Source: prettypeachpeonies.tumblr.com via Trish on Pinterest
Thanks to some very wise people, I’m aiming for JOY with this College of Life experiment.
What do I want to learn that brings me JOY? I mean really makes me come alive, a lot more “hell, yes” and letting the “okay, if I have to” drop away? And I mean big JOY. Belly-laughing JOY. Bliss-marinated JOY.
I call it learning to be resilient with what makes me awake, aware, and alive. I call it learning to stick to doing things that make me deliriously JOYFUL.
That’s what I’m striving for with my College of real/brilliant experience. It’s a breaking away from all the rules and regulations of what other people think is best and from what obviously has not worked for me, over to a whole-hearted attention to what do I think is best and what sets me free to think beyond reason and dream big. What absolutely mind-blowing idea do I have and what do I need to learn (that makes me joyful) to make it a reality?
What are my goals are for all this industrious collegial study?
- I want to fill big shoes. My colleagues, Erin Murphy and Ammi-Joan Paquette, at Erin Murphy Literary are highly esteemed in our industry. They are on the top ten agents list for picture books, middle grade novels, and young adult novels. (I picked EMLA for this exact reason—I want to work with the best.)
- I want to dream bigger. My life is not what I thought it would be. It’s better, bigger, bolder. Old dreams have fallen away in the past few months, and new more color-drenched dreams have blossomed to take their place. Instead of having to have the same dream as I did when I was in my twenties, I get to dream bigger. There’s space in my life to go after ideas that might not be exactly reasonable. There is JOY thinking about how I could possibly attempt such ideas. It’s exhilarating.
- I want to achieve mastery of some key skills that are required for an author/agent in this day and age. Sure, I’m good. I’m already doing the job, but I want to be better. I want to seep like a good strong mint tea, until I’m swimming in mint. I want to explore, turn over rocks, dig a little deeper, take a run at it from another direction. Animate. Enliven. Embolden. Reframe the possibilities. I finally know how I can make that happen personally.
What do I hope to accomplish?
- Books will be written and published (by a traditional publisher or by my own company).
- Ideas will flow—outward and inward. This is the core of what I do best. I’m allowing myself to unleash the ideas even more with this college experience.
- Products and classes will be created (if you ever want to stick your toe in the water, I’ll give you that opportunity here).
- I am a kinesthetic learner, so this is my sandbox. Did you know what you were building during your hours in your childhood sandbox? Did you set out to accomplish much other than a college degree your freshman year of college?4
- I’m going to let it ride and see where I end up. I’m pumped to find out.
I am not going anywhere. I’m not adding a whole lot to my schedule. I’m just organizing it, putting it in a format that makes it JOYFUL for me. I love fall and I love classes and I love assignments and deadlines and due dates. I love school! So, this makes me thrill inside.
More next week!
