Living the Dream

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to focus this blog post on what I am thankful for. I am at a point in this journey where I feel so grateful for all that I have accomplished and all that is yet to come. As you know, I have wanted to be an author since I was a young child. And now, as you also know, I have published my first book! It's real. My dream has come true.

And it feels so good to be here, to be living my dream. Even just a few years ago, I might have had a hard time believing that something this good could happen. But today, I know it's true.

About a decade ago, when I was in the midst of the stress of waiting for my bar exam results that would determine whether I would be admitted to be an attorney or not, I received an envelope in the mail. It was a one page letter stating simply that I had passed and detailing the next steps to become licensed. I wondered what the chance was of them accidentally sending out the wrong letter. I must have read the letter a dozen times before it started to sink in that I had actually passed. Honestly, it probably wasn't until after I attended the swearing-in ceremony and got my license that I started to let myself believe it. I was just that accustomed to and prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Fast forward ten or eleven years and it's a whole different ball game. When I gave up my legal career, I also gave up that negative mindset. I started focusing on the good in the world. When my worry filled my mind again and again, I thanked it for being there to protect me and then calmly told it that I didn't need to be protected right now. I took deep breaths and focused on my five senses to concentrate on what was actually going on around me right now. I started to believe that I was safe and things were going to work out.

I quit paying attention to the regular news outlets and started reading Sunny Skyz when I wanted to know what was going on in the world. I started writing down simple gratitudes—little things I experienced during the day that I was grateful for. I chose to look for the good in the world around me and to believe that people are mostly good. I chose to look for reasons to trust people.

And now, when all of a sudden my childhood dreams have come true, it feels right. It's not hard to believe at all. Of course this is happening now. It is exciting and fulfilling and just feels so right. I'm so thankful that I changed my mind and changed my life. I'm grateful for the wonderful book I've put out into the world. I'm grateful for the people I've gotten to know along the way and the support I've received. I'm so grateful for the people I've talked to who have loved the book and taken the time to share their favorite parts with me. And I'm so grateful for the opportunity to continue to market my book, share my dreams with the world, and continue to create. I'm thankful for all the fabulous things that are yet to come, because I just know they will be fantastic.