The truth does not change based on your ability to accept it.
I do my best to live life in a way that I am aware of what I do, while also trying not to chase things that are outside of my control.
Here are some of those truths that help me stay in control of my life.
Alexander the Great. Even though he lived on this Earth for only 33 years, some 2,300 years ago, we have yet to forget his name and legendary battles.
During his short life, nothing stopped him. Nothing. Huge armies with elephants, impregnable fortresses, vast distances over mountains and rivers and deserts, hunger, thirst, the sea itself, the uttermost extremes of physical hardship and war. His body was littered with scars; everywhere that is, except his back. That’s because the world’s greatest commander never retreated, and he never lost a battle.
Most of his portraits, sculptures, and coins reflect a kind of upward gaze as if he were staring into the very heavens, yearning for something unreachable.
He dedicated his life to the struggle against insurmountable odds. And he became great because he surmounted them all.
“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” ― Winston S. Churchill
For those of you who don’t know much about me: my name is Cristian Mihai, I am 27 years old, live in Constanta, Romania, and I have been writing for over fourteen years. Also, I do enjoy long walks (on the beach or not) and I have been blogging for more than six years.
But how did I become a writer? How did I decide to be one? What steps did I take? What happened along the way? Why didn’t I quit? What made me keep on keeping on when all hope seemed to be lost? Continue reading
Disclaimer: this is going to be a long and (somewhat) harsh post about certain realities of life most of us are trying to evade by all means possible.
I am not writing this post out of empathy. I am not writing this post because I read some articles and now I am trying to pass along the knowledge.
I am writing this article because I understand.
I understand the difference between the burning pain of suffering deeply and the general apathy and hopelessness of depression. The emptiness. The lack of interest, joy, passion. I understand the despair, the loneliness, the reluctance to discuss about it all, the very fatiguing job of hiding it all behind a smile, or an “I’m fine” delivered in the worst way possible. Continue reading
Five years. Five years of daily blogging. Five years since I decided to never give up, no matter what. To keep writing, to keep blogging, to just keep at it for as long as it took.
And what a ride it has been. Around the world, indeed. 200 or so countries. Lots and lots of people, lots and lots of stories… Continue reading
So, all the spots for this month have been sold, but…
Now you can purchase reblogs for August.
$59.99 instead of the usual $99.99.
But, wait, it gets better.
You also get a sponsored post for this price as a BONUS!
This means more exposure to over 137, 000 readers.
Only five spots for Augudt. That’s it.
Also, if you purchase 2 reblogs you only pay $49.99 per reblog. Oh, and you get two sponsored posts as bonus as well!
Oh, and… yeah…
Purchase all five spots and you only pay $29.99 per reblog, and also receive five sponsored posts.
If you have a blog post you are proud of and would like it to be read by over 137 thousand people, now it’s your chance.
What are reblogs?
Well..
I’d call them trailers for blog posts.
Let’s say you write a blog post. So, I choose a short snippet of that post (usually the first lines) then add a link to your post. I put this on my blog.
This way, over 135, 000 people get to see this short preview. Those who want to read more, click on the link and go to your blog.
It’s a way to gain exposure.
“Cristian Mihai’s reblogging of each chapter of my novel Redwood Summer onto his site allowed me to reach a wider audience of new readers that I would not have found otherwise. Thank you!” – Robert Kirkendall
We were having our last lunch together a week ago in Malaga when he suddenly said:
“I don’t know why I’m so … Ambitious. What we have right now should be enough for a comfortable and pleasant life, but I just want more.”
It’s actually a good thing that Juan has ambitions as I lack them for the most part. It’s him who is making sure I will perform better by talking about how we can have a better life in the future . And it’s him who was telling me for weeks to start this blog, and also all the times reminding me to write more. I really need that push.
We have been talking about what we want for the future, and for the most part, we got our plan ready.
