Optimizing my Life, one Vocal Challenge at a Time.

Start writing... the monitor prompts, more like taunts me. Just start writing, Cat. Don't think too hard about the next sentence, or the one after that. Don't dwell too long on the sentence you're writing now or the past ones that have already been written. And for the love of God, please don't edit as you go! No matter how tempted, and you will be tempted, you've just got to let the words flow. There will be plenty of time for editing later, but right you've just got to put pen to paper. And write, girl, write!

I know you're already thinking about the mistakes you've made this far, and all the ones you will surely make in the paragraphs to come. You're probably even beginning to question whether you should continue at all. Knowing the mistakes you are surely bound to make. Knowing there are so many other writers out there far better than you. Knowing you may never win that first-place prize, or even second or third. And yet, knowing all of that, here you are... writing!

Two paragraphs down. 182 words on the page, 418 to go. I look at the clock; 4:18 pm. Could this be some kind of a sign? Are my dreams and reality beginning to align? Maybe there really is something to this just-do-it approach to writing.

There comes a time in every dreamer's life when you have to wake up and make a decision. Either leave your dreams to slumber - to fester in the dark recesses of your mind - or bring them into the light. When you wake, let your dreams wake with you. Mind you, this does not happen automatically or by accident. You have to make a conscious decision. State your intentions and make them known to the universe so the universe can hold you accountable for bringing them to fruition.

It's easy to give up on your dreams when no one knows about them. You've kept them locked up in dreamland for far too long. It's time to bring them to reality, for these were never meant to be dreams. Your dreams are potential futures; goals unachieved, talents untapped, realms unrealized, possibilities unmet. It is time now to say hello to your future.

"Hi, Future. It's nice to meet you. I'm Cat." I said to myself sarcastically. Then suddenly a tall dark man appears before me. He was dark as the midnight sky and his eyes sparkled like stars.

"Hello, Cat. I'm Future." He said with a deep voice and a thick English accent.

"What the-- where did you come from?"

"Why, the dark recesses of your mind of course. Thank you for letting me out, by the way. It is terribly chaotic in there."

"Tell me about it!" I replied.

"We've really got to do something about organizing your thoughts, but we can talk more about that later. First, let me stretch my limbs and then we can begin."

"Begin what?" I asked.

"Your destiny, of course!" Then he took ahold of my hand and poof, just like that we were gone.

"Holy crap, what just happened?" I asked, startled and amazed as I turned about in the empty white room trying to gain my bearings.

"I brought you to the Destiny Laboratory, where destiny is born. This is where we make your dreams come true."

"You're going to make my dreams come true?" I asked, still not entirely believing that this is really happening.

"No, you are going to make your dreams come true."

"If I had the power to make my dreams come true don't you think I would've done it already?"

"Well, you're certainly not making any dreams come true with that attitude. Making your dreams come true is all about believing that you can," he continued to explain. "You can't create something out of nothing. Everything starts with belief. Every dream made real, every future brought to life started with the belief that it could be done."

"Well, I believe that you are powerful enough to poof my dreams into reality so why don't you just do that? You're the one who wooshed us in here in the first place. You're basically like my fairy godmother."

"Excuse me? I believe you mean fairy godfather!" Future responded as he overcorrected his posture and puffed out his chest.

"I stand corrected," I replied. We both let out a quick chuckle. Then Future said to me, "If I could snap my fingers or wave some magic wand and make all your dreams come true I would do it in a heartbeat. But I'm not the one with the powers here, Cat."

"What are you talking about? I saw you use your powers when you poofed us into this room. You're The Future, for crying out loud."

"Correction, I'm your future. Who do you think created me? I'm nothing more than a collection of your thoughts, talents, hopes, and intentions. I am your potential personified. These powers are not mine, they're yours. It's always been you, Cat. No one else can make your dreams come true. Not even, I'm sorry to say, a dashing debonair fairy godfather." He put his hand on my shoulder. "You got this, Cat. You just have to believe in yourself, like I do."

"Okay, I can do this. I can do this. Okay. So, uh... how do I do this?"

"First," he said, "you've got to make your intentions know. Shout them out to the world. Speak them into existence. Tell the universe what you want and the universe will show you how to achieve it."

"Alright. Just tell the universe what I want. Here goes..." I close my eyes, take a deep breath in, and exhale my dreams into reality.

