Making my dreams come true

I'm a firm believer in living the life you want to live. Even though I am not a famous author, I conduct my writing business as though I am, at least, an IMPORTANT writer. I don't allow room for self-doubt, fear or negativity to get in the way I conduct myself with other authors and editors. I don't consider it luck that I know some pretty darn successful people. I consider it to be a part of my professional life. As it should be.

However, even as I live the life I want to live, some goals have not yet been achieved. In the past, these have been relegated as "dreams." Simply put, a goal I could never, and would never, reach. They are only goals I could only dream about and never achieve.

That is no longer my attitude in life. I was thinking about the title of a friend's book one day: "Dream It, Do It: Inspiring Stories of Dreams Come True" I kept thinking on the "dream it, do it!" part of the title. I have had dreams, but all I did was keep them as dreams. I never tried to make those dreams come true. And now I'm going to DO IT! I am going to make my dreams a reality. Not sit around and just "dream" about what I want to do. I'm going to DO IT!! It won't be easy. It won't happen fast. And there WILL be low points tempting me to wonder if it's even worth it. But I know these are things I want to happen in my life. These are not just dreams, but goals.

And what type of goals are they?

I want to be a successful career novelist, getting one book after another published. I want to be in the same crowd as Tami Hoag, Mary Higgins Clark and Anne Rice.

How do I get there? I have to write, write, write! Every single day. Never give up in the face of rejection and KEEP AT IT no matter what people say! I'll have to take writing workshops, attend writing conferences and study, study like crazy. But most of all, I need to BELIEVE that I can do it! That I WILL land that book deal with a major publishing house! That I WILL continue to sell books to this publisher and have readers all over the world.

I want to get a college degree.

How do I do this? I have to scout out every single financial assistance program or possibility I can find. I have to be willing to APPLY MYSELF to studying and turning in my assignments. I need to be willing to stand up for myself to resolve my communication barriers. I am deaf and I am the ONLY PERSON who can fight for my rights to have an interpreter or a notetaker in the classroom. If I am able to take courses online in lieu of a notetaker, I need to grab that, too! Look into what communication options are available to me as a deaf student. I also need to ignore all the negative talk from other people. Things like "it's just a piece of paper" and "authors don't need a college degree." Maybe so, but having that degree is VERY important to me and a part of my life. I will be the first person in my family to get a college degree (I am the third of seven). But even more important, it's something I am doing for my children. My kids will see that their mother, who is deaf and who struggles financially, STILL managed to get a college degree despite obstacles! I hope it will inspire them, just as much as reaching that accomplishment will inspire me.

There are, of course, other goals that I have. Those two above are my most important goals to achieve. They are no longer my "dreams." They are my goals.

Other goals I have are: To meet Jonathan Knight (something I am working on right now), travel to Africa, vacation in Hawaii (or a honeymoon?? I would like to have a honeymoon), learn a martial art skill such as Tae Kwon Do, learn how to swordfight, learn how to swim (another goal I am working on -- summer IS coming up!), teach my child (and, later, children) ASL, run in a marathon and be in a movie. Those may not seem so "big" or "huge" to some people, but they are important to me. They are things I have only DREAMED about achieving someday in life. But I won't dream about them any more. I am going to wake up from those dreams and bring those goals into my real life. I am going to make my dreams come true!!!