We’ve arrived at the final Monday Blog for the month of April. Yes, I know: April 30^th is a Monday, but it’s also the last day of the month, and I didn’t think it was necessary to discuss April any further. Next week, I will begin posting about all of the wonderful things I have planned for May.

This month’s theme was Inspiration. I wanted to end the month, with some words of wisdom.

 

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” —Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Did you ever run into a particular person, who ended up helping you with a job or a project you were working on? Or, maybe you walked by a place you had never noticed before? Some people will say, it was by accident or by chance. I don’t believe in chance. I believe everything happens for a reason. For example, in 2014, I went to see Green Day in concert, in Brooklyn. While I would have loved to wait around after the show in hope of meeting the band, I figured it was a long shot, so instead, I went home. The following day, I went into NYC to meet my mother for lunch. For some strange reason, I took a train I normally don’t take, and would up near the Flatiron building. Tre Cool, Green Day’s drummer, walked past me. I caught up to him, said hello, and took a picture with him. Now, you could say that happened by chance. I happened to get on the wrong train, and I happened to get off at a stop that put me on the street at the same time as Tre Cool. It’s all coincidence. Or, maybe the universe was simply acting on my behalf.

 

“No need to fear screwing up a lot, as we learn more from mercy towards failure than we do from commendation for success.” —Julien Baker

 

“To do something that you feel in your heart that’s great, you need to make a lot of mistakes. Anything that’s successful is a series of mistakes.” —Billie Joe Armstrong

Fear used to hold me back from doing so many things. Fear is the reason I took so long to publish my first book. When I was going through that process, I thought, “I like what I wrote, but what if no one else does?” Later, I decided to let fear become my motivation. Sure, other people may not like what I write, but who cares? I’m going to do this for me.  When you’re working to achieve your goal, you’re going to make a lot of mistakes. But, mistakes are a GOOD THING. You can learn from them. Mistakes teach us to know the difference between what works, and what doesn’t. Once you learn from your mistakes (hopefully) you don’t repeat them. I worked with two publishers who ultimately failed me, before I made the decision to publish on my own. I’ve had to go back through some of the books I have published, and correct errors I found after they were made available for sale. But, it was all worth it.

Next month, I’m having a special promotion for the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series, so please continue to visit this blog for more info! Until next week…