It’s got nothing to do with olive trees, but with real estate. A five holiday rental studios…
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“The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” — Steven Furtick
One of the sad truths of today is that technology consumes us. It’s not just about the time, but how we use that time.
Social media, for instance, provides us with both an escape and a way of searching for a certain kind of validation from others.
We want the approval and admiration of others and we edit our lives to appear better than they really are.
Continue reading
”I completely fell in love with Cristian Mihai’s beautiful way of writing. His main character, Chris Sommers, is an embodiment of realism. His persona was much attune to what some of us feel about ambition, love, and the realization of heartbreaking disappointment. I felt a connection to him in a much deeper level than I’ve ever known. Mihai’s writing style just reaches out to you, captures you – without letting go for a moment. It’s also very personal that you just can’t help but love the main protagonist. There were times where it pained me to stop reading because I wanted to note down my favorite quotes from the novel because it was just that amazingly brilliant.” – E.S. praise for Jazz.
Fourteen years of writing. Six years of Amazon releases. A lot of time and effort. Experimenting with style, technique, and storylines. This is what this e-book bundle is all about.
An e-book bundle containing my five major releases. And something special. At a special price.
Jazz – Read reviews on Goodreads here.
My first novel, an unrequited love story. Classic. I set out to write Jazz, owning nothing more than a few scattered images and the desire to write about Paris. I built my beautiful and mysterious woman, my young and naïve writer, and all the other characters in my story. And brick after brick I built my melancholic city.
Sometimes the characters let me in without complaining too much. I was allowed into their world the minute I punched the first keys. But other times it wasn’t like that. Other times I had to work hard to get in; I had to struggle to leave the real world behind.
”This book was very unexpected. It made me think about what is means to be a writer, what the process of creation means not only to the creator but to those who are affected by what has been written. Much of what Mihai says here will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to put words on paper.” – Cynthia Dumarin, praise for The Writer.
The Writer – Read reviews on Goodreads here.
The Writer is a novel about a guy, Jonathan Fisher. It’s a first person account of how he became a writer.
The Writer is also what some people might call Literary Fiction. With a touch of Magical Realism.
The Writer is Metafiction, meaning that it’s a novel about a writer writing a story.
The Writer is a frame-story. Jonathan Fisher somehow decides, on a mostly random basis, that he wants to read a story to the audience. Well, it’s not precisely the audience, because Jonathan Fisher is actually addressing a certain someone. Anyway, he still insists on reading from his short story collection.
And then there’s this guy, Jonathan Fisher. There’s something broken about him. He’s just an observer. That’s what makes him so frightening. He’s the kind of guy who’ll walk right past a woman getting mugged. He never intervenes. He’s happy to be a shadow. I know there are far worse people (and fictional characters) out there, but…
Dream City and Other Stories – Read reviews on Goodreads here.
A magnificent painting, a few memories in a notebook, a letter to his son. Paul is dying, and he wants one thing and one thing only: he wants to feel he’s in control. He doesn’t feel free anymore, just because a disease is eating away his life, so every morning when he wakes up he puts a gun to his temple and closes his eyes.
Like he says, “True freedom comes from the realization that you can kill yourself at any time.”
2:22 AM – Read reviews on Goodreads here.
“Where have you been all my life?” you once asked her. You stared her in the eyes and smiled and she smiled back, a bit scared by what you just said.
You told her that you’d like to hold her hand.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I could conquer the world… if only you’d hold my hand.”
She lay down her cup. She put it to the side of the table, then moved the ashtray next to it. Then she did the same with your cup. She put her hand on the table, palm up. And she said, “You’re brave, you know? To think that you can conquer the world with just one hand.”
2:22 AM is a short novel written from the perspective of two people who break up. They don’t want to, but it happens. The days go by, they both struggling to find comfort in the fact that the other one is never coming back.
