. . . to find the answers.
So here I am again, proud, happy, and still grateful for my accomplishments so far but feeling uneasy because I haven’t done enough. When I agreed with myself to take this challenge on and create a book (or two), I knew absolutely nothing about it. Today, I still don’t feel like a writer. Sure, I write every day, but the title is still not fitting. Or I suppose it fits, but it’s itchy.
I am of a stubborn DNA strand. My Dad was old-school Hungarian—very proud, very determined, and very willing to take on a challenge—and of course back in his day, there was no Google, so he learned by experience. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” but occasionally it rolls a little. I am stubborn enough to get through this on my own, but I am also smart enough to know I need help. Whom do I ask? Whom can I trust? And HOW do I ask for help when I don’t even know the questions I need to ask?
The answers to these questions came to me one at a time over a long period of trial and error. First, I need to ask the people who have helped me get to where I am how to move forward. Second, I should trust the people who believe and trust in me to point me in the right direction. And third, I will learn that every question is the right question for me because I want to learn.
Life is full of situations, often with no real right or wrong solutions. Chances are good there will always be a lesson to learn, but we all learn different things different ways. The day will come when you finish your first book and you want to learn what to do next, the questions may get harder to ask. When you find yourself standing in the middle of a vast selection of publishers, promoters, marketers, publicists, and people who may or may not know what they’re doing, how do you choose ONE? How do you know the one you choose is the right one? These choices create some questions and possibly some research.
Sometimes you just have to trust how you feel and how others feel. Has the person you’re considering ever failed? Has he/she shared the lessons of his/her failures? Are you confident that he/she will help you move forward? Everything that has ever been or ever will be started with a first. The first man on the moon had no one to ask what it was like or what to expect. But you can be sure everyone who followed went to him for answers, and researched just how to take that first step.
I have stepped up again. I am learning very quickly that in the world of books there is always a path to follow—whether the path leads somewhere is up to you. Trust yourself, ask the questions, believe in yourself, and feel comfortable knowing you are not the first person to get to where you are going. And if you fail at something in the process, you will certainly not be the first. Learn from your failures and share the lessons, then write another book. The words are in you.
Success will come after several tries, and maybe a fail or two,
But every time you try again, it will make a stronger you.
🙂
BawB
BawB's Raven Feathers 