So, I wrote a book!
It feels weird but absolutely exhilarating to finally say that “I AM AN AUTHOR!”
I say this with absolute humility but with a profound sense of pride and accomplishment. This has been long in waiting and those who are closest to me know that this has been a labour of love and a journey of fear.
Though this book is just being published, it has been LONG completed. So what prevented me from publishing?
FEAR!!!!
My fear was not about my competence. I have been blogging for almost a decade now and had even won a Jamaica Blog Award in the category of Best Lifestyle Blog. So, what was this fear that completely paralyzed me and kept me sitting on this dream that I had to turn my lemons into something that is sweet and adds value to others? The truth is I feared telling my truth. Truth can be daunting. And, sometimes offensive. Truth makes you vulnerable. I feared baring the not so glamorous side of my life – being naked and vulnerable. I feared that people may use the details about my life to judge me.
I began to rationalize my fears. “Who would want to buy a book from me anyway?” “I do not have the money to publish.”
The thing is, on the other side of our fear, everything that we desire is waiting to manifest in our lives. It simply takes putting one foot in front of the other.
That picture on the back of my book tells the story of how long I allowed fear to keep me from pursuing my dream of publishing. It tells the story of how one, who comes across as self assured and brilliant is still tethered to his own human frailties and personal insecurities.I look different today. I have hair and a much leaner look.
I used the older pic because I wanted to encourage someone whose dream has been delayed (perhaps because of their own fears) that is not not been that the dream has been deferred or denied. In the fullness of time it will happen. There is an old Jamaican saying that “What a fi yuh, cyaan un-fi yuh!” Believe that!But I also want the picture to serve as a mild rebuke that sometimes, we are the ones who stand in the way of accomplishing all that we ever dreamed of.
I won’t tell you to get over your fears because you never really do. It is human to feel scared and to have all those anxieties. What I will encourage you with, though, it that when you feel scared, DO IT ANYWAY!!!
You may order my new book HERE
Damien is a community development strategist, educator, WASH Specialist, facilitator and speaker with a passion for marginalized communities (geographic or social locations). He is now an AUTHOR.
You may follow Damien on:
INSTAGRAM: @damienmwilliams
TWITTER: @damienmwilliams
FACEBOOK: Damien Marcus Williams
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