Tag Archives: James Rollins

Share The Love

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Cover of "Jake Ransom and the Skull King'...

Cover of Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow

I’ve never written one of those ‘When I Grow Up…’ essays in school. I wouldn’t really know what I’d have said anyway if I did. A ballerina perhaps. I really enjoyed dancing, and I liked my tutus. Or, more likely, something practical, like a doctor.

But, since I’m thinking about it now, I’ve decided that when I grow up, I want to be like James Rollins. Not only is he a great author (his books will keep you up all night long), but also an inspirational speaker, and overall, really cool guy.

Until a few years ago, I’ve never really given much thought to my occupation because I kinda figured, ‘well, work is work, as long as I can pay my bills and fund my likes-to-travel lifestyle, I’ll be OK.’ I never seriously considered that writing and authoring books could be considered a viable “work goal.” It was always relegated to that strange, amorphous “wouldn’t it be nice” dream. Enter 2010, and the birth of this blog, and well, I realized dreams can become realities.

So why James Rollins, and not, say JK Rowling? Though Rowling’s rise to authorhood is inspiring indeed, I simply identify more with Rollins’s route. I’ve had the privilege of hearing James Rollins speak as the keynote speaker for this year’s DFW Writer’s Conference, and many of his life milestones resonated with me.

Even though he was a successful veterinarian, he still wanted to be an author. (And no, not the All Creature Great and Small, kind. More like the adventure-thriller kind.) He also thought that was a “wouldn’t it be nice…” goal until he got a wake up call from one of those motivational, live-the-life-you-dream kind of speakers. Rollins actually only listened to the first portion of that talk, but it was the most important part–write down your goals, and everyday, do something that will bring you one step closer to that goal.

Rollins wrote down his goal. Dedicated a portion of every day (even during a 12-14 hour work day) toward that goal. And with a little luck and a LOT of hard work and persistence (read: stubbornness), he became a best-selling author across multiple genres (aside from thrillers, he writes the Jake Ransom series for children, and he writes fantasy as James Clemens). Speaking of Jake Ransom…

Because James Rollins has become a role model for me, and because I think everyone needs a Rollins book in their personal library anyway, I’ll be giving away a signed copy of the first book of his children’s series, Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow to a random commenter who comments between now and next Monday, June 18, 11:59PM EST. Just let me know you’re interested and please leave your email!

This giveaway is now closed. Congrats DB Smyth! Random.org chose you! ^_^

So, now you know my new author role model, and kinda what I want to do with my life…what did YOU want to be when you grow up? Or, whose career path resonates with you the most?

Call Me Rock God

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I’m sure you’ve seen the “Rock God” iPhone commercial. If not, you can refresh your memory by clicking HERE.

I’ve loved that commercial ever since Apple launched it. It shows in simple digestible snippets how a dream becomes a reality. The boy doesn’t question his path. With smooth confidence, he buys a guitar, learns to play it, and eventually, rocks out with friends. And, he doesn’t wait for others to recognize that he’s a musician–he claims it for himself.

So, I’m under no illusion that he is far from sounding like a Rock God. But, I still watch the commercial and come away with the belief that yes, this boy creating this horrible racket, is indeed a musician. He is the Rock God he claims to be. Why? Because he lives his dream. Even before he had a guitar to call his own, let alone a band to play with, he had the Rock God mindset that drove him to find a guitar and learn how to play it.

I spent the weekend at DFW Writer’s Conference, and NYT bestselling author, James Rollins (the keynote speaker) shared the difference between getting published and not getting published: writing down his goal. 

After he wrote down his goal, he spent Every Single Day pursuing that goal. Even if it was a twenty-minute research session for his novel in progress or a full day of writing, every day was focused on making progress toward his goal. No one doubts that he is a successful author now, but I would argue that he thought of himself as an author before he was even published, before he found his agent. Probably the only thing that carried him through writing his first novel was the belief that he is an author.  A self-fulfilling prophecy, wouldn’t you say?

I attended several classes with James Rollins, and every time he spoke, I loved him more and more. I admired his ability to balance being a veterinarian (he can spay/neuter a cat in under 30 seconds!) and completing his novels.

(And, hearing about his journey inspired me to continue on my own. I’ll be hosting a giveaway of his children’s novel, Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow starting next week.)

I recognized some self-limiting beliefs this past week, and actually, this past month, that I need to change: mainly, that I can’t do this writing thing and should just give up, and I’m a fraud to call myself an author.

Thanks to James Rollins, I can claim that I’m an author. And, now I need to get to work! ;)

Any self-limiting beliefs you’ve been clinging to? Let them go! Tell me your “Call Me ___” or “I am ___” in the comments below! If you’d like, I can be an accountability buddy…I throw a mean badger if you stray from your path ;)

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