A Decided Mind Book Review by Diana

In our continuing book review of The Travelers Gift, 7 Decisions That Determine Personal Success written by Andy Andrews, we find our traveler, David arriving mid ship of the Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus's infamous vessel. Apparently Chris had experienced a lot of rejection, as writers often do, before meeting King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Nineteen years he searched for those that would subsidize his trip to the proposed New World. Nineteen years he had the door slammed in his face, was ridiculed and became the brunt of many jokes. He would have made great fodder for late night TV. I can hear it now..."Did ya hear ole Chris is at it again? Says the world is round and thinks he can cut the trade routes in half if someone will just give them their boat and let him set sail for the New World. Well I think someone ought to pull the plug on his bathtub, sink his little 'dinghy' and give him a reality check. Who does he think he is anyway! Round world. Has he been seen in any smoking dens of late? "

Thankfully, Christopher did not give up on his dream. He had a decided mind. He stayed focused on his goal, believed in his theory and finally convinced the King and Queen of Spain ( not his home country) to put their money down on his dream.

Writers, that is what you do when you write that novel or How To. You seek an agent and they place your writing before an editor. You put action and effort to your dream. It might take many doors of rejection slamming in your face before you realize the success of a book in print, but it will never happen if you do not have a decided mind. Demonstrate passion, passion eventually will result in conviction that results in success. Along the way, you will motivate others. Eventually you will find your King and Queen, the ones that will finance your dream, place their belief in you along with their financial backing because you believe in yourself.

Christopher Columbus was a weaver's son. I did not know that before reading this chapter. Makes me wonder what his family thought of his exploring bent. "Get your head out of the clouds, Chris. Get back to your loom, dear." If we worry about what others think of our dreams we might be persuaded to let go of them. We must not fear criticism or worry about what others think. Learn from editors' suggestions, hang on to the words of praise. Continue on. Be fearless.

Christopher and his crew, in their journey to the New World, eventually hit a point of no return. They no longer had sufficient supplies to allow them to retrace their steps. They had to go forward. Have you hit that place yet in your writing journey? Have you invested in yourself enough to say, I can not go back, believed in yourself enough to invest your time and finances to support your vision? It is scary to launch off into the deep. I am sure Columbus had a few reservations. But he was decided in his mind. Focused as he needed to be to set sail and search for a New World. He succeeded.

May you decide to go after the particular dream or vision stirring within you. Remain decided and you will succeed. And who knows, you might end up in the history books like Christopher did, much to his family and many others surprise.

Happy Sailing, From my heart to yours,
Diana