The Independent Author--The Courage to Face our Dreams
Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist once said: "We who fight for our dream suffer far more when it doesn't work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse: "Oh well, I didn't really want it anyway." We do want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal calling is no easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journey. Then, we warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that the Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how."
We all love to stand on the shores of the ocean, taking in her power and the strong winds she forms and we dream of distant shores, of sandy beaches and places others within our lives have never seen. There is something about that moment, with our feet in the sand, the thunderous applause of the waves as they crash down before us, almost begging us to embark on the journey that is stirring within our souls. Some people--or most people rather--will spend a lifetime only dreaming about setting sail for that distant shore and others, a very rare few, will actually dare to embark on that journey.
Yesterday, I set sail to embark on a new path within the journey of my life. It has been a little more than eleven years since I first picked up the pen and only about nine years since I first shared my works with others. I have wrestled with my soul to come to terms with the purpose of my life. And like many of you, I have struggled to fit in and feel truly comfortable with my surroundings, knowing there was more to me than what was seen within the life I was leading--the path I was walking. I have taken the unbeaten path many times in my life, not always for learning but more so for spite and the right to brag at the table over drinks about how I dared to walk a road most only talk about. When I have looked back at the mistakes of my life, I have justified them in comparison to the words of Robert Frost when he said, "Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference."
Looking back now on the mistakes of my life, the choices I made and justified, I have a better understanding of who I am and what my purpose is in this world. It isn't any easier when you discover your place and come to terms with your gifts because you soon learn of new struggles, the struggles to convince those who say they love you that you are living to your full potential by daring to be different, daring to dream and daring to take the unbeaten road. Many in my life--those who have proclaimed to love me--have questioned my intentions as though they have stood beside me all these years while I struggled and studied and learned how to apply my gift for the sake of the world and for the sake of a future that is now clearer to me than ever before. Most people will not understand why you choose to be different, and their attitude towards you will appear jealous, sometimes rude as though they are trying to "fix" you and at other times blatantly condescending. It isn't their fault however and you must understand that, as I have and that is what I keep telling myself.
All life is a journey and we all face common obstacles, either in the form of threshold guardians who try to keep us from accomplishing our dreams to tricksters who are misleading for the purpose of making us fall. We have mentors too, people who come into our lives at the right time, to say the right things just when we need to hear them. They are your signs, your indications that you are on the right track towards success. The people closest to me may not (yet) understand what I am trying to do with my life or where I am trying to go. And if they do have a sense for what I want to accomplish, they have no way of understanding the journey. Success is a process...not a destination. That is what the author Jeff Olson says. And if we work hard everyday at the thing we want to accomplish in our lives, we are then creating success in our lives daily. If success were a destination, then I wouldn't have any in my life. It's the little "invisible results" that I create on a daily basis, off the beaten road--the familiar path--that will one day set me apart. I don't do it to be different or better but instead because I want a better way of living. I want to live a life utilizing the gifts and talents I have been given.
I will meet with my new marketing agency today. I believe they are the people (and the owner is the person) I have been waiting to meet, to help take my career to the next level of sales, marketability and credibility. I have worked hard to get where I am today--three years of invisible results--and now my work is starting to bear fruit. It won't be long before I am on the road, touring, speaking, signing books and living the life I have dreamed of. And I won't accomplish it by any sense of luck--but instead--by simply working hard everyday to be prepared for the opportunity that will one day present itself.
Remember, people close to you love you and and they want you to succeed--but their measurement of success will vary from yours as the people closest to me don't yet understand the process of creating that success. My life will change and I will take a step up the ladder on a new venture of my literary career today. Where I end up, I won't know until I get there. How I get there however is clear to me...one day at a time...one step at a time...and with the full understanding that those who love me...may fall by the wayside...they may doubt me...they may completely quit on me...and today, I can live with that. Because if I was truly on the wrong path in my life...then why (I ask myself) are so many others...watching me...???
~Bobby Ozuna
Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist once said: "We who fight for our dream suffer far more when it doesn't work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse: "Oh well, I didn't really want it anyway." We do want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal calling is no easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journey. Then, we warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that the Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how."
We all love to stand on the shores of the ocean, taking in her power and the strong winds she forms and we dream of distant shores, of sandy beaches and places others within our lives have never seen. There is something about that moment, with our feet in the sand, the thunderous applause of the waves as they crash down before us, almost begging us to embark on the journey that is stirring within our souls. Some people--or most people rather--will spend a lifetime only dreaming about setting sail for that distant shore and others, a very rare few, will actually dare to embark on that journey.
Yesterday, I set sail to embark on a new path within the journey of my life. It has been a little more than eleven years since I first picked up the pen and only about nine years since I first shared my works with others. I have wrestled with my soul to come to terms with the purpose of my life. And like many of you, I have struggled to fit in and feel truly comfortable with my surroundings, knowing there was more to me than what was seen within the life I was leading--the path I was walking. I have taken the unbeaten path many times in my life, not always for learning but more so for spite and the right to brag at the table over drinks about how I dared to walk a road most only talk about. When I have looked back at the mistakes of my life, I have justified them in comparison to the words of Robert Frost when he said, "Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference."
