Not By Accident

Following your dreams isn’t easy. It requires hard work and a lot of planning. 

Despite the fact that they’re your dreams, they probably won’t happen overnight (pun intended).

After all, how many people do you know who accidentally wrote a book? Or bought a house? Or won a gold medal in the Olympics?

It takes commitment, hard work, and maybe even a few sacrifices to reach your goals—whatever they might be.

Commitment: Know Your Goals

When you first get started, it’s important to know what you want to accomplish while following your dreams. In other words, what does “winning” look like to you?

For me, winning would be writing 1-2 books a year while balancing time with family and friends, adventures/experiences to inspire my writing, and any extra work that I’m doing to add to my income.

Know Your End Game

I already know that I want my career to be in writing, but I also don’t want writing to be my entire life. So as I make plans and find resources that will help me achieve my dreams, I keep my goals in mind so I know what will help me, and what will throw me off track.

Commitment is key when it comes to making your dreams a reality.

Behind The Curtain 

When you go on social media, you see a lot of glamor and glitz when it comes to people showing their dream jobs.

You might see the artist who went to Italy to go check out the Sistine Chapel, the photographer taking pictures of tropical fish while scuba diving in Australia, or even the writer sitting by a fire in a cozy wooden cabin up in the mountains.

All of these things sound amazing (at least to me), but you don’t always see what went into their careers that got them to the place where they could go and do all these great things.

The aspiring artist who attended art show after art show, and suffered rejection after rejection before people started taking notice of their work.

The photographer who was stuck taking pictures of little kids’ birthday parties before getting a job taking pictures of pets, and then pictures of wildlife for National Geographic.

The writer who wrote book after book before one finally gained traction and made it onto the bestseller list.

Small Steps

The point is that it takes time and effort to get to where you want to be.

Start small and grow from there. Practice your craft. Many musicians will play at bars and other small restaurants and shops to gain experience and get their names out there.

Days, months, years… it might be a while before you end up where you dreamed of being. So enjoy the journey. You don’t have to be miserable while you’re waiting for success.

My Story

In last week’s blog, I mentioned that I found and applied to attend the School of Kingdom Writers.

I got into the school, excited to learn and experience new things. But a few months in, I really struggled to keep going. Writing was no longer fun and exciting. I lost sight of my dreams and felt miserable until the first break, which is when I realized I’d forgotten why I started writing in the first place.

After reminding myself why I write, I was able to come back to school refreshed and ready to keep going.

The Truth

Following your dreams is difficult. It’s not always fun. The joy and excitement you may have felt when you first started down the path may dry up like a river in a desert on occasion.

So why not give up? There are definitely easier options. 

You could lower your goals and expectations so that they’re easier to reach, or change your dreams entirely.

But if that’s not what you want, and you genuinely want to pursue your dreams, then there’s a way to avoid falling victim to the temptation of giving up.

And that’s what we’ll be discussing in next week’s blog, so subscribe to my newsletter and stay tuned so you don’t miss it!

Before You Go…

What are your dreams? What goals are you currently pursuing?

Let me know in the comments below!

If you haven’t heard, I’ll be judging a flash fiction contest! Check it out here!