I’m following my dream, no matter what. Somehow, some way, I’m going to make it as a writer. That’s what I keep telling myself. And most days I have a lot of faith in my talent and my ability to make my dream come true. But some days….well, let’s just say that I lose my faith. When that happens, I obsess over whether I am on the right path. Several times over the past couple of months I have come very close to giving up my dream and just getting another job. But each time, something happens to prevent me from giving up. A couple of months ago I was feeling the pressure, when I received an email from my friend, Ron, telling me that he had just been diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. His unhappy news made me realize, once again, that life is short and I need to spend the remainder of it doing what I love.

Lately, I’ve felt myself sinking into a quagmire of doubt once again. Again I was rescued. This time my friend, Joan, emailed the following video to me. It features Paul Potts, a contestant in the Got Talent reality TV show, which is the British version of American Idol. When Potts, an unassuming cell phone salesman, strolled awkwardly onto the stage for his first audition and announced that he was going to sing opera, you could almost see to Simon Cowell and his fellow judges cringe. But just seconds after Potts opened his mouth, their raised eyebrows turned to looks of astonishment. The judges called his performance “magical” and one of them said it “gave her goose pimples.” Please take a moment to watch his video; you’ll be so glad you did!

Potts won the competition this past July and has since been performing all over the world, recording two albums, appearing on NBC’s Today Show, and best of all, performing for Her Majesty the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance ten days ago. As Paul Potts knows only too well, dreams can come true. He finally went after his and I’m going after mine.

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