Tag Archive for: Author

OLYMPICS TEACH DESIRE, PASSION, LOVE

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Have you been watching? If not, I’m gonna challenge you to ask yourself: why not? And you can’t say, “because I’m not into sports.” Doesn’t everyone want desire, passion, and love in their lives in some way? I’m still talking about the Olympics here, folks.

DESIRE

You don’t have to be an athlete to appreciate raw ambition and sheer determination. When we turn on the Olympics, we turn on tremendous reminders of what hard work, commitment, and focus can produce. Ultimately, it’s an athlete’s desire to excel and the strength of their hearts that compel us to keep watching, rather than merely their sports. Consider the first ever refugee team, just for a moment with an open mind. Their personal stories are mind-boggling.

Sure. Go ahead. Try to argue that such global inclusiveness isn’t realistic. How do you think the Olympics have persisted over millennia? After all, why else would we allow over 6700 hours of TV programming into our homes and workplaces? We all have desires. The Olympics prove this.


PASSION

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, 31, the most decorated Olympian ever, used the word “passion” in a recent “Today” show interview. “I had to find the passion myself again … I (did) and I had fun.”

Another U.S. swimming gold medalist, Dara Torres, 33, also spoke to my personal spirit when she said, “Never put an age limit on your dreams.”

While U.S. beach volleyball gold medalist, Kerri Walsh, 38, added “Passion is a huge prerequisite to winning. It makes you willing to jump through hoops … to reach your goal.”

“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit … The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” Wilma Rudolph overcame serious childhood physical disabilities to take U.S. track and field gold in 1956 and 1960.

Finally: “I think the way to become the best is to just have fun.” –Shaun White, 30, gold medalist in snowboarding.

Who said WE couldn’t tap into our unimaginable accomplishments? The Olympics show us how.Olympic rings:black background

LOVE

Everybody knows that to even make it to the Olympics is a remarkable accomplishment. However, for those disinterested in athletics, you’re missing out on a bigger picture. You see, when you look beyond the surface of sports, there’s something more remarkable going on in Rio.

Love someone or something in your life deeply? You’re thus glimpsing athletes’ bravery, positive attitude, and dedication. Like hard-core gamers deeply involved with the intricacies of their platform, musical recording artists seeking perfection in their sounds, and authors who strive for the “right” words to tell their stories, all started with love.

Love? Yes. Plain and simple. Love of their pursuits, love of excellence, perhaps just love of competition or love of escape. Whatever the reason, we each possess the ability to love big. Consider the powerful love of 10,000 Olympic athletes in this time of global chaos and confusion. Doing nothing is automatic defeat.

WRAP-UP

The Olympics spur viewers to stop seeking excuses and to start seeking empowering possibilities instead. As Ayn Rand wrote in The Fountainhead, “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” Usually, when we’re completely honest with ourselves, we know the answer to this question: we greet them every day in the mirror.

(WARNING: SHAMELESS SELF-PROMO ALERT) G.A.S.P. books Since the last Olympics, I published my first book in a trilogy (I’m over 50), and book 2’s rough draft is nearly complete. (See RJillMaxwell.com) I’ve found my passion again, regardless of my age, rolled with the challenges, hung onto my dreams … AND I’m still having fun.

In conclusion, watch the Olympics. Love yourself. Imagine your possibilities.

The Backstory: G.A.S.P. The Author’s Side

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G.A.S.P. !! Did you ever get up in the middle of the night because of:

• a bad dream
• a strange visual
• or your spouse wanting something? (wink)

Well, that’s what happened to me with G.A.S.P. ’s main story line, only the story kept nudging and pushing me like a pesky kid needing attention all night AND all day. So, I kept writing scenes and ideas down, because I felt compelled to remember them … haunted by them really … and hadn’t a clue yet as to why!

Meanwhile, you’ve heard the saying, “When the student is ready, the teacher will come,” right (or some similar version)? ( http://fakebuddhaquotes.com/when-the-student-is-ready-the-teacher-will-appear/ ) At the same time the nightmares, dreams, and daydreaming were taking up my mental bandwidth, I was grappling with my life’s purpose P.C. (Post-Children). Raising children and starting a business with my husband has been extremely time-consuming, so it’s no surprise that it took me years to figure out my life’s next chapters. (Thank the Universe for my coaches and friends!) With my background in journalism, it was time to embrace my writing and to include people in it, thus empowering them with words through stories. When I finally woke up, this story started to make sense and wouldn’t leave me alone! In fact, the entire trilogy is about transitions, control and love. But what inspired me specifically about this trilogy?

Real life! Writers tend to write:

• what interests them
• what they know
• or about events and/or experiences that have touched them.

All events, plots, and twists, in this trilogy are fictional; so are all the characters, who are compilations of any two to five people I actually know! The very realistic dialogue came from conversations I’ve been privy to, overheard, had, or imagined that these characters would have had. G.A.S.P. ’s characters allowed me to share their self-talk (or internal thinking), so readers witness and are drawn into their personal conflicts as they questioned themselves and their life choices.

We all do this daily, but we rarely speak openly of our own needs and internal storms, which usually erupt when forced through trauma … often when it’s too late. Can you relate to this? “Who can’t?” You ask yourself. I know for many years I struggled with how to be there for my family as mom/wife, yet simultaneously needed as new business owner/partner/operator. Still, I was a human being (not a human doing) first. Tricky on many levels.

With all of that being said, we, humans, must learn to own our choices. I finally did when I embraced writing things other than business letters and high school sports’ updates. I hope you enjoy the evolution of this fascinating journey of writing with me.

 

jill maxwell