(Reverend’s note: Yes, you can name the song this is from, but defy you to name the group. No checking.)

I’ve had a hard time with heroes, especially in writing. Both personally and professionally, been some major letdowns. Neil Gaiman was the professional, and I won’t discuss the personal. Those who need to know, know.

But Alan Moore has never let me down. He’s always been who he is, and still a legend. Has he done stupid, and even distasteful stuff? Yeah, but he’s never sexually assaulted anyone. So, yes I still admire him.

That admiration has grown even more today. I got his BBC maestro class for a Yule gift two years ago, and circumstances have let me neglect it. Thankfully, it hadn’t expired. I finished the first six lessons today, and it really flipped my wig.

Alan shocked the world at fifty when he told everyone he was taking up magic and starting to worship a Roman two headed snake god. But for people who knew him and paid attention, it wasn’t that big a surprise. The magician has always been there, through his writing. But I’m here to talk about his lesson, not his career.

One of the lessons , and one of his over arching ideas, is that writing is magic. Considering he’s the first person who ever talked about sigil magic, hardly surprising. Some would say it’s his ego talking, or maybe it’s because he recognized the power of the word.

The biggest lesson I took away from this portion of the class was about Will. That you must believe in yourself, and what you’re doing. That you believe in your goals, your dreams, and your ideas. It’s powerful and scary stuff, especially in today’s world.

We are taught to believe, but not in ourselves. Modern society only celebrates the will as it helps sell things. You can do it if you buy or consume this. Get the right thing, you’ll go far. Don’t buy this, you’re a loser. But no real development of the will.

People with a solid will, can do great things, and horrible things. Trump is Will without brains or reason. FDR was Will with a conscience. Ask any success story, and chances are, Will got them there. And it has to start with you, nobody else.

I have a hard time with Will. I was raised by narcissists who couldn’t countenance any Will but their own. But their Will was weak, because real Will doesn’t rely on destroying someone else’s. So now, at 56, I’m finally taking the steps to believe in myself, to think I can do things, and accomplish what I set my mind to. To become a better, perhaps even good, person.

Diamond Dallas Page has a saying: “What would you do, if you knew you couldn’t fail?” And that’s the heart of Will . That you won’t let life stop you. That you’ll get up in the morning, look in the mirror, and say: YES I CAN. Good night.