I Believe In Me

"I believe in ... me. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves “who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do... we were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."(Attributed to Nelson Mandela)

I was thinking about something that a friend of mine said as I was writing in my other blog. He basically told me that I'm a very good writer, but not using my social networks to their full advantage to promote my work. He asked me why none of his friends know about my blog, and told me that he and T should not be the only ones with access to my best stuff.

To be honest, he's right. I mean, I've publicized everyone else's work. I got a pic in one of my BP groups that is a testament to my promotional skills. It's of this fellow poet reading a book that I recommended.

Yet there are no pics of folks reading a book that I wrote, and I did write one.

Honestly, I was looking at my first book and realized that the reason I don't promote it more heavily is because I really don't like it. I mean, I'm a pretty good poet. That I know. Yet, some of the poems I put in there quite frankly, I don't like. I have half a mind to unpublish it, but I won't do that. Instead, I'll make the next one a better effort. I know that one day, I'll be very well known for my writing, and that first book will be worth more than the $10.00 it's selling for on the I-proclaim website.

In any event, I think that my few faithful current readers deserve to know what I'm up to these days.

• While I don't plan to make the other Soundtrack blog public again, I am going to use some of the themes--love, life, loss, moving on, etc.--in my first published novel. I had said I'd put out something else first, but decided to finish my love story--Banana Moon--instead. I will not publish this one with I-proclaim. What i will do instead is send it to a few better known companies and if it gets rejected, I'll probably trash it.
• I am working on several speculative fiction works, including one I wrote several years ago called Children of a Lesser Light. (That one is about a black vampire cult.) I am also working on one called Before the Beginning about the concept of soul ties.
• I will get back in the studio. Probably won't try doing rap again, but I will record some of my better poetry. And I'll let folks know when I do.

So, that's the game plan. I know that with my wild imagination, and natural talents, I will go far. Because I believe in me, I will stop hiding behind shyness and self doubt, and start behaving as though I know that I can succeed.