Some of Loyola’s staff had asked me to come to the school and speak to a group of their freshman and sophomores. You see, throughout my high school career, I had a genuine dislike of all things related to reading and writing. To me, it was boring, difficult, didn’t really matter in the long run, and took up way too much time. Plus, there were easily a dozen other things I would rather do, like hang out with my friends, strum the guitar, watch t.v., play video games, or kick around a soccer ball.

I had the same general attitude throughout college, with the main difference being that, with so much freedom, the list of other things to do besides read and write was much longer in Champaign than it had been at Loyola. As my graduation from the University of Illinois got closer, I found myself in a precarious position. I would be graduating with a double major in Speech Communication and Philosophy. Perfect for a profession in…

I did what I figured any other college senior in my situation would do: I introduced myself to my college counselor and I asked her what I might do upon graduating with such an illustrious double major. I remember her saying, “I’ve only had one student of mine graduate with that same double major. She went to law school.” I recall my counselor’s tone carried a slight degree of skepticism in her response. She must have been looking at my GPA at the time.

Alas, given that I had nothing else going for me, law school was suddenly and undoubtedly the solution. True, I had never in my life desired to be a lawyer. True, it would put me in all kinds of financial debt. True, I would be competing against other men and women who excelled at my weakest attribute. But I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and law school, at the very least, would keep my parents off my back. Plus, it would give me another three years of student life. The longer I could avoid the working world, the better.

Somehow (I’m still not sure how), in the fall of 1998, my application to the Chicago-Kent College of Law was accepted. It was shortly after beginning law school that I had my first dream of Samuel (https://thegiftofsamuel.com/the-glowing-man/). Thus began my dream journal that would slowly transform over the next twenty years into my first novel The Gift of Samuel: Grey Dawn.

During those twenty years, I did what I had to do to make ends meet. I worked for, and with, some great attorneys and successfully assimilated into my professional life. Still, my heart longed for something more. I was grateful to be gainfully employed, but something inside of me was empty, and the practice of law was not filling the void.

It was when I self-published my book that I anticipated the longing inside of me would finally be satisfied. I wanted others to be inspired by the message in the story, which was ultimately about choosing light over dark and holding onto hope in the face of despair. In my rational mind, if I could get just one reader to believe that light will always triumph over darkness, then I would have done my job, and that emptiness inside me would dissipate.

What I didn’t expect was one of the literacy specialists at Loyola Academy asking me to come into the school to share my journey with the students. I was someone that had hated reading and writing as a student, yet, I eventually became an attorney and author. I jumped at the chance to meet with the kids. I’d be one step closer to sharing the message of hope contained in the story, if I could get some of these young adults interested in my book.

My time with the students was magnificent but paled in comparison to what I found inside the card from them after our visit. Messages like “thank you for your inspiring words,” “thank you for sharing your life’s journey,” and “thank you for showing me how your life can change with a positive mindset” filled the card. As I read through the thank yous, it suddenly dawned on me: these were kids who were going to read my book, but, up to that point, had only read a tiny portion of it. They were finding hope in my own life’s story, not in the fictional story of Joshua Barratt as he trudged through Grey Dawn.

Then I came to the line that really got me – “thank you for showing us that one’s greatest weakness can grow to be their greatest strength.” My dream of making a difference in young adults’ lives was coming true, not from the message contained in my book, but in the fact that I pushed myself to write and publish the book. The longing inside me was finally being satisfied, in the most unexpected way. That’s when I put the card down and laughed, with the joy of realizing a dream, and cried, with thankfulness and humility, for the gift that these students gave me.

The post The Laugh Cry appeared first on The Gift Of Samuel: Grey Dawn.

We sat down in our circle and got right into it. Once again, the overwhelming response from all the book club members was universal – I loved this book, when’s the next one coming out?

“As soon as I can sell 3,000 units,” I answered with a straight face. “If I can do that, and if people really love my book as much as they say, then I should be able to generate enough noise to get an agent, which would then allow me a legitimate shot of realizing my dream and selling The Gift of Samuel trilogy to a big publisher.”

