I was reminded this morning about a story I’d heard before. Maybe you’ve heard it, too.

It is about a lady waiting at the gate for her plane to begin boarding. The man seated next to her reached over and took a cookie from her bag and ate it. She became more and more irritated at his brazenness as he kept helping himself to one cookie after another.

The lady, afraid he’d eat all of the cookies, began to eat some as well. When they both had eaten their fill—and only one cookie remained—the man broke it in half and gave the lady one half and kept the remaining half for himself.

Still harboring anger toward the stranger for just helping himself to her cookies, the lady boarded the plane. It wasn’t until later that she looked into her over-sized purse, embarrassed to see her bag of cookies inside, unopened.

Sharing should be such a simple thing.

Such a natural thing.

But, it really isn’t.

Authors, like those in other professions, have the potential to be competitive by nature. However, I have not found that to be the case.

Over the years, there have been countless occasions for writers to share what they know with others—conferences, blogs, podcasts, and so on. And each time, they share their expertise with seasoned writers as well as those just starting out. 

If you are one of those authors who have invested your time and expertise in others, I just want to say

“Thank you for sharing your cookies!”