The Hidden “Glicken” of the Writer’s Life
When life threw him a curveball, one writer found inspiration and unexpected wisdom through the creative work he loved. Enjoy this beautiful reflection on curiosity, recovery, & the perks of writing.
Every writer I know has a “Glicken story” — that unexpected little perk that makes you stop and think, Wow, I get to do this for a living?
Sometimes it’s a dream trip, a surprising windfall, or a chance encounter that changes everything.
For writer Christopher Dean, his Glicken showed up as a life‑changing reminder that writing can be a gateway to growth, gratitude, and lasting learning.
What started as a health setback turned into a deeper appreciation for his work—and for the way writing keeps opening new doors of discovery.
I love this because it’s not just about writing… it’s about rediscovering purpose through words. And isn’t that what we all want, deep down?
To your writing success,
Mindy
P.S. Not familiar with “Glicken”? It’s a Yiddish word referring to the icing on the cake… or in this case, that extra reward on top of the regular benefits you get as a Barefoot Writer.
The Glicken of Lasting Learning
By Christopher Dean
Many Glicken stories involve some type of perk where a writer travels somewhere and ends up getting treated like a king or queen. For me, the Glicken in writing is the opportunity to work on a project that involves listening to fascinating lectures from the best professors in the country. And instead of spending hundreds of dollars on those courses… I get them for free.
It started a year and a half ago when my health took a turn for the worst. I had a grand mal seizure one day — what a shock! Up to that point in my life, I’d never had a serious ailment; not even a broken bone. Now I was looking at a possible lifetime of health issues.
After brain surgery and a positive prognosis, I started looking at what I really wanted from life. Before the seizure, I’d been writing copy for a client whose products I wasn’t very passionate about. After I started to recover, I made a promise to myself that I’d go after clients and products I truly believed in. The amazing thing is, after life threw such a curveball, I got the chance to work with a client I’m enthusiastic about.
The client is The Teaching Company, the producers of The Great Courses. Maybe you’ve heard of them, or even watched or listened to one of their engaging, informative, and entertaining courses for yourself. I could almost say having the opportunity to write copy for them is Glicken enough, but that’s not really the icing on the cake.
My assignment was to write new catalog copy for one of their older courses, The Iliad of Homer. The copy editor emailed the course guidebook and lecture transcripts in PDF format so I could dive in right away. Shortly after, the DVD set arrived in the mail, on the house. On the surface, you might think that’s a pretty sweet perk, and it is. It’s nice to receive an interesting course, worth hundreds of dollars, for free. But the real Glicken hadn’t presented itself yet.
If you’ve ever read The Iliad, you probably remember it as an epic war poem. It’s often categorized merely as a war story since it’s brutal and graphic, but it’s so much more than that. Again, if you go below the surface, the true nature of the narrative, and of life, is revealed.
Normally, you’d have to enroll in an academic program at a top college or university to encounter lectures from an award-winning professor. And we all know how much tuition like that can cost. In my case, this excellent education came with the territory. You could call this Glicken as well, but it’s still not the best part.
I spent many hours reading the transcript, watching the lectures, researching, and thinking about what it all meant. The universal themes you see throughout The Iliad are the nature of the human condition and mortality. What does it mean to be alive? What’s my role in society? These are questions we all ask ourselves at some point.
I’m always looking for new thoughts and ideas pertaining to the meaning of life. Though, neither the book The Iliad, nor the course about The Iliad was on my list of things to work on. It was by pure luck that the creative team at The Teaching Company picked a course that would end up making me think about life and work in new, surprising ways.
So, my Glicken was the chance to go on an unexpected journey of the mind with fascinating philosophical thoughts. The real icing on the cake was, and is, the opportunity to learn something new every day. In my mind, these things are the ultimate — but not always so obvious — Glicken.
Very nice
So sorry you went through so much, Christopher. But you've reminded to niche down into what I love. Thank you!