I gave them all the statistics. Told them that only 1 in 10,000 self-published authors make enough to earn a living, and how only 1 in 100,000 become a household name. Seemingly impossible odds. Yet, the resolve in these women’s faces was inspiring. Instead of consoling me about my doomed fate, they were determined to help me sell 3,000 units; The Gift of Samuel was going to beat the odds if these ladies had anything to say about it.

“You know what, Pauly?” one of the members, Nikki, said to me. “I loved this book so much I’m making Jay (her husband) read it, and I’m making him send it to one of his good friends, John Doe.” Obviously, the good friend’s name isn’t John Doe, but for purposes of this blog, we’ll call him John Doe.

“That’s fantastic! Thank you, Nikki! Who is John Doe?” I asked.

“He was Jay’s college roommate,” Nikki explained. “Today, they are still good friends. John’s super cool and down to earth. John is the literary agent for Jane Doe!”

This is the point where all my senses went numb. Obviously, once again, the author’s name really wasn’t Jane Doe. This author’s name was a household name as this author wrote a major young adult trilogy that became very successful motion pictures. Not only that, but I’ve had several people tell me that The Gift of Samuel reminded them of this specific YA trilogy.

“If Jay asks John to read it, he’ll read it.” Nikki said, without an iota of hesitation.

I instantly thought of the movie Roadrunner, the biography of the late Anthony Bourdain. I had no idea his New York Times bestseller Kitchen Confidential was spawned from an email that he had sent to a friend, detailing Bourdain’s everyday life. Bourdain’s friend happened to be married to a publisher, and when the friend read Bourdain’s email to his wife, she knew Bourdain was a natural author, and the rest is history.

What are the odds that a member of the Book Babes is married to a close friend of a famous literary agent? 1 in 10,000? 1 in 100,000? 1 in 1,000,000? On top of that, what are the odds that this member of the Book Babes liked my book so much that she would do what she did?

When I self-published this book 15 months ago, I told myself that if I could change the life of one person for the better, then I would have achieved my goal. Then, that happened (See https://thegiftofsamuel.com/the-client/) and, as a result, my goal changed. If I could change one person’s life for the better, then I want to change multiple lives for the better.

There’s no timetable, and I have no idea when John is going to read my book. But I know he’s going to read it. And if this book is as good as everyone says, then I have to believe that he’ll see the potential for The Gift of Samuel. Even if he can’t pick me up, himself, he’ll know someone in the industry who can, and I’m one step closer to my next goal.

Once the Book Babes and I had devised our master plan, we realized it was time to hit the road as everybody had work the next day. That’s when the ladies suggested that I join their book club and become Mr. Book Babe.

“I don’t think so,” Katie dissented. “I think Paul should concentrate on writing books two and three of The Gift of Samuel!” A unanimous cheer came from the rest of the group.

Since the Book Babes gathering, it’s been difficult for me to contain my excitement. As I work on getting books two and three from my head onto paper, I want to share a link where you can see the outline to the Prologue and Chapter One of Book Two. Because the Book Babes had so many questions about Book Two, I read them this small portion, culminating in a chorus of “ohs” and “ahs.” I hope you share in our anticipation!

The post Mr. Book Babe? appeared first on The Gift Of Samuel: Grey Dawn.

Through one of my closest friends, The Gift of Samuel: Grey Dawn made it into the hands of Mrs. Vancil, the 8th grade teacher at Volta. Mrs. Vancil liked the book so much that she asked if any of her students would like to read it on a voluntary basis. Many of the students were curious and ended up reading the book. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with them after they read it.

I got to the school having no idea what to expect. That said, I was extremely excited and nervous to hear what the kids had to say. This was the first group of young adults, near the age of the protagonist in the story, to read the book. I hoped they identified with Joshua, his emotions, and how he approached various issues before him in the story. This meeting was a big deal. If these young adults did not connect with Joshua, then I would have missed the mark. On the other hand, if they liked the book, then I would have achieved what I set out to do.

