Wish I Would Have Known

I think there's an ever growing list of things that we wish we would have known then...the "What I wish I knew then that I know now" list. I doubt it ends. And that's okay. We gain a lot of experience from our wish we would have knowns.

One thing that's been nagging at me lately that I wish I would have known is that I wanted to be an author not a doctor. Yup. When I was in school, I said confidently and on multiple occasions that I wanted to be a cardio-pulmonary surgeon. I should have known from the fact that I already had specific words in place that I should be an author. I think most kids say "A doctor" and then figure out what kind after they start school.

It's not like I didn't think I couldn't be an author, either. I knew I had a fair amount of talent writing. It was something I enjoyed. But as a lucrative career, it seemed silly. Maybe that's the other thing I should have known. How much "lucrative" I really needed (turns out, not as much as I thought when I was a teenager).

I'm lucky, though. I figured out that not only did I WANT to be an author, but also that I COULD be an author and went after it. I stopped making excuses and started writing. Then I took a deep breath and uploaded to amazon. Then I took an even bigger breath and hit the publish button. This year, I took the biggest breath of all and hired someone to design the cover for me (Erica Crouch did a FANTASTIC job!).

Maybe that's all there is to it to shrink the "wish I would have known" list. If you really want something, take a deep breath and do it. And if you don't need to take a deep breath before doing something, is it really what you want to do? If it doesn't excite and scare you all at the same time, are you going for what you want or safe? Don't do safe. You won't like it so much. You'll burn out. You'll spend your life wishing you could do, be, something, someone else. That you would have known better. Don't be that person. Be the person you truly want to be.

Dreams

Why did I start writing? Why now, of all times? We're living on a tight budget, I'm a stay-at-home mom to three young kids (the oldest is in Kindergarten, the rest are home 100% of the time). Did it really make sense to do this?

In early 2013 or late 2012, it struck me. Now is the time. We all have dreams and we all talk about "someday" doing this or that. I was thinking of my dreams, one of which was to write a book. Mind you, some of my dreams do have to wait. I hope to serve a mission with my husband someday. For that to happen, our children need to be grown adults and we need to be secure. It has to wait. But writing? I realized that I could do that anywhere, anytime. I did not need a computer to write (it's a bonus!) and I did not necessarily have to publish (another perk, thank you Amazon!).

I am so grateful that I had that particular realization. Writing has been exciting to me. It has opened up conversations with my kids. My oldest son in particular thinks it's neat that I write books as he's learning about letters. He is constantly asking questions (Is that the title? What's your book about? Can I read it someday? :) ).

I am a dreamer. I'm day-dreaming most of the time if I'm not actively engaged in something. Writing lets those dreams come into reality. It actually helps focus my dreams and makes them more productive!

I am so happy I started writing. It is not something that I regret. I have not seen any ill effects so far...except or on days when I'm on fire (figuratively speaking) and the house gets a little messy...but those days are not often.

So evaluate! What dreams do you have? Must they wait for "someday," a day that may never come? If you knew you were going to die, would there be dreams you wished you would have accomplished? Evaluate! Discover what they are, what can be done now and what must wait for someday. You will not regret getting started.

Popularity

Why do you write? If the answer is to become famous, I'm probably doing it for the wrong reason...at least, that's what the sales of my first book would tell me. Admittedly, I have a long way to go when it comes to writing. I need an editor. Unfortunately, I don't have money to spend on an editor. I need help with a book cover. Same problem: lack of funds. So I resort to the real reason why I write.

I'm not writing because I think I'll become wildly popular (not gonna lie, that would be pretty awesome!). I write because I love it. It's FUN to me. And I've achieved one of my dreams, becoming a self-published author. It's nothing fancy. But I did it. How many other people can say that they've achieved whatever dream they've been holding secret?

So, I'm not popular. But you know something? I never have been anyway. :)

Sequels

The Guardians: Revenge is about 1/3 of the way done! Yippee! :) I'm very pleased with how it's going. And I've also been having dreams about book three, so there's a scene or two that's been written to that story as well... :D Yes, this all started because of one, crazy dream. I guess I'm taking that whole "make your dreams a reality" a bit to literal, huh? I'll survive...but will April and Eddy?

By the way, The Guardians: Gateways goes FREE on amazon.com tomorrow! You have three days to pick up a free copy if you haven't already! Give it a shot...who knows? You might like it. ;)