Recently,
I was asked to give advice to aspiring writers.
Now,
before I comment, let me butt in here and stress that I’m a big believer in
following one’s dreams. Anybody who knows me probably knows that. I’m not sure
where the passion came from exactly, but I often find myself reverting
conversations to the topic of dreams. Not the eerie, ethereal type that appears
as pictures in our sub-conscious, but the type that God instilled in each of us
when He created us.
In our
busy lives, it’s so important to have a creative outlet.
One
morning, many moons ago, I woke up and realized something that changed my life.
I didn’t want to discover one day that I’d become an old lady who never started
that first novel she’d always wanted to write. I had a full time job and a
family, as most of us do, but a deep-seated determination took root in my heart
that day. I DECIDED to stop making excuses and make my dream happen. Yup, MAKE
it happen. Whatever it took. And so I did. It’s been a scary but exhilarating
ride, but I’ve never felt more fulfilled - because I'm doing what I was born to
do. By watering and nurturing the seed that God placed in me, I’m enriching my
life, blessing other people (hopefully), and bringing glory to Him.
So, now
that I’ve shared a little piece of myself, this is my heartfelt advice to
aspiring writers, artists, designers…to anybody, really. Stop procrastinating
and just DO IT. We all have busy schedules and it’s way too easy to come up
with reasons why you’ll take that first step “when you stop working” or “when the
kids are older.” If you’re still at the beginning stages of your dream, bear in
mind that to be successful requires watering, nurturing, developing, learning,
and growing. Success doesn’t happen overnight, so don’t wait until it really is
too late. If you don’t MAKE YOUR DREAM HAPPEN, it never will.
Your
turn. What's your dream? Is there something you’ve been mulling over but
haven’t yet taken that first step?
I hope
today’s blog has encouraged you.
Here’s an
awesome quote I found recently, by Neil Gaiman:
“Everybody
has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean
everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside, inside them
they’ve all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds.
Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe.”
