Give it your best shot and see what happens
I used to work in the medical field selling operating room equipment. Now I’m a writer working on my third book.
I always liked writing but I didn’t ever think I would be published. The fact that a publisher thought it was good enough to publish surprised me. I thought, ‘This could be a long term career since publishers like it.’
What made you decide to finally realize your lifelong dream?
Having had a brain bleed when I was 21 prompted me to write a book. It was about the bleeding brain college student and the trauma he faced. Because I went through it, I knew a lot about hospitals and how they work. Publishers like that type of information.
The manuscript was sent to 30 publishers. Two or three got back to me. I decided that was the route I was going to go despite what anyone else thought.
What were the specific obstacles that you faced?
The main obstacle was that I had to write. I had to come up with a lot of words. It’s easy to tell a story in 1500 words, but 30,000 is definitely an obstacle.
To have someone else envision what you are trying to say is more of a challenge than what I thought it would be. One-on-one is easy. But trying to write for a broader group of people so that they would understand is challenging.
My family was used to a medical manufacturer’s income. Now we were relying on residuals and needing upfront money. I walked away from a salary and health benefits. But I now have the freedom to come and go as I wanted. The family had to adjust to a lot of uncertainty. I was not sure if I was going to get published at all. I knew it was something I wanted to do but I didn’t pay attention to the reality.
Were there people who tried to discourage you?
Yes, my former colleagues in the medical field. ‘Are you crazy? You have a good career here, why do you want to change careers?’ My family questioned why, since I had a good job, a nice house, nice cars and things were going well, I wanted to make a drastic career change with so much uncertainty. I lost friends and contacts.
How did you feel when you finally accomplished your lifelong dream?
It was great. It was so invigorating. It’s the kind of thing that I knew was a career path for me. I was not relying on anyone else. It was all on me now. I was able to put it in writing and hear what I had to say. I was in control. It was a great feeling to know I was not going to get laid off or fired.
What advice would you give to others contemplating finally living their dream?
Follow your dreams. If you have the opportunity to do something, do it. Otherwise it will pass you by and you will say, what if.
You have small windows in which to do the things you want to do. Forty is not that old. Sixty or 70 is older. You may not be healthy enough to reap the benefits of what you want.
Anyone who desires to do something regardless of their age should do it. There’s always going to be a reason not to do something. Give it your best shot and see what happens.
To learn more about Andrew S. Bloom and his books, Click here.
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