With the highest of highs often comes the lowest of lows

The last few weeks have been about the highs and lows of life for me. I had a successful week of sales during Read an E-book Week. My youngest got over the stomach flu. My oldest was getting ready for spring break. I'm not one to wait for the other shoe to drop - I believe that to be a bad habit that should be avoided, but I am willing to concede that with the highs of life often comes the lows.

It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride the last few days. I had the joy of participating in a fundraiser for my friend's mother, who is raising funds for a kidney transplant. She is an amazing woman, and I am glad that the funds are coming in for her. When I was growing up, she was like a mom to all of us troubled kids. I spent so much time at their house that people thought I lived there. I consider the whole family to be my own family, so it really was a joyous occasion to be a part of.

I also got to hang out with another dear friend for her son's birthday. She's actually my sister's friend, but she has been through so much crazy stuff with us that she is pretty much family. It was a pure joy to celebrate with her and her family. It also gave my kids a chance to play with other kids, which is always fun for them. For the most part, things have been nothing but up for us.

And then came the flip side of the coin. My wife's nana fell ill. As of this writing she is still with us, but she is being made comfortable for the next part of life's journey. It all happened so fast, it is still difficult to process. She is another amazing woman, so her loss is a tremendous blow to my wife and her family, and to me as well. I have nothing but fond memories of her. It is important to celebrate her life, but taking the time to mourn is also of great importance.

Life is crazy sometimes. You just never know what you are going to get. We take the highs with the lows, and that's okay to me. I think it is important for us to enjoy every good moment. Never take life for granted. None of us know how things will turn out. None of know when we will see the end. Really enjoy life. Savor every moment. Take the time to tell those important to you that you love them while you can. Anyway, these are my thoughts this week. Above all, I want you all to live, I mean really live! Have a wonderful week everyone!

If I can do it, so can you

First off, let me say: My third book is almost ready for release! It's hard to believe that my third book is almost here. To be quite honest, I wasn't sure if I could finish writing one book. When I finished the first book, I wasn't sure I could write one more. Now, here we are, and the trilogy is nearly complete.

I know a lot of writers use their blogs to offer writing tips and advice, but I really don't have any. The only thing I can say with certainty is: The only true failure is not trying. If you want to succeed at anything, you need to try. A lot of people tell me how they aren't sure they could ever write a book. I don't think anyone is really sure at the beginning, but I can guarantee you'll never find out, if you never try.

If I can write, so can you. I had no idea what I was doing when I started this journey. A few years later, I have made the Amazon bestseller list. My second book made it into the top 3. I have a pretty good fan base. Most importantly, I'm still enjoying writing. The fact is: I would not have accomplished anything if I did not bother to try.

Life is too short to not chase your dreams. Why not chase a few? I say chase as many as you can, and hopefully, you catch more than a few. You want to be a writer, well then write. You have another dream, go after it. No one is going to chase your dreams for you. You have to put in the effort. Don't walk through life wondering about the would've, could've, should've moments you let pass you by.

For me, writing a book was just one of my dreams. I'm constantly in the process of chasing dreams, whether it be writing, skimboarding, or whatever other crazy activity I'm doing. I hope that as I catch a few of those dreams it will inspire others to chase theirs. So, get out there and chase your dreams. If you have the time, tell me about a few. I love to hear from people who are living the dream. Have a wonderful week everybody!

Results from Read an E-book Week 2014

This past week I participated in Read an E-book Week 2014. My book, Beyond Heights and Depths, was free on Smashwords. As I have written before, I have had trouble getting any promotions going on Smashwords. The results of previous promotions were terrible. However, I had no problem getting behind this one because I already participate in multiple efforts to promote reading in general.

I love to promote reading because I believe reading is incredibly important. When Smashwords emailed me about participating in Read an E-book Week, it was a no-brainer for me to participate. I really wasn't sure what to expect. I don't know what it is about Smashwords, but giving away books with them is one of the most difficult tasks imaginable. I have never reached anywhere near the kind of success on Smashwords as I have through other channels.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to see a small increase in this promotion. I gave away somewhere around 20% more during Read an E-book Week than I did during the previous promotion only a few weeks earlier. In my opinion, the major difference was Smashword's involvement with the promotion. Normally, there is no involvement on their end. In fact, I am pretty sure I have never seen another promotional event on Smashwords besides this one. Overall, I am pleased with the results, but please keep in mind that I had very low expectations for this promotion to begin with.

How about you? Did anyone else participate in Read an E-book Week? What kind of results did you achieve? I would love to hear about your successes or frustrations with running promotions on Smashwords. So far, I have not found anyone who has had great success with Smashwords. Tell me about your experiences. Thank you everyone and have a great week!

A case of the "what if's?"

