How Many Licks Does It Take?

If you are my age or older, you may remember the commercial for Tootsie Roll Pops, with Mr. Owl. A child asks him, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?"

I was thinking about my newly published book, and the fears associated with bearing my insecurities and pain and mistakes to all the world. Writing it was hard. Letting people read it is harder. Another definition for "licks" is strikes, hits, defeats, difficulties. How many licks will it take to get to the sweetness at the center? I know it is there, and I know I am headed in the right direction - but it is an arduous journey.

How often do we see the trek and decide it is not worth it? How often do we decide to abandon the quest before it is completed? How often do we tell ourselves it will take too much time, too much effort, cause too much heartache?

The truth is, most meaningful things ask something of us before they give something back. They ask for courage before confidence. Vulnerability before connection. Persistence before reward.

I think that is where many dreams quietly die—not because people lack talent or passion, but because the path to the center feels too long. Too exposed. Too uncertain.

This book has already cost me tears, sleepless nights, self-doubt, and the discomfort of knowing people will now see parts of me I once tried very hard to hide. But I also know this: the sweetest parts of life are rarely reached without a few licks along the way.

So maybe the question is not how many licks it takes.

Maybe the question is whether we are willing to keep going long enough to find out.