Dreamer...or Doer?

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.”