So, we're all following our dreams, right? Ronn & Heather have their retail drum business, Jef & Sharon are investing time and money in their real estate ventures, and I'm working my book deals. Everything preachy-keen. We're even widening our Tortuga spectrum. We own a few random non Tortuga-based businesses at various renaissance festivals around the country, and we've now begun work on yet another one.
All that being said - wow, I'm long winded - we're on our way for the second week of doing construction in the bayous of Louisiana. We're building a Dungeon Museum of Torture and Horror at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival down in Hammond, Louisiana.
"Ooh, adventurous," you say. "What entrepreneurs!" Don't deny it; I heard you.
Yes, we're all that, but we're also dog-tired.
 Driving through the rain from N. Carolina to Louisiana |
 My very own work belt |
 Getting dressed for work |
But, boy, is it a lot of work.
We're making three trips all told, and those don't include all the work our one-man construction crew Jamie Harvey already put into erecting the structure. Yes, he had help - from people like Dwarf, Aaron, Scooter, and even his brother Jon-Jon, but he remains our number one guy.
 Work coffee: an early morning 'must' |
 Scooter and Aaron |
 Working with Jon-Jon is always fun |
Basically, we closed up the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, then drove to set up and performed the Carolina Renaissance Festival, just north of Charlotte, North Carolina. We finished off the weekend, then drove straightaway to Louisiana - a 12-hour trip - leaving at 10:30 at night and arriving at approximately 11am Monday. We picked up what materials we needed, and then worked the day away until 7pm that evening.
We worked very hard that week. There were blisters, cuts and bruises, and other wear-and-tear wounds to show for our troubles. I suspect the same will be true for this week and the next. Next week is Halloween. Last year, we spent Halloween in the French Quarter, in New Orleans. It was a great time. On of my best Halloweens ever. But, even though we're oh-so very close to the Big Easy and all that fun, I'm not too sure we'll be taking the night off. There's just no time.
 Jef Hall: Master Stapler |
 Behold the Mud the Rain hath Wrought |
 Riki Robinson: Scaffold King |
Well, let me tell ya....
You've sat through my tirades and rants about believing in yourself and your dreams. Having the faith and/or belief system to affect your surroundings enough to create the reality you want to live into.
This month's journal entry is about what happens next. This is about the DO...the WORK.
Believing in yourself - that you can do it, that you can make all things possible - will take you a long way. Even much further than you may realize. But, as James is said to have written: "Faith without works is dead." (James 2:20 - see, I still remember my Sunday school. Okay, so I looked it up...on the Internet... okay, I Googled it. So sue me.) Once you've gotten all your life-effecting, dream-realizing, miracle-attracting ducks in a row, you've got to do the work. Without doing the Work, the rest is "... full of sound and fury; signifying nothing." (From William Shakespeare's Macbeth - I Googled that, too.) No The Secret, no What the Bleep Do We Know?! is gonna amount to anything if you're not willing to set your dreams in motion.
 Click for Video |
What I'm going on about is that we Tortugas have had a lot of good things come our way. But, let me tell ya, it has taken some blood, sweat, and tears. If you want anything in this life, first you've got to believe you can Be, Do, and/or Have it. Once you've accomplished that, you'll have most of it licked. What comes next? That's right; you've got to work for it.
Don't worry - you don't have to do everything all at once. You can begin by conceptualizing - seeing and believing in your ability to accomplish your dream. Next move on to educating yourself - finding out all you can about what you've visualized for yourself. Then it's time for the final step: taking action. And, again, don't do everything; just do something.
Baby step your way to whatever dream you have. Break it down into doable, bite-sized steps, and then take the very first one. Google dance studios for those salsa lessons... or classes for French lessons... or a vacation getaway. Just that first step. It doesn't mean you're suddenly all-or-nothing into it. You're just taking a step. Once you've done that, take another one.
Sometimes the big picture can overwhelm us. Things are much more manageable if we're only going one baby step at a time. Get it? Great! Step by step, you'll be closer to your dreams than you ever were. Isn't that better than sitting on your posterior, hoping you'll get around to your them 'someday'?
 Ronn holds court |
 Castle Tortuga |
 Blurry or just tired? You decide |
Ciao for now!
This month's "Riki's Suggested Reading:"  The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, and  Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
