I commute to work, using public transportation.  It’s my preference and my service to the environment.  I was thinking about my book, as I do every day, and wished I had a genie.  I imagined the smoke that came out of the oil lamp, the one from the story of Aladdin. Then I looked up at the sky.

Immediately, I dreamt of Jeannie.  Genie actually.  Jeannie was hot.  I remembered watching that show because her costume was the best.  I mean, how many women do you see on the street dressed up in transparent silks?

I thought about the phrase “Ask and you shall receive”.  So I thought about my book.  I wished for my wish.  I did my best to make it as big as possible in that moment.  A wish that I would say, “Wow.  That is awesome.”

I walked into a clearing and saw the whole sky.  This is what I saw.

I thought this was pretty cool.

The best way to predict the future is to create it.  -Peter Drucker

About a year ago after a long writing session at Borders, I was about to leave. I walked by the magazine rack and saw an article onWIREDabout how the iPhone blew up. I began to read because my brother had given me one for Christmas when it first came out. Very generous of him.

The cool thing about it was how Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, challenged the wireless carriers. Something that none of the cell phone makers were able to do.

According to the article, the carriers dictated what features could go on a handset, how it should operate and such. But Jobs probably had a dream: phone calls from an iPod.

I also think there were several carriers and industry experts that scoffed at the idea, thinking the market for that would be small. And the Blackberry was king of smartphones at the time.

Jobs went ahead with his idea, basing the iPhone on a concept model Apple made before.

When the iPhone first came out, it was met with great fanfare. The reviews were mixed and several features were missing that were found on more mediocre cell phones. But it became a hit.

On June 19th, this past Friday, I stood in line for the newest iteration, the iPhone 3GS. News reporters, Mac fans, and Apple store employees gathered to what looked like a small scaled Star Trek convention. People came in costume, others carried old Macs while in line, customers were interviewed, employees handed out water or juice bottles for those in line. It was really cool.

So what’s the point of this on a website that focuses on fantasy and individuality?

The iPhone was fantasy before it became real, and Jobs took on giants, namely the wireless carriers, and won. No one, not even RIM, makers of Crackberry (Blackberry), had changed the field as Apple did. Apple may be big, but in the scheme of things they’re tiny in comparison to those they took on.

Dream big, don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t, and go forth with action. Isn’t that what all great strories depict?

Today I got my first rejection letter from an agent.  Rejection is prevalent in publishing.  But should we as writers expect it?  No.  In researching the publishing industry the one thing that is common is no one knows what makes a book a bestseller.  If the author is already successful, one who’s had traction from prior books, a fan following, then, yes, it’s one indication that the next book will be a bestseller.  Other than that, what makes a bestseller is a mystery.

So when an industry professional says anything negative about your work, what should you do?  See if the judgment has any validity.  If not, ignore it.

For those of us who love gorgeous women, Catherine Bell is a successful actress.  She’s been in hit TV shows such as JAG and Army Wives. A long time ago I saw an interview of hers, and the interviewer asked her if she had taken acting lessons.  She said yes, and then went on to say that one of her well known instructors told her that she’d never make it and couldn’t act.  Look at her filmography and tell me if she’s successful or not.

Around the same time, I watched a special on  George Lucas.  In it, either him or one of his classmates talked about one of their film instructors.  The instructor said, paraphrasing here, there was no future in film making, and they should all drop out.  What?

Not only that, but when he was making Star Wars, most of the English cast stated how ridiculous this movie was.  How it would never succeed.  That must have affected Lucas because he thought his movie was going to flop.  History tells otherwise.

One thing I’ve found with all successful people is they pursue their dream, their truth.  To me success is not only financial abundance, but spiritual and mental happiness.  Without happiness, what I believe to be the meaning of life, what good does money do?  Cause you can’t buy happiness.  The credit industry is proof of that.

The question becomes how far should we persevere to fulfill our dreams?  Or is there an end?