”I was drawn in after reading the first page. Being a “hopeless” romantic I could empathize with both characters but I felt a connection with “him”. The authors description of loneliness, excitement, regret and pain is so intense, I became emotional while reading. It is gripping, honest and touching. Beautiful story…” – Melanie Lawson, praise for 2:22 AM.
closer is the story of a man who is so seduced by the desire to get rich that he becomes involved in a world where anything is permitted. His journey to the top is interrupted by the consequences of his past actions. Things become darker, more violent and more sexually disturbing than he could ever have imagined as he tries to break himself free from his past.
Deft, shocking and unforgettable, this gripping tale about risk, consequence and the treacherous balance between the two reveals a world where there’s nothing to separate right from wrong.
And a bonus. The Best of Cristian Mihai(2012-2017). Essays and blog posts. On art, life, love…
This e-book bundle is available for only $19.99 $9.99 on my e-store here.
Are you an artist? A creative? A writer, poet, photographer?
Do you want to expand your reach?
It’s as simple as purchasing an advertising option from us.
You get a showcase with your best artworks, and an interview/artist statement.
Also, links to your blog and social media platforms will be included in the promotional post.
Have you written a book? A review would be the best option then.
The deal is simple.
A new type of advertising being offered.
If you want me to review your book, now it’s your chance.
The price is $49.99, discounted from $99.99 for this month only.
If you wish to be interviewed by me, about your blog, art, creative endeavors, now it’s your chance.
If you want to showcase visual art you have created, now it’s your chance.
Quite simple.
Here’s the thing. I’m what you’d call an independent writer. No one selling out to some big media corporation.
I write stuff. You read it. It’s that simple.
Now, I’m very grateful to be able to do this. But it’s not an accident. I’m not some rich guy with nothing better to do than read books and write articles. My father never bought me a Ferrari.
All I have is you. My readers. People who love what I do enough that they’re willing to help me keep being able to do it.
There’s no middle man here. I write stuff you like (or hate) and then I say, “Uhh, hey, mind giving me enough money so I don’t starve to death?” And then amazing people like you do. Because you rock. And you’d like to see more of this type of content. So you think to yourself, “Hey, maybe this guy Cristian deserves a good meal,” and then you give me enough money to go buy a cheeseburger.
That’s how it works, and that’s how it should work.
So if you’ve ever liked or shared an article of mine, if you’ve ever read something and thought, “Man, that’s amazing!” If something I’ve written has ever added an ounce of value to your life, do consider throwing me a few bucks.
That’s all it is. A few bucks to feed Cristian and help Cristian write more stuff. It allows me to keep doing what I love doing. And it keeps things simple. No middle man. No bullshit. Just me doing my thing and you reading and (hopefully) liking it.
So, just use the (not so) shiny donate button below and thank you so much for allowing me to do this.
The so-called ‘psychotically depressed’ person who tries to kill herself doesn’t do so out of quote ‘hopelessness’ or any abstract conviction that life’s assets and debits do not square. And surely not because death seems suddenly appealing. The person in whom Its invisible agony reaches a certain unendurable level will kill herself the same way a trapped person will eventually jump from the window of a burning high-rise. Make no mistake about people who leap from burning windows. Their terror of falling from a great height is still just as great as it would be for you or me standing speculatively at the same window just checking out the view; i.e. the fear of falling remains a constant. The variable here is the other terror, the fire’s flames: when the flames get close enough, falling to death becomes the slightly less terrible of two terrors. It’s not desiring the fall; it’s terror of the flames. And yet nobody down on the sidewalk, looking up and yelling ‘Don’t!’ and ‘Hang on!’, can understand the jump. Not really. You’d have to have personally been trapped and felt flames to really understand a terror way beyond falling. – David Foster Wallace
Written by someone who ended up hanging himself, I think he knew what he was talking about.
Deciding to end one’s life needs quite a lot of contemplating on the subject. And, truth of the matter, we could debate the accuracy of such a description and all aspects of depression and suicide until the end of time, without arriving at a certain conclusion.
Maybe it’s got to do with emotional resilience. Maybe it’s got to do with neurological damage, with hormones and stuff. Continue reading
