Living In the Present

Evans Quote of the Day

"It has been a mistake living my life in the past. One cannot ride a horse backwards and still hold its reins."

Revisiting the past is sometimes a good thing, but only if are able to let go of it just as easily. How many times have we made mistakes and poor choices, and, instead of internalizing the lessons learned and moving on, we relive those mistakes over and over again? How many times have we remember good moments and tried to hold onto them for dear life instead of treasuring those memories and allowing ourselves to progress and make more of those moments? Most of us have done one or the other.

My motto has always been, "You get out of life what you put into it." No matter what happened in the past, each new day presents us a with clean slate, and it is up to us to decide what will be written on ours. We should remember that though God holds the eraser and makes use of that eraser every day, we need to draw something memorable and beautiful-something we want permanently etched into that canvas, and save Him the task of erasing. Because after a while the canvas can grow thin in some spots, and the old paint sometimes mixes in with the new, causing the colors that once shone so vivid and pure, to taint each picture thereafter.

It took a lot of years for me to train myself to leave the past in the past where it belongs. I have no desire to forget my past, and no desire to relive it. It is tucked away in my mental suitcase, only making an appearance when a refresher course on a past lesson is needed for life's unexpected pop quizzes.

Becoming Fearless - The Possibilities Are Endless!

"The greatest shackles we bear in this life are those forged by our own fears."
Richard Paul Evans - The Looking Glass

When I first started writing, I experienced various emotions-excitement, euphoria over actually finishing a book, and pride.
But I also felt fear.
I worried about how my book would be received. Will people like it? Will they think I am a good writer, or will my work be perceived as amateurish? Will readers be happy they bought the book or will they wish they could get their money back? Will other authors read my book and shake their heads at my inexperience? Do my grandmother and mother-in-law really like it and think my work is good or are they only biased?
So many of these questions fed my fear of failing and held me back. I mean, I definitely wasn't the greatest writer in the world and I'm still not, nor I will never be, but that fear still garnered a space inside me and kept me from growing as a writer. It wasn't until I let that emotion go and became fearless that I truly began to develop my own voice in the world of the written word.

Each of us has a talent, one that, given the time and the desire to persevere, can take us as far as we want to go. But only if we hold onto the goal and let go of the fear of failing. Being fearless isn't just a state of mind, it's a state of being, and when we finally reach that place in ourselves where we truly understand our potential, nothing can stop us or hinder our way.
Life is a journey, and if we keep fear from blocking the path or deterring the way, eventually we will reach our destination.

The Quotable Evans

One of my favorite authors is Richard Paul Evans. Each time I read one of his books, I come away feeling uplifted, as well as inspired by the stories.
The Quotable Evans is a little book containing diaries and letters from his novels. The quotes are thought-provoking and teach some wonderful lessons.
For the next while, I will be sharing some of those quotes with you, and I hope these thoughts will inspire you as much as they have me.

Evans Quote of the Day

"There are those whose primary ambition in life is to leave their names chiseled on some small corner of this globe. But this is folly. The greatest tragedy is not to die unknown by strangers, but unloved by our companions."

We place importance on so many things in life, and sometimes we lose sight of what is really important. All of us, in one respect or another do want to leave our mark on the world, something that will insure we will not be forgotten. But in our quest for this, we need to remember that being remembered as a great person is better than being remembered as someone who did something great. The latter will insure your mark and celebrate that one great deed, but the former will engrave the memory of your life in the hearts of everyone you come in contact with and every life you touch.
Now that is what I call leaving your mark on the world:-)