TONI TALKS | IN PURSUIT OF THE DREAM | REWRITING MY REALITY
Pivoting On Purpose
No Fear… No Excuses… No Limits…
𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚,
Your kind comments, coming on the heels of announcing my journey to become a traditionally published author, meant everything. I genuinely appreciate your support. Thanks for caring.
𝓣𝓸𝓷𝓲 𝓖𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓮
Post-retirement writing filled a void. The sense that I’ve not reached my full potential weighed heavily on my mind. Extra time on my hands made room for regrets to gang up like former friends. Instead of giving in to negativity, I flipped the script and opted for a do-over, figuring that I still have work to do to make the rest of my life the best of my life.
The question centered around what work should look like. I found a vision while scrolling through pictures on my cell. Last summer, my mom, sister, and I took a Black Taxi from where my daughter lives in Stratford to London’s theater district. I zoned out on the long ride.
When we’d almost reached our destination, an internal voice said look right. I glanced over and saw the words Penguin Random House UK on the facia of a building. I took note of the street. Then I excitedly told my mom and sis, who looked at me like I’d grown a second head.
By then, we’d passed the building. To verify that my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me, I took a picture as the taxi passed the left side of Vauxhall on the way back to my daughter’s flat. It’s the focal image shown above.
The image must have marinated in my mind for a year. It reemerged via an idea to become the Black J.K. Rowlings. Exactly how is yet to be determined. Yet, I’m primed to make it happen. What better place than England to make the dream a reality?
The challenge of pursuing this big, hairy, audacious goal is what gets my blood 🩸 pumping. It’s the thing that motivates me to ‘Try Out Novel Ideas.’ For the record, it’s the acronym encoded in my first name. It’s most likely what’s triggering my brain to act.
Should I fall short of the goal, at the very least, I’ll have a great story to tell.
Case in Point: A decade ago, I announced that I was going to produce an adult coloring book to sell to Walmart. Three years after I announced it, the intention materialized.
In 2016, a Walmart buyer distributed my self-published book (Coloring Along America’s Highway) to stores nationwide. They still sell my book online. If you’re looking for a unique holiday gift, I created a Christmas-themed book. Click HERE and buy directly from me.
What happened with Walmart gave me ample reason to delete the word impossible from my vocabulary. Achieving that monstrous goal took hard work, valuable time, and constant capital infusions.
The end result was actually awful. But the way the universe aligned to deliver my desire to get my book on store shelves still blows my mind.
Low Key: This blip in my life paradoxically teeters on the edge of crushing regret and pride in accomplishment.
Hence, the reason to take the traditional publishing route. Experience taught me that the best way to maximize the potential of a vision is to align with a team of knowledgeable, supportive professionals.
My desire is to leave a legacy via the written word. The overarching goal is to have books shelved at libraries worldwide. My creative contribution will add to the collective consciousness.
I don’t want to get to the end of my days feeling like I’ve done little more than consume. I don’t want to vanish from the face of the earth without producing the next great American story. Otherwise, my life will just feel like a colossal waste of energy.
So I’ve promised myself, from this moment until my last breath, to do everything in my power to honor the gift of life by sharing all the talent that’s on loan to me from GOD.
🔹About Me ➖ Toni Greathouse ➖ Toni The Talker
I write to share ideas. I write to impart wisdom from lessons learned in the school of life. I write to reinvent my reality. I write because I’ve chosen to pursue my passion for writing as if it were my profession.
