The King's Road is out today. I actually did it. And now I'm trying to put into words what that feels like.
Surreal, certainly. While I write about the Gods travelling on an unknown journey, I'm going on my own. There is a lot you can plan for, and plenty you only discover when you get there. Today is one of those moments where I can stop, look at what I've made, and be proud of it.
The people I once knew are now a mix of support and avoidance. It makes you think about who was there in the beginning and what matters now. You notice the people who take an interest, who ask how it's going, who want to see you succeed. I appreciate that. When you're putting so much of yourself into something, that support matters.
But I also have to look at myself. My own choices. What am I actually doing to get where I say I want to go?
We come back to this in our TV series practice sessions every two weeks. It doesn't matter what the individual is doing in isolation. It matters what the scene is doing. You have to understand what your character brings to it, how they affect the people around them, and why they're making those choices. You have to justify that character.
Then take that outside the rehearsal. What about your own character? Your own choices in life? Everything is symbiotic. What we do affects the people around us, and what they do affects us. You can't build something with people and forget that they're part of it.
Excuse me for holding up the mirror, but someone recently said they wished they could write a book or run their own business. Who is stopping you? What decisions could you make that would put you on the road you want to be on?
Have you done enough research to understand that road? Do you know what it will cost, what you'll need to learn, or what the first step actually is? Wanting something is a beginning. At some point, you have to do something with it. Ask the questions. Find out what you don't know. Give yourself somewhere to start.
I'm still finding things out myself. Apparently, one of my first free copies is going to the Copyright Office. Who knew? I've submitted the registration application, and once my books arrive, I'll send the required physical copy. The copyright already exists; registration is an additional step, not me buying ownership of my own words. So yes, they get a free book and I get to pay the postage. Who said being an author wasn't glamorous?
There are plenty of things that could make me think twice. Costs, setbacks, the practical business of getting everything done. I've had sickness, injury, pain and struggle along the way. I'm not going to pretend those things disappear because a book is out.
But you know what I can say now? I actually did it. I kept going, and there is a book that somebody else can pick up and read. That matters to me. I wanted to show myself what I could do, and today I have something real to show for it.
Be proud of what you can achieve. Life is not a competition. Someone else's progress doesn't make yours any less worthwhile. You don't have to be doing what I'm doing. Find what matters to you and take it seriously enough to give it a chance.
It's not the pursuit of happiness. It's the happiness of finding that pursuit.
Think about your first steps as a toddler, taking you somewhere you couldn't get to before. Your first words getting you what you asked for. We begin by discovering what we're capable of, and there is still more to discover. More than we sometimes see staring back at us in the mirror.
Stay proud and keep pushing on. This book launch is the best joyride yet, and I have only just begun.