Off Schedule, But on Course

Because of the Weblog Awards, I got all thrown off track. By now, I would have posted a New Year’s post, remarking about my accomplishments and lessons learned in 2008, in addition to my intentions for the new year. I'm now behind schedule. But interestingly enough, I'm on course.

I decided that this would be the year that I stop talking about what I would like to do with my life. I planned to put action behind my intentions and make something, anything happen. I'm fed up with dreaming. Yeah, dreaming is good. But dreams are what they are, just a dream. It is not a physical manifestation of what is supposed to be accomplished in your life. It is a figment of your safely constructed, carefully controlled imagination.

In my dreams, I can start a business, but never fail. I can be in love, and never have to worry about the man of my dreams falling out of love with me. I can be 125 pounds, and never have to worry about trying to find $6K to have a tummy tuck. I can be a best selling author, without ever having to face rejection from a publishing house. I can be a PH.D, without ever having to stand before a committee to defend my dissertation. I can be rich, without ever having to work a day in my life. I could’ve even been the winner of the 2008 Weblog Awards, without having to worry about a ridiculously embarrassing loss. *wink* Hell, I can be anything in my imagination.

But in real life, I have to face my fears, face the possibility of failure, face the reality of hard work and disappointment, face the truth about my laziness and procrastination, face the embarrassing fact that I sometimes overeat, and face the many possibilities that a person may encounter when you begin an unfamiliar path towards living your dreams. .

And this year, I will…I must face all of the above. This year, I will leap out of my dreams and make my dreams apart of my reality. I will invest my money, my time, emotions, my energy, my spirituality, my faith, my essence into bringing forth what God intends for my life. I will demand that the atmosphere supports this calling by positioning myself around all those that can be of service to me and my development into the woman that I’ve been designed to be. I will disrobe myself from the cloak of fear, and rise with courage, apprehending all that I know is mine. I will soar above all that is beneath me, rather than drowning in the mediocrity that I have let decorate my life for so many years.

This year is the beginning of the rest of my life.

This year is the beginning of achievements that will blow my mind.

So, being selected as a finalist for the Weblog Awards didn’t get me off track. It put me on track. It exposed me to thousands. It connected me to people that I know will contribute to my long term success. It broadened my paradigm. It expanded my imagination, helping me to believe that I will…I have to be more than I am today.

**I don’t aspire to be more for personal glory. I aspire to be more to fulfill the call that has been placed on my life by my God. I aspire to live a life laced with purpose, shaped with destiny, and colored with God’s approval. And this year will be the beginning of that journey.**

Happy New Year to all of my readers! May God provide you with more than enough happiness, peace, satisfaction, love, success, and good health.

Blessings,
Angie Braden
Winner
(Because God says so!)