Goals: Can't Make 'Em if You Don't Try

I have goals in life. I mean, don't we all? But I have lofty goals. I have many goals I haven't reached and I've been 29 for a few years now! I'm not getting any younger! (Or older, if I have my way.)

So I thought I would share some of my goals with you. Accountability and all, right? And I realized I can't achieve my goals if I don't try. I will fail if I don't even make the effort.

Here are my life goals. All of them. Some I have achieved, and they are crossed off. But way too many are sitting idle without my doing much about it. Ready? Here we go.

Family:

1. Become a mother
2. Adopt a child
3. Foster children who are aging out of the system
4. Be the "cool house" where kids feel comfortable hanging out and talking to me
5. Raise children to not be homicidal maniacs and/or criminals
6. Raise children to love the Lord
7. See children married off so they're their spouses' problem

Career:

1. Write a book
2. Write more than one book
3. Attend a literary conference
4. Have a sit down with a publisher even if they don't pick me up
5. Be sure a publisher picks me up
6. Hold/own a hard copy of each of my published books
7. DJ my own radio show
8. Become a public speaker and encourager 
9. Get paid to write and/or talk

Faith:

1. Realize I don't have it all together
2. Realize nobody has it all together
3. Pray more, gossip less
4. Show my faith to everyone around me
5. Give my friends a hand up when needed
6. Serve my community and church more
7. Help my husband be the leader of our home
8. Help my children grow in their faith and love

So these are my goals. Some are a little more lofty than others. Some are fairly simplistic.  Many I can't accomplish at this point yet (no arranged marriages for the kiddos, thank you). But many I can. I can attend a writer's conference. I can work on becoming a DJ or public speaker. And of course I can always pray more.

Help me stay accountable, okay? Thanks!

Rejection...

Part of trying to find an agent and get published it sending out query letters. I thought surely I was the only person who loathed trying to sell yourself and describe your 75,000-word piece in two paragraphs. then I learned all writers hate query letters. At least I'm not alone.

I send queries to two agents a few weeks ago. I got a rejection letter today from one of them.

Oddly enough, I smiled. A rejection still means I put myself out there. I still tried. And I'll never make it as an author if I don't try, right?

I hope the other query I send gets a different kind of letter back. That agent required a LOT more in a query than just the basic letter. And more detail hopefully = a better chance of getting picked up.

One day that rejection will be acceptance. And it will be worth all the rejections letters in the world!