New year, new beginnings

“If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick up one of those pieces and begin again.”  ~Flavia Weed

A new year is often a time when people start thinking about changing their lives for the better. Fortunately for us, any time is a good time for a fresh start, and dreams don’t have deadlines. A new beginning opens up so many possibilities, as we embark on things we’ve never tried before. People do reinvent themselves, and for many different reasons. Sometimes it can be because of what is often called by those who wish they had the nerve to do the same, a ‘midlife crisis’. The re-inventors however, prefer the term, ‘finding themselves’, but George Bernard Shaw once said,  “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” Many people have been brave enough to take that leap of faith into something entirely new and have found that it was the best thing they ever did. There are many examples of  people who did just that.

For example:

Bestselling author John Grisham was a criminal lawyer, before he decided to take up writing full time, and becoming one of the world’s most successful authors.

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UK BAFTA winning comedian/actress/writer, Jo Brand, who has been listed as one of the funniest acts in British comedy started her career as a psychiatric nurse.

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Actor/comedian/director/producer, Danny DeVito began his working life as a hairdresser in his sister’s beauty salon.

Harrison Ford worked for fifteen years as a carpenter stagehand, before being offered an uncredited role as a bellhop in ‘Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round’ (1966), and then a huge one in ‘Star Wars’. The rest is history.🙂

Singer/songwriter, Ray LaMontagne, worked 65 hour weeks at a shoe factory in Maine, until he one day decided to teach himself to play acoustic guitar, and at 30 years old, he quit his day job and went into music full time.

Life is short, and we only get one crack at it, so if it’s a new beginning you want, why not do some careful research, plan your strategy and then just go for it? Who knows, you could be the next Richard Branson, who in spite of suffering from dyslexia, and having a very poor academic record at school, is now a billionaire and the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom. Some of his ventures didn’t work out, and he has lost more money than most people could dream of making in their entire lifetime, but he has never given up. It is his daring and willingness to give things a go that has seen him succeed, and he’s always come back stronger than ever. He’s such an inspiration, and reminds me of that 1930’s song,

Nothing’s impossible I have found,
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off,
Start All over again.

I found a few quotes to encourage us as we start out on this new year. :

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth… not going all the way, and not starting. ~ Buddha

Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. ~Alan Cohen

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.  ~ J. B. Priestly

Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose – not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember. ~ Anne Sullivan

You don’t need endless time and perfect conditions. Do it now. Do it today. Do it for twenty minutes and watch your heart start beating. ~ Barbara Sher

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Don’t wait for something big to occur. Start where you are, with what you have, and that will always lead you into something greater.  ~Mary Manin Morrissey

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. –Maria Robinson

Wishing you all a very happy, prosperous and fulfilling year.