Looking back now on the mistakes of my life, the choices I made and justified, I have a better understanding of who I am and what my purpose is in this world. It isn't any easier when you discover your place and come to terms with your gifts because you soon learn of new struggles, the struggles to convince those who say they love you that you are living to your full potential by daring to be different, daring to dream and daring to take the unbeaten road. Many in my life--those who have proclaimed to love me--have questioned my intentions as though they have stood beside me all these years while I struggled and studied and learned how to apply my gift for the sake of the world and for the sake of a future that is now clearer to me than ever before. Most people will not understand why you choose to be different, and their attitude towards you will appear jealous, sometimes rude as though they are trying to "fix" you and at other times blatantly condescending. It isn't their fault however and you must understand that, as I have and that is what I keep telling myself.
All life is a journey and we all face common obstacles, either in the form of threshold guardians who try to keep us from accomplishing our dreams to tricksters who are misleading for the purpose of making us fall. We have mentors too, people who come into our lives at the right time, to say the right things just when we need to hear them. They are your signs, your indications that you are on the right track towards success. The people closest to me may not (yet) understand what I am trying to do with my life or where I am trying to go. And if they do have a sense for what I want to accomplish, they have no way of understanding the journey. Success is a process...not a destination. That is what the author Jeff Olson says. And if we work hard everyday at the thing we want to accomplish in our lives, we are then creating success in our lives daily. If success were a destination, then I wouldn't have any in my life. It's the little "invisible results" that I create on a daily basis, off the beaten road--the familiar path--that will one day set me apart. I don't do it to be different or better but instead because I want a better way of living. I want to live a life utilizing the gifts and talents I have been given.
I will meet with my new marketing agency today. I believe they are the people (and the owner is the person) I have been waiting to meet, to help take my career to the next level of sales, marketability and credibility. I have worked hard to get where I am today--three years of invisible results--and now my work is starting to bear fruit. It won't be long before I am on the road, touring, speaking, signing books and living the life I have dreamed of. And I won't accomplish it by any sense of luck--but instead--by simply working hard everyday to be prepared for the opportunity that will one day present itself.
Remember, people close to you love you and and they want you to succeed--but their measurement of success will vary from yours as the people closest to me don't yet understand the process of creating that success. My life will change and I will take a step up the ladder on a new venture of my literary career today. Where I end up, I won't know until I get there. How I get there however is clear to me...one day at a time...one step at a time...and with the full understanding that those who love me...may fall by the wayside...they may doubt me...they may completely quit on me...and today, I can live with that. Because if I was truly on the wrong path in my life...then why (I ask myself) are so many others...watching me...???
~Bobby Ozuna
6 comments:
Bobby,
That was very insightful.
I like to think of my success as a garden, (I love to garden) I planted the seeds, now I have to water and nourish them. In doing that some come along and say, "What cha got there?" I say my dream, one day it will feed me. Some see my dream, others say, "You'll never be able to make it grow." some justify that it is too hard to grow a plant, some say it takes to long to see it bloom or bare fruit, others come along (like you) and say, "I was here once and this is what helped me grow my dream."
My dream is still a seedling, but I know if I nourish it, and send all my love to it and put my heart and soul into it, that one day it will flourish!
Along the way there are bugs and fungis and animals that will try to destroy my dream but if I am dilligant, and I take the advice of those who came before and follow my inner voice and listen to my true heart, I WILL have the things I have dreamed of all along.
It is truely a long and slow process, but it is growing, I can feel it, my dream is growing. It's a sensation unlike any other, and sometimes it hurts, sometimes I want to give up. Sometimes I want to quit because someone has discouraged me and my ego conceeds to their point. My true heart knows tho. And that's what I am going with.
Like you I feel the Universe is truely conspiring in my favor and all is as it should be!
I am an adventurer, looking for treasure!
Your friend,
Jessie
Bobby,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and where you are today. You know I believe in your dream and I am confident that it will happen for you...You know I support you 100% and more and am here for whatever help you need. I appreciate your friendship. And, by the way, my heart smiled to read your words...you are truly gifted!!!
Always, N
Nancy:
Thank you so much for your words. It's a scary thing...following your dreams...because for as much as you know you can gain in the long run...so much is at risk to lose along the way...
Jessie:
I am hoping to publish my short story (5 pages) which I have entitled: "The Boy and his Garden." The story deals with the very ideals you have spoken of... working a garden, preparing the soil, studying to learn how and when to water and how to keep away the weeds and still studying further to learn what to do--LATER--when your garden bears fruit.
Whatever you do...believe in yourself...and find your way of kicking the dust off your boots and the seeds of discouragement when others try to sow them into your fields. Remember, Paulo Coelho goes on to say the following:
"...once we have overcome the defeats--and we always do--we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. Each day, each hour, is part of the Good Fight. We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure. Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives."
If you plant and work on your garden daily...and you study to learn how and when to water...and then you prepare your mind for the long road ahead in study, your garden WILL bring forth its fruit, in its due season...
Thanks for believing with me.
Bobby- thanks for sharing your most intimate thoughts and hopes. You are so brave to lay them out there. Your words cause me to pause and reflect on my own hopes and dreams and what I am doing to make them happen. And I realize I have work to do.
Theresa:
Thanks for sharing in return.... I have come to another cross-roads in my life and my literary career...where I go from here, I am not yet certain. What I do know is this: No matter where I end up... the journey continues and so does the growth and so to do the stories....
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