For my 50th birthday, I bought myself a ticket to Greece.
I drafted a screenplay, joined a cohort of screenwriters and flew across the country to learn from some of the best.
I was looking for validation and, hell, maybe even a movie deal. Instead, I got a reality check about how hard it is to break into the business. How hard it is to adapt your own novel into a feature film.
And I think we all left those sessions feeling a little deflated.
But a funny thing happened along the way.
A new story emerged, new friendships were made and I walked away with a whole lot more information about movie making that for sure shaved years off of what would have been me wandering in the desert of ignorance.
You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.
I’d been immersed in my next book for the last 5 years, and while I had a few ideas percolating in my mind in the background, in addition to screen adaptations, I didn’t have a story that I was excited to commit to next. I found that in Greece.
The cool thing about all of this is: Right now, you do not know all the people who will make a difference in your life. You still have experiences ahead of you that you’re not even aware of right now, that have the power to change everything.
This moment, and everything in it, is not the sum total of what's possible for you.
Sometimes it can feel like we’re limited by our circumstances, by what’s happening around us, but the truth is…
Tomorrow you could meet someone who becomes instrumental in your journey.
Next week you could have an idea for a new book, business or passion project that takes you on a whole new adventure.
Next year your life could look very different, in the best ways possible.
I’m encouraged by the fact that a new story appeared out of thin air, that I had no inkling of whatsoever, and which has become my new obsession.
I’m grateful that I’ve found a whole new circle of friends that share similar passions, talents and aspirations to cheer each other on.
My birthday wish didn't come true. But I came home with gifts I never knew to wish for.
And maybe knowing this has been the greatest gift of all.
Of how limitless we all truly are.