How to Jump Off of Cliffs

I've been writing for most of my life. I have stories in my head that must come out. At twenty, I knew I wanted to write for a living, but I didn't know how to do it. My writing was, frankly, just awful. It took ten years of treading other paths, enduring pain, falling in love, and educating myself before I finally had everything it takes to sit down and write a decent story.  

In October 2010, I left a go-nowhere job in private security to step up and take the plunge: I had decided to become a professional fiction writer. The decision was very difficult for me. I knew that, even if I succeeded, it would be years before I started making real money. I was afraid to tell my family that I wanted to stop working full-time in order to pursue my dream; when I bit the bullet and announced my intentions, they surprised me by backing me whole-heartedly (the general consensus was "it's about time!").  

I sat down and started writing. I read books about writing. I read and re-read some of the best contemporary fiction. I studied and honed my craft even as I plied it. I found people who could help me get my work into the right hands. I submitted my work to over one hundred literary journals and magazines. I taught myself to enjoy rejection.

When the first acceptance came, it surprised the hell out of me. I  was completely unprepared for it. When the story was published, I went to the website and looked at it every day. I still visit it from time to time. It still thrills me. My dream is beginning to come true.

But this story isn't about my dream. It's about yours.   

The things we dream about seem so unattainable because they entail risk; usually a daunting amount of risk, which threatens the comfort and stability of our lives. We have responsibilities. All of us are beholden at least to ourselves, many to lovers, spouses, children, aging parents, etc. Chasing those dreams and confronting that big bad risk puts all of the people to whom we are beholden at that same risk. We are adults, to a given value of adulthood, and we have become so by learning to play it safe and only take small risks. We have been taught that it is okay to go up to the edge of the cliff and look over, but that we must never, ever jump, because only bad things happen to people who jump off of cliffs.

If you have a serious dream, follow it. Don't stand at the edge of the cliff and look over, get a running start and leap. I know it's frightening. I know you could be risking a lot. I know it hurts when you hit bottom. It takes balls to do it, big brass ones, but there just aren't enough people chasing dreams these days. We need more.      

       Here is the Benson Method for Achieving Your Dreams:  

       1) The Running Start: get your life in order. Save up a little money. If you're beholden to anyone but yourself, make sure everyone knows you're going to jump and that they support your decision, or at least understand it.  

       2) The Leap: give it everything you've got. Here's a tip: it won't be enough.  

       3) The Landing: it hurts. Nobody flies the first time. Nobody. Pick yourself up and go back to the top of the cliff.  

       Repeat steps 1-3 indefinitely, learning from every experience you have and every mistake you make and every other dreamer out there falling alongside you, and you will eventually achieve...  

       4) Success: congrats, you flew for about five seconds. Keep jumping.  

       This may sound hokey, but I'm totally serious. Dreams are made real by desire, dedication, and perseverance. I am writing this post while taking a break from stuffing copies of yet another story into envelopes. Will it be rejected, or will somebody publish it? Will I fly again, or land in a crumpled heap? Don't know. Don't care. Leap again. As Joseph Heller wrote: Jump!*

*those who don't get the punchline need to read the book Catch-22; those who have read it must read it again. It is one of the most astounding pieces of literature ever set to page.