Author of Your Dreams

There are two peers that I have encountered in my life that I considered both friend and inspiration. I don't think I have ever really communicated the impact each has had on me but individually my two friends have changed how I approach life.

My adult life has been a bit of a roller coaster filled with ups, downs, turns and of course, the occasional stand still. For years I could relate to that moment a gut-wrenching ride at a theme park sits perched high atop an apex after a slow deliberate ascent. It is as if that moment of anticipation right before the plunge has been put on pause in my life. I know the descent is coming but I just can't find the energy to get enough momentum to start the horrific and exhilarating fall.

This standstill is the result of not being the author of my own dreams. For years I have allowed other people in my life to guide my steps and create my path. I have known for years that I wanted to write but writing is not exactly the type of nine to five that brings home a lot of bacon. Years ago, I should have taken the pen from the naysayers and the people who suggested that I invest my time and energy into a more fruitful endeavor. There were those who cheered me on and said go for it, but always added "be sure to have something to fall back on." Having something to fall back on eliminates the "go for it." A shot at anything great is always one shot. Wasting a bullet on a safe target only means that the true target, the impossible target, the sexy target will continue to flap in the breeze untouched.

I know two people (well many but these two sharply come to mind) that wrote their own dreams and are now happier because of it. My very good friends Kelly and Marlow both authored, edited, and published their dreams. Both overcame odds to attend school even at the cost of ostracizing themselves from those of us who didn't understand the urgency of their goal. Both Kelly and Marlow made a decision and answered with uncompromising assurance the question that plagues many of us for years, "What do I want to do with my life?" I'm sure each of them can attest to the struggles they faced then and a few that may come up now, but I am positive that their sense of accomplishment far outweighs any discomfort that life may introduce. Kelly and Marlow both became professionals in their fields, achieving a goal that most have to been on course for from the very beginning. These two remarkable people found their way through trial and error and the occasional detour. They never allowed life to even suggest that "here" is good enough. I believe their tenacity was a result of knowing the direction of their travels. In other words, they never gave up the map.

I believe that so many of us get lost on the way to our dreams because we have no clue where exactly we want to go. Instead, we allow others to dictate our path. The goal is important because it makes the journey worthwhile. If there is no goal, the journey becomes a useless and
inconsequential trip. Kelly and Marlow have taught me through their triumphs, success and failures that what I want should be just as important as what I am willing to do to get it. I don't envy their success because to do so is to surrender to the idea that I am incapable of duplicating that type of accomplishment in my own life. I have to believe that, although they are two very intelligent people, their intelligence has no bearing on their achievement. I have to believe it is the desire and steadfastness of their commitment that brought them to their goal. Believing this affirms that it doesn't matter how smart I am or talented, it only matters that I am willing to go through to get to.

Thank you Marlow and thank you Kelly and thank all of you who have authored your dreams to fruition for giving us, who are still writing, a blueprint for our own success. Adopting your insistence for triumph has been the push I needed to get over the hump and begin my fall...hands raised, wind in my face, screaming at the top of my lungs.

If imitation is truly the best form of flattery then my goal is to imitate your inability to allow anyone besides you to be the author of your masterpiece.