As I waited in line with the head of security to print out my visitor badge, I couldn’t help but feel the energy of the kids scampering around me. The building was full of energy; there were kids everywhere. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a group of four kids kind of huddled together, looking at me. Once I received my visitor pass, I turned to the group, who were suddenly walking towards me. I noticed my book in their hands.

“You’re the author of this book, right?” one of the kids asked.

“Yep, that’s me.” I said.

“We all love this book, and we can’t wait for the next one!”

“Awesome! Thanks guys! See you in a little bit for our group discussion?”

“We’ll be there!” They said as they ran off, up the stairs.

A sense of relief washed over me. I didn’t know the number of students meeting with me that morning, but I knew at least four of them liked the book.

The group discussion with the kids was incredible. They were curious, excited, shy, and innocent. But above all that, they were intuitive, asking me deep and engaging questions. As I answered their questions and we embarked on discussing various topics, I was filled with a joy that’s hard to describe. These 14-year-old students have so much life in front of them. It made me think of what I was like at that age, getting ready to graduate 8th grade. I was terrified. Looking back, I wish I understood the importance of being excited about the opportunity that was ahead of me as I entered high school.

Suddenly, I knew the ultimate message I wanted to convey. I wanted these kids to embrace their lives ahead of them. I wanted them to face all of their fears and challenges with open minds and open hearts, trusting that all will work out exactly as it’s supposed to, if they just have faith. It’s taken me nearly forty-eight years to realize that fear isn’t something to dread or avoid. Fear is an opportunity to grow, to realize your potential. You just have to find the courage to face your fears. It took me writing and publishing this book to come to this realization. I wanted to be an inspiration not only for them but for all young adults who are uncertain about the future.

Near the end of our meeting, one of the kids asked me what the best part was of writing this book. Was it holding the first draft in my hands? Was it holding the finished product in my hands? Was it the first five-star review of my book?

Francisco, Krishna, Collin, Keziah, Ananya, Lesly and Brissia – I meant every word I said in our meeting and in my answer to that last question — meeting you and spending our time together, talking about life, dreams, overcoming fear, believing that love conquers all, and that no one person has more worth than another, that was, and is, the best part of writing this book. Seeing the looks in your eyes, sharing the excitement of talking about the opportunities in front of you, and having a mindset that nothing is insurmountable, that elation I felt far surpasses any other joy associated with publishing this book. You are our future and I’m honored and humbled that you read my book, enjoyed the story, and received the messages contained therein.

I sincerely thank each and every one of you for giving me that joy. Thank you, Sean and Mrs. Vancil, for coordinating such a meaningful event. I look forward to seeing all of you again down the road and in that golden opportunity we call the future.

The post Visit to Volta Elementary appeared first on The Gift Of Samuel: Grey Dawn.

When my recurring dreams of Samuel transformed into a story, I knew in my head and my heart that it was a trilogy. However, with the first book’s release, I was purposefully quiet about this fact. Logic dictated that the chances of the first novel being a success were exceptionally slim. For starters, I was the least likely person to write a good book. They say that good writers are voracious readers, and I was not well read. In fact, I spent most of my life avoiding books whenever possible, as I struggled with all things related to words, reading, writing, and spelling. Numbers made sense to me, and I excelled in math. Two plus two always equaled four, while what’s considered “reasonable” to one could mean something completely different to another.

Given the high probably of book one’s failure, I saw no need to further embarrass myself by announcing that the novel was the first of three. The possibility of publishing one book that no one enjoyed carried enough risk of humiliation; there was no need to add potential insult to injury by publicizing that two more equally lame products were in the works.

Then I had my first review from a beta reader, a cousin of mine, who I knew would give it to me straight. “I loved it,” she emphatically told me. “I couldn’t put it down and didn’t want it to end. There’s got to be a second book, right? I need to know what happens!” From there, the reception from future readers and reviewers echoed the same sentiments. The first book didn’t suck. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was a good book and readers wanted the rest of the story!