Over the weekend, I released my second book. I knew I was going to have problems with this release date because I did not have time to do the promos that I wanted. We are still awaiting results on the exact nature of my son's blood disorder. His medical needs are the priority, not my book. Nevertheless, I felt I could still release my book because I at least had some experience in this area with my first book.

Oh boy was I ever wrong. I'm not sure if it is just me, but I felt just as anxious about the release of this book as I did the first one. In fact, I am still freaking out a little--Lol. It really is an amazing process to take something you worked hard on and let it out for the world to see. I don't think it is a feeling I will ever completely get used to, and I still have one more to go in this series.

I'm pretty sure most of my anxiety is because of fears of the "what if's?" What if I do this? What if I do that? What if I fail? We all know what it is like to get a case of the "what if's?" However, it is very important to not let a case of the "what if's?" get in the way of you reaching your goals. There's nothing wrong with making sure everything is in order, but it does become a major problem if you are unable to accomplish anything because you are too worried about failing.

It really is better to try and fail than to never try at all. I'm nowhere near as successful as I would like to be one day, but I do pretty well. I've made the bestseller list a few times. I have some fans. Unfortunately, a person who never tries gains absolutely nothing. Whatever it is you hope to achieve in life, go after it with everything you've got. Do not let a simple case of the "what if's?" prevent you from reaching your goals. Keep trying your best, and whatever you do, do not give up before you have a chance to succeed. Have a great week, friends!

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."  -Thomas Edison

Learning from failure...again.

This weekend has sent me seeking the lesson in yet another failure. I've often found I've learned more from my failures than from my successes--good thing too, since my failures greatly outnumber my successes. The key for me is to set my mind on learning from the failure as soon as possible, before I spend too much time dwelling on the failure itself. Dwelling on failure has no positive benefit. We all fail; we all make mistakes. The sooner we can learn from them, the better off we are in the long run. Dwelling on failures, beating ourselves up, and refusing to move on keep us frozen in place, and therefore, unable to live our lives. Some of the most successful and satisfied people in the world are those whose who have been through numerous mistakes, setbacks, and failures, but never for a moment stopped trying. People who keep trying will make mistakes, fail, and get right back up again. You have to keep trying.

One of the other big problems is fear of failure. A lot of people suffer from this. I am no different in this area. Over time, I've learned to take chances, even when I have been terrified of failing, but this is still something I have to work on frequently. Fear of failure is often worse than actual failure. To fail requires one to actually try, while fear of failure generally leaves one incapable of even trying. Don't let fear of failure prevent you from trying. Being able to try in the face of fear does not guarantee success; however, not trying at all guarantees you will not succeed. In order to succeed, some sort of action must be taken. I have yet to meet a millionaire who made his or her fortune doing absolutely nothing; even lottery winners have to go out and buy a ticket.

Honestly, for every success I have had in life there have literally been hundreds of failures. I wrote a book, but no one ever asks about the ten other drafts that flopped before they even had the chance to get off the ground. Before I got married, I went through all the ups and downs of dating like everyone else; I got shot down--a lot, went on dozens of horrible dates, and failed in a bunch of relationships. I've been fired from jobs that were pretty crappy to begin with, which makes them that much more embarrassing. Even in ministry, I still fail. Some groups, events, and ideas failed before they got started because of my fear of failure. Others just fall apart, but I don't stop trying as a result of my failures. If I decided to throw in the towel the first time an idea failed, I would have had to have given up a long time ago. That's no way to live your life. You want to live a full life? You have to put in the effort.

Whatever it is in life that you believe will lead you to wherever it is you want to be, I want you to at least try. Whatever it is that you dream about, are passionate about, and just feel like you are called to do, you need to work for it. There will be failures, but your failures in life do not define who you are. You live, you try, you fail, you learn, and you move forward. Above all else, do not let fear of failure prevent you from ever writing that book, song, or movie that you always dream about. Got an idea that could change the world? Share your idea with the world; don't sit on it worrying about what other people might think of you. Don't look back on life and regret all the would've, could've, should've thoughts and ideas that you never tried. Failure is not the worst thing in the world. Never trying is far worse than failure; I am more ashamed of any time where I never tried at all than I am of any failure in my life because those were often the times I could have done something truly good,  but I let my own issues and insecurities get in the way.

Let me put it to you this way: buried in the ground of a cemetery are all the songs, books, movies, ideas, projects, and dreams that never came to fruition because people were too afraid to try. I have no doubt that we are all destined for greatness. Buried dreams, both literally and metaphorically, are never great. In order to really live life, we need to continue to strive to reach our dreams and goals. Leave the failures in the past where they belong. Learn from failure, but don't dwell on failure. Remember, the next great invention, book, song, ministry, idea hasn't even seen the light of day yet because you haven't shared it with the world. As for me, I'm off to my next failure because I know success is not far off. Chase your dreams because no one will chase them for you.