"I WANT TO BE A WRITER!" I exclaimed with fervent assertion, my voice echoing my truth back at me. Then the ground beneath me started to shake slightly and then giant words and pictures began to fall from above and assemble before me until they stopped and I recognized what I was looking at. "This is the Vocal Challenge board," I said, surprised.

"Interesting," Future remarked. "Apparently, whatever you need to make your dreams come true can be found here in the Vocal challenges."

"Hm. You know, that actually makes a lot of sense. I've always had a problem with motivating myself to write and that prize money from the Vocal challenges sure is a great motivator. Especially for a broke chick like me, living in this old van I can barely afford to keep running. That money could really change my life."

"Indeed, it could." Future agreed.

"Plus, I've always been a bit of a procrastinator so having a deadline would help to correct that bad habit." Future nodded his head in concurrence with my self-assessment. "Those are two very good reasons to be entering Vocal challenges. Can you think of any more?" He asked.

"Well, sure. There's also--"

"Hold that thought," Future interrupts. "Instead of telling me about all the ways Vocal challenges could help you optimize your life, why don't you write it down and then enter it in a Vocal challenge."

"Hey, that's a great idea!"

"Thank you. Although that does seem a bit self-flattering seeing as how I was literally created from your thoughts so every great idea of mine is really a great idea of yours."

"You don't say? Well then, Mr Smartypants, got any more great ideas in that brain of ours?" I asked, hands in my pockets.

"Oh, we've got plenty. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, Cat. Focus on the task at hand."

"You're right. Hey, that's another great reason to enter Vocal challenges, focusing on the task at hand."

"Ah ah ah!" Future stopped me with a tisk tisk of his pointer finger. "Not with your mouth. Do it with your hands."

"I don't think any man has ever said that to me before." I quipped.

"Really?" He said, sarcastically surprised. "I can't imagine why."

"Ya know, now that I'm thinking about it, with all the ways that Vocal can help my writing, it's kind of like Vocal is my fairy godmother. And all the challenges are like the elements she uses to bring dreams to life; the pumpkin turned carriage, mice turned to horses."

"Sounds like the makings of a great title." Future prompts me, tapping the page with his finger.

Vocal: The Literary Fairy Godmother

When I was a little girl I wished, as many little girls do, that one day a fairy godmother would come into my life and make all my dreams come true. And then I grew up and I realized that there are no fairy godmothers and the only way I was ever going to get my happily ever after was to go out and get it myself. That's it. No magic pumpkin to whisk me off to the ball. No dashing prince to rescue me from a life of poverty and loneliness. Nothing but myself and my own hard work. But oh, how hard it is sometimes to keep pressing on when it feels like no one cares. And the sounds of doubt keep creeping up in your mind. And words of self-loathing are keeping you behind. Preventing you from reaching heights you otherwise could climb.

Like a breeze, you could climb to the tops of your dreams like you climbed to the tops of the tallest pine trees. As a child, with ease, you flew up those trees. Never fearing the fall. You climbed up them all. And now it is time for a whole new climb. But have no fear for Vocal is here to guide you, my dear.

Enter, you must, these challenges three. This is the key to unlocking your destiny. The first challenge will be a battle against the villainous St. Valentine. Strike him down with a mighty playlist.

https://vocal.media/stories/love-is-not-a-rainbow

You won't win this challenge, but enter you must. For within this challenge you will gain a power that no amount of money can buy. The power of losing, of being rejected and feeling that sting of your dreams deflected. There's power in that pain, humility in the fall. As long as you get back up, dust yourself off, and grab the ball. Point pen to the paper and get ready for challenge two. There's a little black book and it's coming for you. It will haunt your daydreams and keep you up at night. But rest assured, this will help your dreams take flight.

https://vocal.media/stories/i-am-brookfire

Now, you won't win this one either. But trust me when I say, it does get easier.

Which brings us to challenge number three. And would you look at that, we're almost done. Yipee! A springtime challenge for a springtime baby. Just in time for your birthday, and a present from Vocal maybe? There's no telling yet who the challenge winner will be. But win or lose, I know now that the power lies within me. The power to motivate myself, put pen to paper and just start writing. The power to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new; write about something you've never written before and learn something you've never learned before. The power to enforce a deadline, forcing you to get it done. As Robert H Schuller once said, "Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly."

These powers are yours. It's all up to you. Now go get it, girl. Make your dreams come true!

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