Had someone told me, in July 2015, that I’d appear on the Nationally Syndicated Doug Dahlgren Radio Program, or get interviewed by Author Voices, a self-described online, or web gazette to used to inspire authors and lifelong readers to discuss and promote my books, Last Exit to Montauk, and The Captain & the Queen, respectively, I’d tell that person that they were nuts, and needed to have their head examined.
As many know, pursuing the dream of writing and publishing books, was never on my dreamboard. It was not on my bucket list. It was never a personal goal. I was content living the life of a husband, father, and software sales guy.
Yet, four years after images began swirling in my mind’s eye, one rainy Saturday afternoon, in August 2015, while I attempted to watch tv, but felt compelled to document, and spend the next six weeks writing my first of over thirty manuscripts, I find myself, here, posting a new blog on my very own website, talking about pursuing your dreams.
Recently, I had the “privilege” of having dinner with a dream-stealer. You know the type. A self-proclaimed expert with an opinion on everything under the sun. As we discussed my books, a topic he brought up, he slowly tried to chip away at my goals and dreams, as I continue to write books, and pursue publishing novels.
Fortunately, as the evening progressed, I realized what I was dealing with. A dream-stealer. Someone who never reached his full potential, let alone pursue the dream of publishing a novel, as far as I know, anyway.
Oddly, enough, when we discussed his goals and dreams, he became quiet, and changed the subject. It’s funny how that happens, when you take a moment to look behind the curtain.
After dinner, I thought about this enlightening encounter, full of snide and condescending comments. While they didn’t discourage me from pursuing my goals and dreams, it did cause me to think of others whose hopes and dream he as destroyed. People who sought his advice, only to be told he had “friends” who pursued similar dreams, only to fail miserably, implying that if they too, chose the same path, they too would achieve a similar outcome.
Well, to those people I say, go for it. Pursue your dreams. Don’t let the dream-stealers of the world rob you of your destiny. If not you, who? If not now, when?
Julia Child didn’t release her first cook book until she was 50. Vera Wang started her designing career in her 40s. JK Rowling received TWELVE REJECTION LETTERS before Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone was published. Morgan Freeman didn’t become a household name until turning 52.
What I’m saying is, it’s never too late. There are literally hundreds of examples. Don’t believe me? Google it.
Pursue your dreams. Live the life you were meant to live. Be the success story people point to. Want to start a blog? Want to do a podcast? Want to write a book? Open a business? Sail the oceans? Cure cancer?
Go for it! Humanity is waiting for you. Answer the call!