With my initial fear abated, it was time to update the book’s website and back cover, let it be publicly known that The Gift of Samuel: Grey Dawn was the first of three books. In doing so, I contemplated using this as the opportunity to also tell everyone why I am writing the trilogy and my ultimate goal with this endeavor. That’s when the logical, never satisfied critic, deep inside me, whispered in my ear, reminding me of the magnitude of embarrassment that awaited me in taking such action.

Like it or not, we are a culture obsessed with odds. I get it. Measuring probability is rational. It makes sense. It gives us a sense of security, of knowing the unknowable. If Joe Baseball Player has a .310 batting average against right-handed pitchers over his ten-year carrier versus a .210 batting average against lefties, odds are ten percent greater he’ll get a hit facing a righty. 12 out of every 100 drivers hit a deer every year, so you might want to consider comprehensive car insurance, not just liability insurance. Two plus two always equals four.

This brings me to the second reason I was sure I would fail. The odds are 1 in 10,000, a 0.01% chance, that I will make enough money with The Gift of Samuel to make ends meet without having to subsidize my income with another job. The odds are 1 in 100,000, a 0.00001% chance, that The Gift of Samuel will someday be a household name. Why even try with these kinds of odds? It would make much more sense to let the dream go, save myself the time, money, energy, and frustration of completing the trilogy and focus my attention on my day job. Plus, it’s safer not putting myself out there for the ridicule and embarrassment of failing and becoming another casualty of the odds. But I cannot play it safe.

I wrote The Gift of Samuel: Grey Dawn, and will complete the trilogy, because I want everyone to know that I’m in flawed like everyone else. I am weak more often that I care to admit. I have doubts on many levels. I’ve failed and I’ve let people down. Yet, I am writing and publishing these books because I want to give people a sense of hope with this fictional story. Moreover, I want people to be inspired by what I’m doing in my real life. Despite all of my shortcomings and the impossible odds, I was able to persevere and was able to make enough money to make ends meet with The Gift of Samuel. From that perseverance and that willingness to take a chance, my goal is to be able to quit my day job so I can become a greater instrument of love, in some other capacity, that is yet to be determined. I wrote The Gift of Samuel to beat the odds and inspire others to follow in my footsteps.

The post One Year Publishing Anniversary appeared first on The Gift Of Samuel: Grey Dawn.

“Are you still coming to our book club meeting this Friday?” It was my friend and neighbor, Jen, who had graciously suggested The Gift of Samuel to her book club. “BTW, we read your book and another book, so we’ll be discussing both books on Friday.” I told Jen to count me in and asked her for the title of the other book so I could do some research, see what kind of competition I was up against.

“Never in my life have I read a book so well written,” was the first review I encountered. It was a New York Times bestseller, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, with over sixty-seven-thousand reviews.  Suddenly, I regretted confirming I would go to the book club before investigating this other book. My competition was a Goliath, and I was petrified.

When I arrived at Jen’s book club, I was greeted by Christine, our evening’s friendly and generous hostess. As I walked into the kitchen where the other nine book club members were gathered, my attention turned to Jen and I bee-lined for the safety of a familiar face to calm my nerves.

Jen gave me a hug and, just then, I heard the unmistakable sound of hands clapping. It was short and my back was turned, so I have no idea if it was just one person or a few, but the sound was distinct. I never asked who clapped, but it was deeply appreciated; without saying a word, I knew I had at least one reader in the group who liked my book.

We gathered in the basement to discuss the two novels, my competition up first. Goliath came out strong, with many of the club members agreeing that it was an excellent book – a page turner, captivating. To my surprise, as the group got into deeper questions, the comments began to shift.

“It definitely kept my attention,” Jen’s sister, Kate, shared. “However, when I finish a book, I want to know what the author’s purpose was for writing it. I could not figure out the purpose of this book.” Curious. Goliath suddenly had a weakness.

“Would you recommend it?” I inquired.

“I would, but only because it’s disturbingly interesting. Whoever I was recommending the book to, I would let them know that it’s disturbingly interesting and that’s the only reason I’m recommending it.”

