Thursday, as I drove back from Nashville, I listened to an interview on the Dave Ramsey Show between Dave and best-selling Christian author Frank Peretti. With over 15 million of his Christian novels in print, Frank has become a publishing phenomenon in the Christian fiction community. I can honestly say that I have never read any of his work, but I really don’t need to in order to appreciate this author’s own personal story. Frank explained that while writing his first novel, he worked long days in a ski factory.
His desire to complete his first book was so great, that he would spend time writing on weekends and weeknights as often as he could. Finally, after five years, he completed his first novel, This Present Darkness, in 1988. His next step was getting it published, but this was a difficult process because most publishers would not give his book a second look. Christian fiction didn’t have a big market at the time, so most saw his book as too big of a financial risk. Frank finally discovered a small publishing company willing to take a chance on his work, and the rest is history. Initial sales were pretty slow for the book but after several months, enthusiasm through word of mouth catapulted it into one of the hottest Christian books on the market. In fact, This Present Darkness and its sequel Piercing the Darkness have sold well over 3.5 million.
Frank Peretti’s story is a great example of following your true passions in life. There’s a quote that says “Do what you truly love in life and the money will eventually follow”. Yes, money may not come right away, but if you stick with it, eventually you can make a living doing it. Frank followed his passion in his spare time, and probably had no idea that he would one day become a millionaire doing what he truly loves! The beauty is that all of us have a passion much like Frank, whether it’s writing, art, music, carpentry, landscaping, or just helping others in some form. The question is “what are you doing today that will make those passions a reality down the road?”
We have all daydreamed a time or two at work about what we would really love to be doing. Why not begin doing something today to make that dream a reality? If you have always wanted to run your own business, why not start it in your spare time? If you want to change career fields, invest extra time in additional education if needed. Make the most of those extra hours working towards your goals.
Life is too short not to be fun. Our best work usually takes place when we truly enjoy it. Spend time this week, thinking about something that you would gladly do even if you were paid absolutely nothing. Then create a plan to turn it into reality.
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