It’s my honest opinion that we all want to leave our mark on this world. Some of us may not recognize this urge, but we all want to change something, to alter things, to create something that will last longer than us. Even if it is a scar. Yes, there are plenty out there who just want to inflict pain, because that’s the only thing they can do. Or the only thing they think they can do.
You know that saying, “In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king?” Well, in this world, we’re all blind. We want what we want and we fight as fiercely as we can to get it, in the process hurting those around us. People we love, people we care about. Sometimes we feel that life isn’t fair. Guess what. It never is.
You have to realize that there are forces that you can’t control, objects that collide, outcomes you can’t predict. And this might seem overwhelming, and the instinct is to give up. Give up on your dreams, on your expectations, on your crazy, crazy plans.
Yes, you can take small, small steps, always making sure you’re not stepping on something, always trying to avoid everything that gets in the way. But what happens when you’re afraid to take even a single step? When you freeze, when the sun rising marks a new day you’ve already given up on? Then you have to take a leap. You have to jump, hoping there’s someone to catch you. If there’s no one, then you’re going to fall. But every fall makes you stronger, gets you closer to achieving your goal.
When I self-published my first book, it didn’t sell. I gave up on writing for a few months. I said to myself that I’m not good enough. I didn’t know what to do. Honestly, I didn’t. I thought blogging was to difficult, and I didn’t have money to pay for ads. Lastly, I wasn’t sure my writing was good enough. I knew I had something to say, I’ve always known that, but I wasn’t sure if I had the tools that were required.
So I gave up. And I didn’t pursue another career. I just stopped. I spent those few months dreaming about a day when I’ll become the writer that I’ve always wanted to be. I didn’t write. I barely read. I watched soccer on TV and Britain’s Got Talent on Youtube.
And then I began writing again. All of a sudden. I woke up one night, a good idea scratching its way out of my skull, and began writing. Just like that.
The more I wrote, the better writer I became.
But everything changed when I discovered Wattpad. I found a bunch of people who enjoyed my writing. Fans. And I felt like the best writer on this side of the planet. Every time I wrote, I tried to write at the best of my capability, simply because I knew I had an audience. I knew people were reading.
To an artist, an audience is extremely important.
And then I decided to self-publish. I chose one of my short stories, Remember. I edited, I made a cover, I did the interior formatting. I made a blog. This blog. I thought, this time it’s going to work. Even if the entire world tries to stop me, this time it’s going to work.
I decided to be relentless. No matter what, I would wake up in the morning, stare out the window for a few minutes, and then write. Even if all I got were one star reviews, I would write. Even if no one read my blog posts, I would write.
My first month, I sold 3 copies of Remember. I earned $1.05. And I kept on writing, just like I promised.
I’m not going to lie. At times I would feel angry and resentful, because there were all these writers earning thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, each month, and here I was, working my ass off for less than the price of a bus ticket.
But I didn’t give up. And I’m not going to, no matter what.
Changing the world. Big words. And they seem so far away, a vague concept we can’t grasp simply because we forget that we all change the world. For better or worse, forever or just for a few years, we all leave something behind. Building a legacy is what makes man worthy of being the dominant species on this planet.
We don’t make more of us for the sake of being more of us, we do it because we want to educate our kids, to see them become the type of people who would be remembered.
That’s the thing with dreams. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they’re all equally important. Don’t discard your dream, don’t be fearful to travel on uncharted roads just because people say it’s impossible.
Right now, as we speak, I want to make irevuo into one of the greatest platforms for promoting young artists. Simply put, my dream is to make other dreams come true. Yeah, I know, I know, it’s a cheesy line, but I want this. It’s my dream, my crazy, crazy dream.
Because life isn’t fair, because sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can’t change the world. Our dreams never come true, not because we pursue our dream, but because the world didn’t allow it to come true.
I’m not going to stop. Never. I’ll do my best to promote aspiring artists from around the world.
That’s why irevuo is now accepting submissions. Well, not quite submissions. They’re more like recommendations. Any kind of artists… painters, sculptures, singers, writers, graphic designers, etc.
You can send a recommendation at contact at irevuo dot com, but please include a website/blog link where we can see some of that person’s artwork.
The catch is that you can’t recommend yourself.
***
Our dream is to make irevuo one of the best art/culture websites on the planet. Also, we want to grow a large enough audience, so our promotional efforts can actually have an impact.
You can make our dream come true here.
You can also follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook. Or you can do both.
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I can't wait for Irevuo to be ready. There's a short story or two I might send to you guys.
By the way, I noticed you said that you created a cover for your short story "Remember." I didn't know you could do that. I might try that if I decide to self-publish one of my short stories.
Beautiful thoughts from a beautiful mind.
"type of people who would be remembered"
Great, great post! Thank you for writing about your failures and frustration. About how you weren't an overnight success. How there aren't rainbows and butterflies floating around your computer when you sit down to blog. Thank you for being honest.
I've been writing consistently for about 5 years now and blogging for a portion of that. I'm still figuring out what my "dream" is because I want it to be mine, not a carbon copy of someone I admire.
