's first novel for Tyndale House Publishers, Things I Never Told You, releases May 2018.

Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding series by Zondervan. Having authored nine contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there's more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us.

An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Novel Rocket and also enjoys speaking to writers' groups and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband, Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories. Connect with Beth at  bethvogt.com.