EVERY GREAT DREAM BEGINS WITH A DREAMER
Hi
Everyone,
Welcome
back to my Keeping Dreams Alive series. I love doing this series because I am so inspired by my guest's stories. Today, I would like to introduce you to a new
friend and author, Cari Davis.
I met
Cari through my on-line critique group. While we have been critiquing each
other’s chapters for the last several months, I asked her to be a guest on this
series because I wanted to get to know her a little better.
Her
story brought tears to my eyes. One passage that really hit home was:
Remembering
that the universe is bigger than me and my dreams helps me keep life in
perspective. No matter how challenging my obstacles, they’re truly
insignificant in the greater scheme of things.
How
true is that! Sometimes, we all need to put things in perspective and have a
little faith in ourselves. AND…as Cari said so eloquently, “When all that
fails, and I think I can’t do it – I do it anyway.”
Cari,
thanks so much for sharing your dreams and wisdom with us. Would you please tell us a little about yourself?
Hi,
Everyone! I’d like to start by thanking Nancy for inviting me to her blog.
(Thank you, Nancy!!)
I’m an
aspiring author of historical romantic suspense, writing tales of love,
crime, and adventure in 19th century America. I’m also a native of Southern
California who dreams of becoming a resident of Seattle. I fell passionately in
love with books before I could read, music is my better half, and I’m obsessed
with researching odd and random bits of trivia. Over the years, I’ve been a
preschool teacher, an independent filmmaker (no, you haven’t seen anything I’ve
done . . . trust me), an administrative assistant, a customer service
rep for a large call center, and a theater sound technician. Currently,
I’m a traffic coordinator for a distribution company by day (to pay the
bills) and a writer by night.
But if
you peel away the superficial layers and get down to the core of who I am, I’m
a dreamer. I’ve never known how not to dream. I haven’t always possessed
the focus and self-discipline needed to realized the dreams playing out in my
mind, but they’ve always been there, pushing, prodding, guiding me along this
crazy journey of mine.
People
of all ages have forgotten how to dream. What inspired you to dream?
As I
mentioned above, I’ve always been a dreamer. Maybe it’s an inherent trait.
Maybe it’s because of my mom’s influence. From my earliest memories, she
followed her dream of being in a singer. She never won a Grammy, but she made a
living doing what she loved. I’ve always found that inspiring. And she hasn’t
stopped. Now that she’s retired, she’s following her dream of being an
artist.
If I
had to pick one life-changing, pivotal moment, though, it would be something my
grandfather told me. For a high school English class, I had to interview
someone over the age of sixty. I chose him. One of the questions I had to ask
was what would he change if he could go back in time. He replied, “Nothin’.” He
went on to explain that his only regret was that he wished he’d taken more
chances.
Whenever
I hesitate or second-guess myself, I remember his words, and I go for it. I’ve
made my share of mistakes and missteps along the way, but I will never regret
not taking chances. I will always follow my dreams.
We all
place obstacles in our path which brings our dreams to a dead stop. I call
these obstacles dream killers.
What was your dream killer and how did you overcome it? How do you keep the
dream alive under extreme adversity – external or internal?
Ah, the
dreaded dream killers. There’s never just one, and they come in all types of
guises. Whether extreme or subtle, internal or external, it takes a conscious
decision to overcome the obstacles. For that reason, these two questions really
go together, in my opinion.
My
dream of completing my first novel was derailed for nearly two years by events
that were both a blessing and a tragedy. I spent the majority of my life
estranged from my father. In 2009, he found me through Facebook. I spent the
next year getting to know him, learning to forgive, and coming to understand
that, despite mistakes made, he always loved me. It was an amazing but
extremely emotional time of my life.
A year
later, he died of cancer.
My
writing was the last thing on my mind during this time. Although the passion
and drive to finish my manuscript faded to the background, I still plugged away
– a word here, a sentence there – whenever possible. At the urging of my
friends and fellow writers of my local writing group, the Claremont Forum
Writers, I brought in revisions of previously written chapters for them to
critique just for the sake of bringing something in. Through the support of
family and friends, along with stubborn determination to not give up, I stoked
the fires of my dream while working through the personal healing. In time, the
passion returned. Last summer, I finally typed, “The End.”
But
dream killers are not always that obvious. A dream can also suffer a slow,
tragic death from self-doubt, indecision, chasing the wrong dream,
negative and unsupportive people, harsh critiques, rejections, and the time
vampire of everyday life.
How do
I overcome these obstacles? First, I find a peaceful setting (the beach or
mountains are my favorites), and I pray/meditate.
My religious and spiritual
beliefs have evolved over the years, but the one constant is the need for
clarity, serenity, and grounding. Remembering that the universe is bigger than
me and my dreams helps me keep life in perspective. No matter how challenging
my obstacles, they’re truly insignificant in the greater scheme of things.
Once
I’ve re-centered, I make the choice to have faith in myself, faith in my
dreams, and to stay disciplined and focused. I find it also helps to surround
myself with people who share my dream, or at least support me in my pursuit.
When
all that fails, and I think I can’t do it – I do it anyway. As Orison Swett
Marden once said: “Most obstacles melt away when we make up our minds to boldy
walk through them.”
When you
reached the top, how did it feel?
I
haven’t, and will never, reach the top. Lol. No matter what I accomplish, I
will always keep reaching for more. There will always be another dream to
pursue.
How did
realizing your dream change you?
It was
exciting to get to the end of my first novel, but it isn’t the first dream I’ve
realized, and it won’t be the last. Through everything, I’m still just me.
Well, maybe a more confident me.
What's
next? What new dream would you like to reach for?
Now I’m
revising and editing my manuscript to prepare it for the next step:
publication. I’m also outlining and doing research for my next book. Once I
segue from aspiring to published author, watch the New York Times
Bestseller list for my name. :-)
Twitter:
@CDavis1851
Comments:
Cari and I would love to hear from
you. To leave a comment,
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