So thank you for doing what you do because someone other than you is going to be better off because of it.
I don't want to change the world – unless I can make it better. But few of the changes I see, except technical innovations, make the world better. Most seem to make it worse. So better leave well alone, than create a new problem.
Your words have inspired me. I, too felt like giving up. Now, I'm going to open a Word document and get busy writing. Thank you!
Looking forward to what you have done to the website. Hoping I can make a few posts there and start making an impression. Good luck! Willing to help when able.
Wow I love how you stand in reality and still find a whole to climb through to attain your dreams!
Very inspirational. Your words encourage me to keep writing, I love your dream, it sounds fantastic.
Great inspiring reminders. Good stuff. Look forward to seeing how it all develops!
And we might not be the ones who change the world but at least we can inspire the ones who can !
Beautifully written and so inspiring. I agree with you that we all want to leave our mark in the world in some way or another. And sometimes all it takes is one more day of trying, one more day of not giving up, one more day of putting yourself "out there" to make a difference. I love the word you use to describe it: "relentless". Often times I feel restless when something isn't happening even after I keep on trying time after time. But I think instead I'm going to change "restless" into "relentless" and keep on trying. I'd rather die trying than live my life never knowing if I truly gave it my all.
Thanks for this!
I absolutely adore this post!
Excellent – as my wife is so fond of reminding me – Genius is sustained passion. Congratulations on getting irevuo up and running so quickly.
All the best with it.
So true – we are so much more capable of greatness than we realise – keep spreading the word!
I feel like this is a really inspiring thing. Thank you for doing this
You are an inspiring person!
If not for the same reasons, I really needed to read these words. Thank you Cristian.
Christian, I agree that as artists we want an audience, although as a writer and former radio interviewer, I prefer to be 'behind the scenes.' Still, I admit I like an audience for my writing. I'm so glad you didn't give up, because it proves you are not only writing, but you are A Writer. We write because we must. And if we can make a living at it, how fantastic is that!? Good luck!
Thanks for sharing your story! It's an inspiration. I can very much relate.
Inspiring as always Cristian! Great stuff!
Inspiring. As always.
Thanks Cristian.
Have a beautiful day.
I know exactly what you mean….
Every time I read your posts, I feel a little more motivated to keep writing, even if it seems stupid and impossible at times. You are definitely helping people accomplish their dreams, just by writing here on your blog. I can't wait to see how irevuo changes the world too!
You're truly inspiring. God bless you, Cristian!
I always carry away a great deal of motivation and knowledge from your posts. I have wanted to "write" for a long time and your voice is encouraging me to "Just do it". I support your dream of irevuo with great enthusiasm. But I have one question. When you write about promoting and supporting young artists, what is your definition of "young"? I hope you mean young in experience and not just young in age! I have every reason to believe that your dream will become a reality. Blessings.
We learn everything we are through failure. The first great achievement being WALKING. No one of us just got up and started walking, no, everyone fell at least a few times.
Nowadays "belief" that failure is wrong, is the worlds' biggest handicap. There's nothing wrong to attempt to reach perfection but failure is inevitable, failure is GOOD. Failure makes us better.
I love your idea and definitely have a few people that I am going to submit to you.
Have a great time.
Great initiative! :) I am also currently working on developing an online space for sharing everything related to volunteering. Since there is no money, I have decided to make it on my own, so learning website development from friends :)
Cheers,
ashima
if we can´t learn to have compassion on others from the bad times we go through, then we have missed the point of our own life´s experience. may God bless your dreams…
Awesome post and an awesome idea, too!
It's all about making decisions. Confidence vs. Fear. Thank goodness for those moments that, at our lowest lows, impel us forward as if by some force of fate or intuition and allow us to recognize our potential!
Kudos and Congratulations to you for all of your determination, both in personal persuits and with irevuo!!
Very good! Well now, we all wish to change the world…People may say that people who wish to change the world are crazy, but those "crazy" people the ones who really change the world, don't you think?
For starters you write beautifully. Second your words touch the heart and are simple and inspiring. Your dream will come true!!!
Superbly said! Glad you continued writing – you're posts are always interesting. And I hope you're crazy crazy dreams all come true!
You, my friend, are making a difference. Dreamshave already been given life through your posts. Can't even begin to measure how many people will be blessed by irevuo, but know that the world will be a better place because of your efforts. From one struggling writer to one who has found the way. Thank you.
True and very inspiring… We all seem to fall into that "hole" of nothingness from time to time… it's good to know that once we make it out, thinks will improve if we work for it and believe in ourselves! :D
Dreams deferred stink like rotting meat, or so I've been told. This is (another) awesome post, thanks for the continued inspiration.
You are inspiring!
Cristian, thank you for your encouragement.
Reblogged this on Norryn Gloria and commented:
wow! i like ds!
Reblogged this on well yeah, check out my blog!! and commented:
Help make this dream come true…
Thanks for inspiring me to never give up!
I'm getting inspired.
Thank You for this amazing post! You're a true inspiration!
Reblogged this on Adventures Above the Aether and commented:
I don't know about 'We all' but Christian and I certainly do.