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The Ghost of Willy Loman · The Daily Writer

• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Writer, where we share a lesson each day to help you cultivate the habits for creative success.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: One of the saddest plays ever performed in American theater is Death of a Salesman.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: It was written by Arthur Miller and first performed on Broadway in 1949.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Death of a Salesman tells the story of the last 24 hours in the life of Willie Lohman, a salesman who never quite achieves the success that he always dreamed of.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: He has a faithful yet disappointed wife, as well as two sons who are equally as lost as he is.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: By the end of the play, you come to understand that Willie's main downfall is that he's unable to truly just be himself.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: He spent his whole career trying to manufacture a winning personality and trying to become a person who measures his life solely in terms of the money he makes and the outward appearance of success.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: But the character of Willie Lohman isn't just confined to the stage.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: The ghost of Willie Lohman is alive and well in every single one of us.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: We're all tempted to play by everybody else's rules and conform to other people's definitions of success, but we must have the courage to carve out our own identity and forge our own pathway in this life of being a writer.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: And really, isn't that one of the defining qualities of a writer anyway?
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: We have a voice that's unique and we must have the courage to share it.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: The actress Lily Tomlin once said, I always wanted to be somebody.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now I realize I should have been more specific.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: I love that quote.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, of course you want to be somebody.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: We all do.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: But you're not just somebody and you're not just anybody.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: There's only one person who can be uniquely you, and that's you.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: So don't settle for the death of a salesman.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, reach for the life of a writer.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's episode.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hope you enjoyed this.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: For more, you can visit us at dailywriterlife.com.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much, and I'll see you tomorrow.