Given my motive for writing The Gift of Samuel, and Kate’s comment relating to the importance of knowing an author’s purpose for writing a book, I jumped right into the theme question when it was my book’s turn.

“What was the theme of The Gift of Samuel?” I humbly asked the group. The responses came fast and were plentiful.

“Life…Forgiveness…No judgment…No one is perfect…Hope!”

We were off to an excellent start. Might as well get the hard stuff out of the way now, I figured.

“What were the novel’s weaknesses? Please, be honest.” I said.

“You need to re-do the back cover. It doesn’t do the book justice,” Jen’s daughter, Maggie, replied. “This is a great book. You need a great back cover.” Christine voiced that the book was too spiritually driven at times, while Pat thought the ending was too abrupt; she felt there was more story to tell.

“What were the novel’s strengths?” I asked. The responses left me humbled.

“Extremely well written…fantastic story…excellent characters…felt hope at the end…great visual descriptions…unpredictable…engaging.”

From there, we launched into over an hour and a half of deep, nonjudgmental, and respectable conversation, on many sticky subjects, from politics to religion to race…all the things that I hope people will talk about after reading my book, without having to attack and insult each other.

When it was time to wrap things up, I asked my final question, “would you recommend The Gift of Samuel?” The response was a resounding and unanimous, “ABSOLUTELY!”

Driving home, I thought of the fear that had coursed through me before attending the meeting. It was all for nothing. Had I given into my fear and avoided the book club and Goliath, I never would have had such a wonderful experience.

Thank you, Jen, Maggie, Mary, Kate, Megan, Lireen, Joyce, Christine, Patty, and Pat, for an incredible evening. Thank you for reading my book with open minds and open hearts. Most of all, thank you for reminding me that you should never give in to your fears, because faith, hope and love always triumph in the end.

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance.” – John Lennon

The post David versus Goliath appeared first on The Gift Of Samuel: Grey Dawn.

I remember lying in bed that night, thinking about that video. Sure, it was certainly a fake, a product of our digital day and age, nothing more. Still, I couldn’t help but think of how cool it would be to be an angel in the afterlife, to have those powers, and to help someone who needed it.

Suddenly, as if the answer had been there all along, I realized how short-sighted I was in my thoughts. I didn’t need to die and cross over, to become an angel, to help someone in this life. It was in that moment of realization that I closed my eyes, took some deep, controlled breaths, and asked God to make me an instrument of his love, in some way.

A couple of days later, my wife and our two sons, toddlers at the time, were leaving breakfast from one of our favorite local restaurants. We had been to that restaurant at least twice a week, for the past few years. As we walked out, my wife abruptly stopped, pointed to a flyer taped to the window, and said, “you should do that, you’d be good at that.” I couldn’t imagine what she was talking about, so I walked up to the flyer. “Become a Hospice volunteer – light up a life” it read.

To some, that would simply have been a coincidence. To me, that was God answering my prayer. I signed up that day to become a Hospice volunteer and can say, with all sincerity, it was the one of the best things I have ever done in this life.

Fast forward to a few years ago. A friend had volunteered to read and edit a very early draft of The Gift of Samuel. We got together to share a meal and go over his thoughts and suggested revisions.

“Dude, I really liked it!” he began. “Clearly your intended audience is young adult.”

“It is?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“Absolutely!” he answered, like he couldn’t believe I even asked the question. “First of all, your protagonist is sixteen. Then, your use of basic wording in the novel and the way you kept sentence and story structure simple. Finally, your use of short chapters, breaking the book down to small, digestible portions. I could tell from the onset that you consciously constructed this book to appeal to young adults.”

All I could do was stare at him. I didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth. He waited for my answer, only to hear silence.

“Am I wrong?” he asked softly.

“It’s not that you’re wrong,” I tried to explain, “it’s just that…I didn’t have any of those specific parameters in my head when I wrote this book. I didn’t consciously choose a sixteen-year-old protagonist. I didn’t consciously choose specific words or sentence structures to appeal to young readers. I didn’t consciously keep the chapters short. That’s just the way the book came out, based on the dreams I has having, and based on my writing style.”

