Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Show Your Dreams and Find Your Courage by Shanna Hatfield

Yesterday, Christine Bush shared about having courage in her blog post. It made me think of a favorite quote...



I love Erma Bombeck.

I have since I was in high school and she wrote a column in Good Housekeeping magazine. When my mom would get the monthly issue, I couldn’t wait to see what wisdom and humor Erma had shared. She never disappointed. There was always some gem of knowledge, some sprinkling of wit that made the wheels in my head spin.


“It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.”
Erma Bombeck

I also love what she says with this quote. It does take a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else. Even if you are only showing it to one person... it still requires courage.


When I was in high school, I dabbled in writing for a little publication that was trying to get started in our hometown. I wouldn’t call it a newspaper, because I think it was printed on 11×17 paper and folded in half with maybe one insert page.

But for a young girl who was so shy she couldn’t even make eye contact with strangers, it was a wonderful outlet for the voice most people never heard.

I remember the first time my name appeared in a byline with an article. I was terrified. What would people think? What would they say? Would they wonder why someone like me thought they were good enough to write an article that others might find interesting? Would they find it interesting?


It's hard to share your dreams, to show them to someone else (or, in the case of writers - artists of any type, really - many other people). Some will praise your efforts and others will criticize, but no matter what is said, you still have to overcome that fear of "what if" and forge ahead.

When we show others what lies in the depths of our hearts, we pull back not only the drapes, but the filmy sheers and the blinds, leaving our dreams exposed and bare to the broad daylight of public speculation. It makes our dreams real and transforms them from wispy imaginings into tangible possibilities.

That takes courage. It takes something else, too.

Faith.

Faith and hope and belief.

Because when it comes right down to it, if we don’t believe in our abilities and our dreams, we can’t really expect anyone else to.


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Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, USA Today best-selling author Shanna Hatfield is out to make it happen, one story at a time. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances combine humor and heart-pumping moments with relatable characters.

   When this hopeless romantic isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.
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12 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you, Christine! :) Loved your post yesterday!

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  2. Your story about starting with a small "newspaper" article and forging ahead as a writer is so touching. I remember Erma Bombeck too. She was so right!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Cindy. Erma always had such great words of wisdom and wit!

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  3. I love Erma Bombeck, also, Shanna. Great post!

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  4. I love this Shanna and as a crafter and designer of needlework, mainly cross stitch, I talked about it probably longer than actually doing it. I think that fear of what people thought kept me from my dream for a long time. But when I finally was taken seriously it was by one editor. She made me feel like I was good at it and for about three to four years I had a design in almost every issue. It did take faith and that God gave me a gift to do it.
    So exactly what Erma said and what you have written about here is so very true. Rejection was really hard and I almost quit trying.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, I'm so glad you shared your dreams and didn't quit trying! So proud of you for doing what you love and sharing it with others!

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  5. I love this Shanna and as a crafter and designer of needlework, mainly cross stitch, I talked about it probably longer than actually doing it. I think that fear of what people thought kept me from my dream for a long time. But when I finally was taken seriously it was by one editor. She made me feel like I was good at it and for about three to four years I had a design in almost every issue. It did take faith and that God gave me a gift to do it.
    So exactly what Erma said and what you have written about here is so very true. Rejection was really hard and I almost quit trying.

    ReplyDelete