A few years ago I was living in a rented apartment but wasn\u2019t happy about it. A single mother, I was almost finished raising four kids on only my salary with no child support. It was just me and my youngest daughter, 17 years old. My other two daughters, one married and the other in college had moved on. My son was in the Marine Corps. I had no savings.<\/p>\n
One day I noticed that a few blocks from where I worked new condos were being built. Once they were finished I went over to see what they looked like. They were beautiful with custom kitchen cabinets, a living room fireplace, a separate dining room, a wet bar and upstairs two bedrooms. The master bedroom had a mirrored closet door and a balcony overlooking the waterway below that swirled through the apartment buildings complete with ducks and a swan. I loved it. I wanted it. I introduced myself to the salesman. A friendly person myself, I soon knew a lot about this man. He had been John Wayne\u2019s personal pilot and regaled me with stories of the \u201cDuke\u201d. Everyday after work I went over to the new condos. I chose which model I wanted and walked through it picturing where my baby grand piano would go, which pictures I would hang over the fireplace and in the dining room. I closed my eyes and imagined everything I owned in its place, the color of carpet I wanted, the color of drapes and what kind of tile on the bathroom and kitchen floors.<\/p>\n
The salesman began making fun of me. \u201cDo you have enough money for the down payment and closing costs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould your earnings qualify you if you did have the down payment and closing costs? \u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then why do you keep coming back to a condo you know you\u2019ll never have?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re wrong. I will.\u201d<\/p>\n
I kept this up for several months, each time imagining everything I wanted. One day I received a phone call from an ex boyfriend. He wanted to touch bases with me. We went out to dinner and I told him about the condo and how bad I wanted it. \u201cWhat if I go in with you, give you the down payment and closing costs and we buy it together. I have plenty of money and earnings to qualify.\u201d I hesitated. It sounded too good to be true.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I agree to this it doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re getting back together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
We bought the condo. I moved in, putting all of my things exactly where I wanted them. My friend had other ideas about whether this really meant we were getting together or not, but that\u2019s another story. When I sold the condo a few years later he more than tripled his original investment.<\/p>\n
By that time I had found a home out at a place called Green River. Its models overlooked a wilderness park and nearby Green River. It was beautiful. I had no savings. I didn\u2019t qualify. I began going with regularity to the models. I chose which one I wanted. I decided where the baby grand would go\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
For many years I dreamed of becoming a published author and of living near Sedona, AZ, a place where I vacationed four times a year, a place I had fallen in love with. I imagined it all over and over. I put my dreams out there so fervently I felt I could walk across them.<\/p>\n
I recently published my sixth book and now live on five acres of beautiful land in a three-story, 15 room house. From my library I can see the red rocks of nearby Sedona.<\/p>\n
You see. It works. Believe in yourself. Believe in your dreams.<\/p>\n