I have the utmost respect for Eoin Colfer, the author of the very successful series of children books Artemis Fowl. In these books the precocious and very intelligent young boy, Artemis Fowl II, attempts to regain his family’s fortune by researching clues on the Internet. He is a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind who helped in his quest by Domovoi Butler a huge Eurasian manservant bodyguard. I can see why this story and Artemis would entrance many young boys because they adore the antics of this preteen James Bond.
Sadly the very few preteens have the skills and aptitudes of a character like Artemis Fowl and when they are confronted with the normal issues and problems when growing up they need direction and good advise. It was my goal to create a character that was normal, perhaps even challenged in some areas to serve as an example to school age kids of how deal with adversity.
The research that dealt with Chinese dragon mythology revealed that these beneficial dragons could vary in size from as small as a chipmunk to as large as a school bus. Because our society usually makes such a big thing about the importance of being big I choose to have my young hero be the smallest that had ever been born. I also felt that if his character was based on goodness and perseverance his actions could serve as a role model for the youth of today. His main strength was that “He was able to stay focused on a task or problem for a long time and eventually always found a solution.” Because he wasn’t gifted and had to work hard to learn a lesson he developed a strong self-discipline.
Self-discipline is one of Napoleon Hill’s Great Riches of Life and usually it is the ninth one listed but I feel that it is one of the most important. Even though we have the intelligence and skills to achieve we can fail if we never get started achieving our goals. Whether it is the objective of being physically fit, at peace with our relatives or giving attention to the other twelve riches of life self-discipline is needed to attain that goal.