The Pursuit of a Dream

September 5, 2012 at 5:26 PM

As musicians and artists, inspiration is our fuel and desire is our drive. The smallest spark of imagination can ignite the composition of an epic orchestral suite, the painting of a priceless work of art, the creation of a time-defying marble sculpture…or just the writing of a simple encouraging blog.

After posting The Price of a Dream, I was overwhelmed by all of the caring positive comments from those who read it and felt its impact. Certainly there are many young folks out there that are in need of assistance in one way or another. And certainly many of them have dreams they would like to fulfill. But when one of these stories personally enters into your life, like it did mine, something changes. The little Ebenezer that exists in all of us seems to shrink ever smaller and the goodness of the human spirit begins to shine.

It is said that people usually have two reasons for doing a thing, one that sounds good and the real one. Truth be told, I also had two reasons for providing Savannah with the violin she so greatly desired but couldn’t afford. After hearing her story, I was compelled to help fulfill a young girl’s dream. When something as impactful as this is placed directly into your hands, there seems to be only one inherent choice to make.

But the real reason for my small act of kindness goes a bit deeper. You see, in recent times I have been repeatedly discouraged by the unaccountability of people not doing what they promised to do. I have been taken advantage of by individuals and companies to whom I entrusted my money & time. I have seen the corruption of major establishments at the highest level. And I have felt that much of the kindness I have previously given has been shunned and brushed aside.

I am ashamed to say that I was beginning to lose my faith in people.

So when this opportunity to help a troubled young lady was dropped into my lap, I had a choice – give up on trying to help people or give it one last shot. If you read my original blog post, you already know that I chose the latter. I am not a quitter. And I don’t give up.

I wanted to believe in the power of the human spirit again. I wanted to show a young girl that she was not forgotten by the world. I wanted to prove to myself that one small act of kindness could really, truly make a difference in another person’s life. I wanted to get MY hope back!

And all of you at violinist.com as well as others that have graciously shared my blog post with friends, family, and colleagues have shown me the best side of what it means to be human! In just the few short weeks after my story was posted, positive comments with tears of joy and inspiration have poured in. I have had requests to reprint my short story in school newsletters. I have had offers to send unused violin sheet music to Savannah. And most graciously, there is a plan underway by the music directors of the Eastern Music Festival to aid Savannah in her enrollment to attend the five-week summer music program in Greensboro, NC that hosts aspiring young musicians from around the world! Truly and humbly, my dwindling flame of hope has been rekindled!

But I am a big thinker, and when inspiration hits me I must utilize it to its fullest extent. So this holiday weekend, I spent a majority of my time learning and researching how to create a e-book, as this is something I had never done before. I compared the differences between online publishers, I blasted through a ninety-something page styling guide for formatting, I designed my own book cover, I worked and reworked my synopses…until finally my first e-book, The Price Of A Dream, was born! There are still some small tweaks to make, sure, but it is ready for the world and debuted on violinist.com!

The Price Of A Dream is essentially a reformatted version of my original blog post. I am charging 99 cents for the short story and I have made the first 50% of the book free to download. It is available in nearly all major reading formats. And the best part, a large portion of the proceeds will go directly to helping the advancement of Savannah’s music career as she pursues her dream of becoming a professional violinist!

Of course, the original story will always be free on violinist.com and it is encouraged to be shared, as no one reserves the right to corner the market on hope. But the e-book will serve to directly help improve Savannah’s financial struggles, and it can be shared far and wide to reach the greatest audience, regardless of whether they are musicians or not. If you find it in your heart as the right thing for you to do, please read and share!

Thank you for all of the wonderful support and encouragement! The music community is so much like an extended family.

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The Pursuit of a Dream

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