“I can’t believe it.” He responded. “What about the theme of the book – the message of hope and never giving up. That was a conscious decision, right?”

“Honestly, my friend, I just wrote whatever was coming through in my dreams. That’s it.”

“Paul, when I read this book, I had no doubt you made a conscious decision to tailor this story specifically for today’s young adults. I hear so much about teenagers today struggling with depression and suicide, at the highest rates in our countries history, and experts can’t figure out why. Everything about this book suggests you specifically intended it for those young adults in need…and you’re telling me it wasn’t styled like this on purpose…man…what a coincidence!”

So, I ask you: this book, about a sixteen-year-old boy trying to find hope, in a world fraught with despair, based on recurring dreams, from a man who didn’t know the first thing about writing a book, who earnestly asked God to be an instrument of his love…is it just a coincidence?

The post Just A Coincidence? appeared first on The Gift Of Samuel: Grey Dawn.

Recently, I made my initial phone call to a new client, who we will call Amanda for this story, to protect her identity and attorney-client privilege. She picked up the phone and, after I explained who I was and why I was calling, remained very quiet while I described what to expect and how to prepare for the various stages of the lawsuit ahead of her.

“Paul,” she said softly, but with determination, “this accident was not my fault. It was one hundred percent the other driver’s fault.” I noted the sincerity in Amanda’s voice, and we began setting forth a plan of action to defend her case.

As I was wrapping things up, I asked her, “do you have any more questions for me before I let you go?” That’s when Amanda couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“You know what, Paul,” she said, now crying with resentment in her voice, “you can take the strategy we just laid out to defend this case and throw it out the window! Nothing ever goes my way! My life is just a series of one thing after another going wrong. I guarantee you this lawsuit is not going to turn out well for me. We might as well just give up right now!”

In that moment, I innately stopped being defense attorney Paul Padrón and reverted back to being just Paul. I asked her to step out of the “defendant’s” shoes she was in and told her I was going to step out of the “lawyer’s” shoes I was in, and we were just going to talk as two people: Amanda and Paul.

Amanda then began unloading numerous examples in her life of various hardships she has faced and continues to face, from family to friends to work, both big and small. She was convinced that the cards were always stacked against her and no matter how hard she tried or what she did, things always turned out for the worst when it came to her.

Over the course of the next half an hour, I was able to slowly change Amanda’s focus from all the things that have gone wrong to all the things that have turned out well. I could tell by the pitch in her voice that she was beginning to calm down, beginning to realize that we all endure hardships and it’s ultimately up to the individual, alone, to focus on the positive or the negative.

Feeling that we had finally come to a place where Amanda was willing to maintain a better mindset, I asked her, “Do you enjoy reading?”

“Absolutely,” she said, “I read all the time, especially on my kindle.”

“Great!” I exclaimed. “There’s an E-book that I want you to download. It’s free on Amazon this Sunday. It’s called The Gift of Samuel. It’s an inspirational story, at its core, reminding the reader to fight every day to keep a positive attitude, no matter how much life drags you down. A lot of what we just spoke about is in the story and I think you’ll enjoy it. At the very least, I think you’ll find inspiration in the story’s message.”

“Whoa!” Amanda replied. “That’s so crazy! What a coincidence!”

“What’s so crazy? What’s a coincidence?”

“I was talking to a friend the other day about how I was struggling with all that is going on in my life. This friend suggested a couple of books for me to read. One of the books is The Gift of Samuel.”

“What?” I said, doubtfully. “Are you sure? It’s not a very well-known book. Are you sure your friend said the book’s title is ‘The Gift of Samuel?’”

“Yeah, I’m sure, I have it written down, right here in front of me – The Gift of Samuel.”

In that moment, I realized I had accomplished my goal. I wrote The Gift of Samuel for Amanda, her friend, and everyone else who struggles with keeping a positive attitude. My book was finding its way to the people who needed it.

