A Little Goes a Long Way

There are few things better in my book than the daydream. Being able to zone out for a moment (or sometimes longer) to picture yourself where you might not be able to without a little imagination. Sometimes my daydreams are about jobs I'd love to be in or things I want to achieve or, probably a little more sadly, about things I might buy for myself or others when I get the wealth that comes along with the things I want to achieve. (Hello Louboutins). Sometimes it's just a few moments to let my mind wander to what my book characters would be doing or saying or dreaming about themselves.

But one thing that helps make those daydreams that much sweeter is the possibility that they'll come true. Maybe I'll finish the book and people will love it. And it'll get published and I'll feel the glow of authorship. Maybe I will get a pair of Louboutins without my Midwestern guilt kicking in when I think of how many regular pairs of shoes I could buy with the same amount of money.

The one thing that makes a daydream better is hope. Isn't amazing how a little hope, the thought that life doesn't always have to be the way it is OR that life can be just the way it is for a while longer, can carry you through so much? And I don't necessarily mean the type of hope that carries religious connotations, but just regular, secular hope. The realization that things can change at any moment. That there are very few things that can't be achieved if you don't give up.

When I think of this, I think of a story Chef told me recently when I was lacking some hope. It was about Alan Rickman (aka Severus Snape). Rickman had a successful graphic design business that he sold to make a go at acting. He was doing fairly well in theater productions in London and got great acclaim for a role in a production called  Les Liaisons Dangereuses. The play was a huge hit and lots of the actors got to reprise their roles in the Hollywood version. Except for Rickman. When Dangerous Liaisons came out as a movie, his role was given to John Malkovich. BUT the work got him noticed and eventually landed him his break out role in Die Hard. He "broke out" at 42, after 10 years of hard work.  


And that's why I am determined not to give up hope. Because my daydreams might not come to fruition for a long time. Maybe never, but whose to say that what I can imagine is even as good as what'll end up happening. Just have to hope....and work really hard.