What's my definition of success?
I just got in my first copies of Bjornlinga Saga #1 today, and so I took a couple of them up to my office to add to my display. As you can see in the picture, I have this little set up of my books on top of one of my book shelves. And so I added my latest book to the shelf and stepped back to see if it looked alright, and when I did, I found myself hit with emotion.
This might sound a bit corny. And for those who know me in real life, they often will joke that I never smile and that I have no emotions.
But when I looked at my four books all lined up, and especially my newest one, I felt very proud. Not in an egotistical sense, not like “Oh I am so awesome and amazing because I wrote these books,” no, not that at all.
I was proud because I have done, and I am doing, what I most believe in. What my heart tells me to do. I am creating and sharing my creations with the world, openly and in my own name. That was something that I was very, very afraid to do for so long. And the truth is, I’ve had all these stories inside of me for a very long time. And I have many more that are demanding to be told!
I apologize if this news update is a bit rambling. I suppose what I really want to say is that I was looking for happiness for a very long time in my life, searching for it everywhere. And in the end, I found it in simply working very hard on what I love.
I want to share with you a song that I found somewhat recently. It is probably my favorite song, because it expresses the idea that I am talking about here. It is called “Hope” and it is by the artist NF. Here are some of the lyrics from the song:
What's my definition of succеss?
Listening to what your heart says
Standing up for what you know is
Right, while everybody else is
Tucking their tail between their legs
What's my definition of success?
Creating something no one else can
Being brave enough to dream big
Grinding when you're told to just quit
Giving more when you got nothing left
It's a person that'll take a chance on
Something they were told could never happen
It's a person that can see the bright side
Through the dark times when there ain't one
It's when someone who ain't never had nothin'
Ain't afraid to walk away from
More profit 'cause they'd rather do somethin'
That they really love and take the pay cut
It's a person that would never waver
Or change who they are
Just to try and gain some credibility
So they could feel accepted by a stranger
It's a person that can take the failures in their life and turn them into motivation
It's believing in yourself when no one else does, it's amazin'
What a little bit of faith can do if you don't even believe in you
Why would you think or expect anybody else that's around you to?
I dearly hope, my friends, that you too can find your happiness, that you can chase after your dreams and create something you love. Life is too short for fears.
God bless.
