Someone once said to me, “Don’t you wish you had accomplished more with your life?” I was 30 at the time, a stay-at-home mom doing some music ministry on the side, pouring my heart and soul into raising three kids. Mind you, this person was a man, a man who was working his way up the corporate ladder, trying to make it big in life. He’d been to college and had sacrificed time with his family for overtime at work. He was a manager. And when he looked at me, all he seemed to see was the mom I was, and nothing more.

I was doing my best to raise my kids well. I cooked, cleaned, disciplined, mentored and taught life lessons to them. I was also their chauffeur, housekeeper, manager of schedules, the coordinator of social events and doctor’s appointments. I wore many hats, but most of what I did was behind the scenes. I got behind these kids and did my best for them.

Now, when time and opportunity arose, I got behind some other people and helped them towards their aspirations as well. In church, I later became a deaconess, a music minister and the church librarian. It felt good to be a part of something, helping the church to grow. A little later yet, I became the praise and worship leader at a different church and the secretary/treasurer of the local chapter of a Canadian charity. Although I was volunteering my time in these positions, I was getting behind the vision of each of these entities to further their causes. Still, I felt this other person didn’t see these as accomplishments at all. No pay meant no real value to my contributions, apparently. About this time, I decided to quit allowing others to weigh in on my life without my permission. Because if they couldn’t say something nice or uplifting, why should they have my time and attention? Honestly, some of us can really use to lovingly put the toxic ones in our lives out to the fringes. Life can be challenging enough at times and we don’t need the naysayers trying to dim the light inside us.

When you start believing in yourself, there truly is no limit to what you can accomplish. When I turfed the naysayers out to the curb, and listened to myself and those who were my staunchest cheerleaders, life certainly turned around. It did not happen overnight; it came in baby steps over quite a few years. I went back to school at 38. I was then a single mother to my kids, and I went to college at night to earn a trade certificate, as an honours student. In my 40’s, I wanted to cultivate my love of writing, and started a blog in order to have a daily writing practice. With the blog, I also stuck out a steep learning curve and now know how to design and maintain websites. Though under pseudonyms, I have written and self-published 5 books. Then, when a chance encounter brought me to another soul with a dream of publishing, my publishing business was born. My love of art and learning new artistic techniques grew into Indigo Bohemian Art Studio and the website where I showcase and sell my art. And more recently, I challenged my fear of public speaking and being on camera to develop my YouTube art channel. It’s only been a couple of months, but it’s growing! And lastly, in the last 18 months, I have converted to a ketogenic diet and was able to lose nearly 100 lbs. I have my health and vigor back, with more energy to do the things I want to do. I once thought of myself as a huge failure, thanks to the negativity I allowed in my life. But I am proof that you can reframe your journey, believe in yourself, set goals and ultimately achieve them. You can do the hard things, the scary things, if you just dig deep and try. Are you ready to fan the fire in your heart?

I know that to some, that last paragraph might have come across as a wee bit self-promoting, and maybe it was, but I hope you can see what I’m trying to get across to you, dear reader. I once lived well below my potential and then, I was involved in actively building other people’s dreams and visions. These days, I’m striving to push the limits of what is possible for me. Well Dawn, just who do you think YOU are? Honestly, I am no one special in the grand scheme of the universe. I’m just Dawn, a woman who, in middle age, decided that life could be so more than what it was. And if you have dreams and visions of what your life could possibly be, what are you waiting for? You can accomplish most anything if you can get your head in the game! For some of us, that might mean starting with just finding a place of acceptance for ourselves, within ourselves. Take baby steps if that is all you can manage. Just keep moving forward with it. It doesn’t matter where you’re starting in life, high or low, young or old, if you have a dream, set it in motion. My only regret is that I didn’t start sooner. But I am trying to make the best and the most of what time I have left!

And to the one who had said, “Don’t you wish you had accomplished more with your life?” Here are a few lines from one of my favourite Toby Keith songs.

“How do you like me now,
Now that I’m on my way?”

Oh, that seems just a little petty, doesn’t it? Oh my!

Sorry, not sorry. *grins*

Dear reader, don’t misunderstand, I have worked hard to get to this place that I now enjoy and part of my mission in life is to inspire and encourage others to be all they want to be. So this isn’t a solo journey; I’m trying to blaze a trail so others might also find the way to successfully living their dreams, whatever they may be ♥