Dreamcatcher

There are many challenges on every road to success.

And regardless of whether or not my journey ends in success or not, I was completely aware, from the start, that I would encounter roadblocks.

Before I quit my job a month ago, I made sure that I was set up to achieve success in my endeavor. I made up my mind to pursue entertainment as a career, started taking classes to hone my skills, hired an agent to help me book gigs and, after saving money for years, I set aside money to be able to live and work toward my goal of success without have a day job.

As I stated earlier, I was aware that wrenches would be thrown into the cog that would be my road, but in my mind I was sure that the biggest wrench would be my own attitude and willingness to continue forward after rejection. In the entertainment industry, especially television and movies, there is a lot of rejection. In more cases than not, rejection occurs – and I thought that, if anything, the rejection would be a lot for me to handle, but also knew that it was inevitable and it would not deter me from achieving success.

In other words, I was pretty confident that my biggest challenge would be me. I had all the logistics covered.

Then life started happening.

I started to feel downtrodden after I had to spend money on a vehicle, mechanical repairs, home repairs after a crazy incident in the kitchen that flooded my hallway, and several other issues.

I spent more than $12,000 in a month span.

But cooler heads prevail. I remained calm, spent the necessary funds to repair damages, and stayed positive through it all.

I started grinding. I bore down and started working to make money. I booked a couple of commercials, some photoshoots (as a model and behind the camera as a photographer), auditioned for other spots and shows, sold my wrecked car, and got home owner’s insurance to cover the house damage.

So, in my own mind, as aforementioned, the only thing that would stop me was myself – surely money would be no issue for at least another 8-12 months – that’s how I had set myself up.

But I also had in the back of my mind that the only thing that could actually slow me down would be a lack of funds – I simply wouldn’t be able to live without a day job if I didn’t have the funds to do so.

Then yesterday.

Yesterday as I was tearing up floors in my office/small bedroom, I noticed something that could detrimental to my cashflow. The concrete was soaked.

After a few calls, I found out I have a slow leak underneath the concrete slab of my home – a serious issue that could cost several thousand dollars to repair. If I have to pay as much money as is possible in this situation, I could be broke by the end of the month.

I’ve always been the type of person to take my licks as they come and keep moving forward, including right now. I feel like I’m in the right mindset; not ready to throw in the towel on my dreams, but I can’t help but to wonder what will happen in the coming days and weeks, and if I’ll be forced to get a day job or work harder to book more gigs to make money.

The point of this whole story is simply this: When you’re chasing your dreams, there will inevitably be plenty of opportunities to quit. There will come times when you think the best option is to veer from the path you’re foraging.

But I think that if you’re going to catch that dream you’re chasing, do everything you can to stay on the path. Do all you know to do in order to continue putting one foot in front of the other.

This may sound strange coming from the guy who just quit his job – but don’t quit.

When it comes to your dreams; the path you desire to take … don’t quit.