A man walking through
a valley hears a thundering roar. He stops in his tracks. A giant boulder
tumbles to the ground before him, blocking his path between the narrow mountain
pass. He must get to the village beyond; it’s his destination. He cannot turn back;
days of travel lay behind him and he has limited supplies.
Does the man yell?
Shout? Roar in callous anger at the fallen rock? Would it do any good to yell
at the rock? No. He must find a way over the boulder. He takes one step
forward, and another, digging his fingers into the crusty earth, plotting
footholds up, up, and over that wall. As he jumps down the final steps beyond
the boulder, he looks back. His arms tremble with power, he slaps his gritty
palms together vigorously. The wind coursing through his lungs inundates his
hearty chest. He overcame the rock, and he continues on his way toward home.
Are you battling
fallen rocks? Are you stuck? Are you struggling with hard things happening and
you don’t know what to do about them? Ownership, owning your decisions and
experiences in the light of adversity, offers the foothold over the boulder.
You cannot control outcomes, others, or the falling rocks. You just have to
deal with those falling rocks. Those monsters. Those dragons. Those feelings of
inadequacy or unimportance. You can control your decisions and how you act. You
can choose to search for footholds rather than yell at the rock. Instead of
complaining about the rock, instead of shouting angry words at the shadows, you
can instead move forward with gratitude, thankful for the rock and all it
teaches you.
See, those monsters,
those shadows, those obstacles, they teach you who your soul craves to be. They
show you just where you need to go. Did the man need to get home? Yes. But did
he need an opportunity to see how strong he could be? Yes, even more, in fact.
More than the final destination is the journey along the way. This life you’ve
got, it’s pretty brilliant. It’s filled with moments where you can choose to be
the hero. When you embrace the challenge, when you act with purpose, when you
stay the course, that’s when you fully realize life itself. “Everything you
have ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear” (George Addair). In facing your fears, you shine the light on
the shadows of what you truly need to do on this planet.
I found this myself
after receiving a horrible review on one of my books. If you have ever made
anything, you understand the risks involved of letting all your inside hopes
and dreams be smashed to bits by an unhappy audience. Well. I’ve always been
competitive and a high achiever. I go big. I do my best. It’s all on the line.
Also, if you’ve ever created anything, you know that your first attempt at
something isn’t what you will eventually be able to do. I wrote a trilogy of
young adult novels and I love them with all I have. I did my best. Apparently,
not everyone agrees. That’s okay. That’s life, folks. That’s art. Well. As I
read this horrible review, and allthefeelings overcame me, my husband straight
up said, “If you can’t take the bad reviews, then you might as well give up
now.” I took a long walk that night under the starry sky. First of all, even
though my heart sank, my feet didn’t. My heart didn’t stop beating. In fact,
the next morning, waking up to the cleared out cobwebs of loss and horror, and
realizing everything I believed about myself had changed….I found a blissful
freedom. As if the shades had lifted. As if the sun shone, no matter what. See,
the Son does shine no matter what. I’ve been put on this planet for a reason.
I’m not always sure what it is, but he gave me these stories to share to
encourage people. He gave me stories so I can learn to tell better stories. If
that means taking some hard hits, then bring them on. I took an objective look at
my writing, at my weaknesses where I could improve, at my strengths, and where
I needed to dig in and sharpen the tools and my ability to use them. Meeting
failure head-on made me reach higher. Every hero faces that in his plotline. Do
you want to be the hero? Then get ready for some falling rocks. Brace for
impact. And aren’t we excited for it?
The good news? You’re
stronger than you know, and you discover it when the rocks fall before you.
You’re braver than you know, and you unsheathe it when the dragons rear back
their heads. You’re much more capable than you know, and you sharpen it when
the hammer drops.
Every challenge,
where you find yourself complaining or blaming, offers you the opportunity to
become the best version of you. Greet those dragons with a brief nod, then rage
onward—with kindness, courage, grit, and hope. Yes, you can.
HERE
BE DRAGONS
The
conqueror acts. He plans. He plans backup plans.
And
he beats the war drums.
Just
like those voices demanded, I dug into the sand and the mud,
and
readied for battle.
My
lead, my call, my terms. My war cadence. My dragons.
****
HERE BE
DRAGONS
Alliance
Military Guard sent the order. Sergeant Tucker Thompson acquiesced. Hopping a
plane to his long-lost Australian birthplace, he's been charged with his
toughest mission yet. Thompson must rally his company of soldiers to prevent a
new generation of weaponry from breaching the world's borders.
Pound the war drums. Rattle the cages. Here be Dragons.
AUTHOR
BIO
Fierce yet
sparkly, I help seekers find brave new worlds. The goal is magic, the medium is
ink, and the fuel is coffee. And sometimes pizza. I teach English on the
university level when I'm not dancing around the living room with my family,
lifting heavy at the gym, traveling the planet, or binging superhero shows.
The
INSURRECTION trilogy, HERE BE DRAGONS, and non-fiction inspirational IGNITE
roll out perilous motives, twisty plots, and daring protagonists. Grab some
real estate and your copy of my latest adventure, and follow along at
KadeeCarder.com.
****
FUN FACT NUMBER ONE:
Here Be Dragons
is a standalone novel, but it does follow my Insurrection trilogy. We see a few
characters we met on those luxurious Caribbean beaches. Tucker was the romantic
interest from the trilogy. After writing the trilogy, I felt like readers needed
to know Tucker more, and he had to complete this assignment. Might as well follow
along! No need to have read the trilogy; this book records its own wild
adventure!
FUN FACT NUMBER TWO:
PRE-ORDER GIFT WITH PURCHASE! 10 FREE WORKOUTS!
With over ten years of experience specializing in
metabolic conditioning, and as the official trainer of the Alliance Military
Guard, Fit By Faith© owner Krista Johnson has created ten workouts to get you
in gear and ready to crush life. Utilizing a variety of whole-body
strengthening techniques, your FREE WORKOUTS will be just what you needed to
start your new year off the right way. Each of the ten workouts can be
completed at home or in a gym, and takes approximately thirty minutes or less.
Submit your pre-order receipt to KadeeCarder.com/HereBeDragons
and receive your own Alliance Military Guard Training Guide containing TWO
WEEKS worth of exercises, guaranteed to get you in battle-ready shape to train
as a Guardsman.
This gift with purchase will ONLY be available on
pre-orders! Offer expires January 1st, 2018 at 11:59 PM Central
time. Remember to submit your purchase receipt to the link above, otherwise I
will not know you have purchased. And you NEED THIS GUIDE! Hoo-rah!
Purchase here be dragons on kindle unlimited for
only $4.99:
(here be dragons releases January 2, 2018)
Visit
http://www.kadeecarder.com for inspiration,
radio interviews, gift certificates, freebie codes, and more!
Let’s connect on
social media!
Website: kadeecarder.com
Instagram: kadeecarderink
Twitter: @kadeecarderink
And please feel free to subscribe for encouraging
blogs! Kadeecarder.com
I’m
giving away a free, empowering e-book
to those who subscribe to my email list
at kadeecarder.com. Titled IGNITE,
the 60-page book offers a serving of inspiration, a dash of hope, and a cup of
grace to help you get kickin’ on those challenging tasks you’ve got to do!
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