Dare to dream? Or succumb to fears of failure?

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. ~Seneca

Dare to dream? Or succumb to fears of failure?


A collection of rejection letters dating back to 1997. You can bet some of these have tear stains on them.

A drawer full of scripts and novels and stories battered and bruised by rejections. But I'll never throw them away because they remind me that I have many more stories in me.

The one story that made it past the rejections. These are the original notes and edits and drafts for JANEOLOGY. On the day the novel was published, a new round of rejections began. And they aren't just in my drawer. They are public.
--

Should you dare to dream? Yeah, it's a dare for certain. It takes courage. No one can dream your dream for you. There will be many obstacles and more reasons to quit than to keep going. But how do you know if God's plan is that you must have 51 rejections to reach the one yes? That the 52nd try is the one that will take off? That all the time spent dreaming, nay WORKING, was all to make you better, stronger, impervious to rejection. And what if you quit at attempt 39? Well, you would never reach your dream summit.Once you reach your dream summit, as I have, you are still in for bruising judgment and critique. But you'll be able to endure that because of the years of blood, sweat and rejection that preceded it.

I learned to be the drill sergeant to my own goals. And I hope you become that for yourself, too. You have to want it more than the other guy. This is one reason you will observe extremely successful artists, singers and writers and say to yourself, "Uh, what's so great about their art? I can do better than that?"Yes, but those people are on their dream summit not because they were the MOST talented, but because they wanted it more than anyone else and they WORKED harder.

And I suspect that, like me, that the fearful dare to dream did not stifle them - it fueled them.

Visit me at http://www.karenharringtonbooks.com/