Today, Amanda has become one my favorite clients. And, I, one of her favorite attorneys…and authors.

The post The Client appeared first on The Gift Of Samuel: Grey Dawn.

For me and my friends and family, music is a blessing beyond reproach. For me, personally, it’s so powerful, so integral, that I included lyrics from one of my favorite bands in my first novel. What really messed with my head was learning the legal landscape of including these lyrics in my book. Lyrics written by a brilliant man but owned by a corporate entity, created by others, to make a profit. Totally. Nuts.

I recently saw this band live in Chicago and it was one of the coolest days of my life. I got to give copies of signed book to the band members and they all signed a copy of my book for me. If that ain’t the coolest thing for a music, author geek like me, I don’t know what is. Believe it or not, that’s not even the best part.

You see this book was written to share the messages of hope, inspiration, unity and perseverance. It’s about facing your fear and not being afraid to ask questions. It’s about growing and understanding that you might not have the answers, but with faith, you can learn to face your challenges with confidence and, dare I say, enthusiasm.

At the live show, they opened with the first song off their new album Horizons/East. The song is entitled The Color of The Sky. It’s initial lyrics are, “my first and foremost memory is staring up in wonder at the wall. It circumscribed the city, they said beyond it nothing dwelt at all.”

If you’ve read The Gift of Samuel: Grey Dawn, you can understand why the first time I heard this song, I instantly thought of Joshua standing at the front gate of Caulfield. The song goes on to incorporate all the emotions of the book, up and down, fast and slow, to the point where I was in tears when the song ended. I had just seen the extended trailer to The Gift of Samuel series on Netflix (or was it Hulu) and it completely caught me off guard.

Read my book and listen to this song with your ear buds while reading along to the song’s lyrics. Think of Joshua’s journey – his triumphs, his loses, his desires, his fears, his family, his friends, and ultimately, his bravery. Think of the Thrice lyrics in the novel (or, read them again, because they are that good). Then, listen to the song one more time, envisioning parts of the story matched up against the lyrics and music of The Color of The Sky, and see that extended Hulu series trailer in your head with me. It does more than fit. It’s impossible.

Which brings us back to why we love music so much. Music gives us hope. It gives us triumph, loss, desire, fear, family, and bravery. What are the odds of The Gift of Samuel becoming a Hulu series, with The Color of The Sky serving as the extended trailer to the first season? Three million to one? So what should I do? Tell myself it’ll never happen? Convince myself it’s impossible? Never tell a soul? Or dare to dream big, publish the trilogy, and put myself out there, knowing I could die some day with the dream dying with me, never becoming a reality?

The post Music and Humanity appeared first on The Gift Of Samuel: Grey Dawn.

“The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.” This quote eloquently reiterates many of the topics we covered when I visited your class. The path that lies in front of you is for you and you alone, no one else can walk it for you, just as your relationship to God/Source/Spirit is personally yours. Every person’s journey in this life is unique, their reflections and thoughts are their own, but we all have worth, and no life holds greater value over another.

The profession you have chosen to pursue is vital in shaping the hearts and minds of our future. I meant what I told you when we first began our discussion: You are all my heroes. I ask each and every one of you to hold true to the reasons why you decided to become a teacher. Whatever intuition you feel, calling you hear, or hunch you sense, listen to it and embrace it, without fear or reservation. Walk in faith, not in fear.

Finally, know that there will be times where you will feel beat down and unappreciated. Thoughts of throwing in the towel will come to the fore. But don’t give up. The fact is we are never alone, we all face uncertainty and doubt, and we must trust that there is no challenge we cannot overcome. Find strength in your weakness to persevere through all hardships. When things get especially difficult, and you struggle terribly to find a solution, remember the four words that form the foundation of it all: the answer is love.

I genuinely thank you for the time we spent together and the engaging and thoughtful conversation we enjoyed. Please don’t ever hesitate dropping me a line to let me know how things are going or just to say hi (paulpadron.com). I wish you all the very best and much success tomorrow and always!

Sincerely Yours,

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