Guest Post: Carin Camen Follow
Reading time 3 minutes
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To everyone, that life has beaten down, who feels like giving up... this article is for you.
You're not always going to understand why you plummet.
Sometimes you just need to ride out the storm,
knowing all things in life are temporary.
Life guarantees experience. Nothing more, nothing less.
Learn from the experience.
Keep moving.
___
Can I talk to you for a moment? Are you listening? Okay.
One sentence. One opinion. One moment in time can cause everything you've worked for to come crashing down around you.
As I lay on the hardwood floor of a 10 x 10 room and stare at how to organize the last few items so my OCD will calm the f*ck down, (I smile.)
Another move placed me temporarily here. It won't be my last move.
So I lay on the ground, looking at the piles of stuff around me determining how to make the next move easier.
I've moved around so much, that I can be loaded up and on my way in an hour with all my possessions in tow.
I'm an author, at least that's what I call myself.
Although some of the people closest to me might say,
"Hey, why don't you get a real job?"
I'm up at (4 o'clock) in the morning working on my craft, but I guess they don't consider that work.
Despite the hard work, commitment, sacrifice, and marketing, sales are non-existent.
It used to discourage me, but understanding that most adults won't read even one book a year no longer gets me down.
I read and review 52 books a year. 52 authors who question their writing, will have a spark of hope.
(Another smile.) The simple pleasure of an author.
Someone took a few moments to share their thoughts about a work that took the author years to create.
They'll profit a buck or two from the read. But they'll treasure the thought that someone appreciated their writing.
Authors are experts at handling rejection, so don't be surprised if when we are rejected by family or friends
we just shrug our shoulders and move on.
We take the criticism, evaluate how we can improve, and keep going.
If you're stuck on hating us, oh well, that's your choice.
Isn't that what life is about?
Being willing to share your thoughts in the hope we can have a civil conversation, even when we disagree.
Yet we often find that one sentence, one opinion, and one moment in time can cause you to be an outcast and despised.
I find that fascinating. The emotional interaction when we disagree.
If there is no truth, why the uproar?
I find the emotional outburst always betrays there is some element of truth in what was said.
The outcome...
In my 10 x 10 room, laying on the hardware floor, looking at how to make my next move easier (I smile.)
What truth do I have? To the world, I would be seen as a failure.
To measure me by the world's standards, would be a correct assessment.
Yet, I feel successful.
I left a cult.
All my children are out of the cult.
My grandchildren are the first generation not being raised in the cult.
That's success!
With the equivalency of a sixth-grade education after leaving the cult, I stepped into college and obtained my BFA in Graphic Design and my MS in Human-Computer Interaction and I did it in four years.
That's success!
I've worked at start-ups, non-profits, small businesses, and Enterprise companies on over a dozen projects.
From a UX/UI Designer to an IT Project Manager.
That's success!
I've written eleven books!
But my greatest success has been being a mom to five amazing children, all adults now, who remain close as a family.
That's success!
So you listen here.
Success is how you define it!
I write because I love it!
Not for fortune or fame
I stopped comparing myself to others
One author becomes famous every year
and the good news is that we all start at zero.
___
In the meantime, if you want to check out my life growing up in a cult
and how I was forced to get married, brainwashed, and escaped, my book is available on
Amazon. http://author.to/doorsofdeception
Posted on 05/15/2022 at 05:21 PM
