Belletrinsic

I don’t think you realize how much you mean to me. Yes, I’m talking to you. If you’re reading this post, it means that you have found your way into my life and my efforts. It means you have offered me support, even if only by reading this message.

Less than a month ago, I had a crazy idea. It flashed through my head in a stunning way that made me wonder why I’d never considered it a possibility before. Open a bookstore. But not any bookstore. One especially for children and teens.

For years I’d daydreamed about owning my own store and stocking its shelves with the kinds of books I want to read (as well as others that weren’t my favorites but still fit in with my definition of good books). It had always been “someday.” Then the thought smacked me upside the head and let me shocked. Why? Why wait for “someday”? That “someday” will never come if I don’t do something about it.

So when I got home, I made a plan for how I was going to make it happen. That night I told a few members of my family and got them onboard. Then I began researching just what it would take to do this fool thing: A lot.

Within me, discouragement battles with confidence, and every few hours one declares triumph over the other. I’m realizing it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I’m planning to call for a ceasefire tomorrow. I need both of them on my side: confidence that I can do this and realistic expectations (discouragement when he’s in a better mood) to keep me from making incredibly stupid and costly mistakes.

And that brings me back to you. Yes, you. You are here, reading this message because, in some small way, you care about what I’m trying to do. You want me to succeed, and so you’re spending a moment to stop by, placing a gentle arm around my shoulders and telling me I can do this.

If this doesn’t turn out well—if I crash and burn spectacularly—please know that I am so grateful for this moment you’re giving me. I can’t begin to express how incredible it feels to know that people who don’t know me are rallying support for a little bookstore in Utah. You are offering hope in a cause that many might not think worth the time or effort. Literacy for children in Utah is nothing compared to the suffering in Haiti. Maybe what I’m doing doesn’t really matter.

But no. You are proving that people can open their hearts to all kinds of causes without making any of them less worthy. During the process of opening this store, I’ve realized that many people doing almost insignificant amounts of work can accomplish something spectacular. It’s not the amount of effort that counts; it’s the combination of multiple small acts that makes the difference.

I’m one woman and can only do so much. But with you, with your support and encouragement, and yes, even a tiny bit of your time and money, I can do something bigger than myself and something important. I won’t be saving the world from hate. I’m not finding the cure for cancer. I’m not eradicating starvation. But what I’m doing still matters.

If nothing else, I hope to prove that communities can work together to do something amazing. You are doing something amazing. And so I thank you. I pray that one day you may feel even a portion of the gratitude I have for you right now, before anything has been done. It doesn’t matter if I change the world. Now I know I could because of you.

I pray that you will realize you can do amazing, incredible, spectacular, gargantuan things by offering a little bit of yourself. And offering it again, to someone else. Then again.

Thank you.

Sports metaphors are widely used, and tonight I realized why. It takes a strong person to compete in such a public way with a huge risk of failure and embarrassment.

The first jump of his performance, U.S. figure skater Jeremy Abbott fell. He got up, kept skating, then fell again. I can’t imagine the discouragement he felt. On the Olympic stage, in from of the world, and his friends and family, and it seemed as though all he could do was fall.

But he kept going. Each time he fell, he got up and skated. As the performance continued, his confidence grew, and his skating became beautiful.

I imagine that, after the first two falls, he knew he wasn’t getting a medal. And so he got up and performed with all of his heart. The pressure was off, and so he skated like he did it just for himself to prove that he could do it.

I’ll avoid waxing eloquent, but I would like to say that I applaud his determination. There have been times when I’ve fallen, been knocked down, and maybe even dragged through the mud. But after each time I got up and kept skating.

The memorable lesson from Abbott’s performance is the improvement he made after those initial mistakes. He could have let those early falls shake his confidence. Instead, he used them to strengthen his resolve, and so he finished beautifully. He didn’t win gold, but that’s okay. He ended better than he had started and did something amazing in the process.

I hope I’ll remember that as I embark on new adventures. Some things may not work out the way I want and others may fail spectacularly, but I’ll learn from those mistakes, realize that I won’t win gold, but it’s okay. I will do something beautiful with my work so long as I

keep skating.

If you found your way here looking for the Fire Petal Books auction, you can hop on over to www.firepetalbooks.com/blog and see the amazing selection of items you can bid on.

You can also email info@firepetalbooks.com for more information.

See you there!

I’ve decided to embark on a new adventure, and it comes after years of semi-pondering the idea. I’m opening a bookstore.

Not just any bookstore, but one catering to children and teens. We’ll sell books, yes, but we’ll also sell community, support, and education. My plan is to create a place where conversations happen, whether through book clubs, story time, or a chat upon the couch. There will be classes on to show adults how to write for teens and children—but more importantly, classes where teens and children learn how to write.

I’m posting a widget here that will show how the worldwide reading and writing communities are supporting the idea financially. If you haven’t heard of Kickstarter.com before, I recommend visiting their website to see the incredible things people are doing to improve their corner of the world, and then support them as well.

If you’d like to receive updates on the project’s progress, I’ll be posting to the updates page on Kickstarter as well as the Fire Petal Books blog (http://www.firepetalbooks.com/blog), twitter account (@firepetalbooks), and Facebook page.