This journey as a writer has been a forward-moving rollercoaster that suddenly goes backwards and immediately moves to the side. Three years ago, I took a leap of faith to make my aquatic fitness company possible with the intention of having time to do what I wanted—write my fiction book.
To my surprise, the week later I registered, my country suffered a hurricane, leaving us without water, power, and communications. That means there weren’t any services available to help us. Leaving the island immobilized. It took several months for some services to resume normal operation. The bank gave the citizens a moratorium on payments, so imagine that scenario.
My enthusiasm was opaque with the inaction. I was waiting and became frustrated about starting my business. I tried to think positively, and I did a lot of things that, for a long time, I did not have enough time for, like read a book, share it with my family, cook on a camping gas stove, clean the house, and wash clothes outside—a very rustic moment. You can say... I had time to write.
However, as an ex-swimmer, your coach trained you with the mindset to work hard until you achieve your goals. In that moment, I had an artistic swimming club with 18 athletes, started running a business to get the meeting, and educated myself in the field, housework, school, traffic, food, and the gas crisis that was crazy to get it. Do you think I have time to write? Hell no! At least, I did not have time to get inspired. Kind of robotic skill, I will say my military mode—no emotion, just action.
I was so unfocused on aligning my goals of surviving that I forgot the “step by step." It was exhausting. Maybe there was a good moment to write, but that didn’t happen.
Life goes on, so you continue in that cycle, trying to get “it” in years. As an athlete, I can evaluate my performance with medals, but as an entrepreneur, I am still clueless. Not with what I want or what I need to do; it is much more than that. We are machines in a society that are pushing you to “grow up,” and you have to follow the rules. Having a business requires a lot of hard work that involves blocking, tiredness, and solitude. You are not the superstar; you are an extra in life.
When I realized that... I stopped this rollercoaster from moving in different directions. So, just to understand a little bit, believe it or not, I went to a casting to work as an extra. Feel the real. Yes, sometimes I do crazy and unrelated things just to change perspective. Well, you are going to see me in a promo for #PepsiForTheLoveOfIt and a TV series called #BakerandtheBeauty.
I was excited because it was new for me—always behind the camera. In this byzantine head trying to fit in the environment, I felt like a cockroach in a chicken dance. Some models from the late 20's have and I from the middle 40's. I swear the casting was 25 to 45, so I was there to get in a little extra money.
When you are on the opposite side of the magic, you really don't know where you are going. Just do what they are asking. You are just an observer—a piece of the puzzle. Just like life!
In this process, I realized that living anxiously to get shit done is not enough. It’s about a feeling to find the moment of truth about what really is your determination, willpower, and drive. I want to write, and my voyage is giving me experience to write about. There’s always someone listening. But what if I told you... you could become a superstar? It doesn't matter who, where, when, or why. It’s all mood, outcome, and emotions that give or define a state of mind to take in an act. At the end, this is the story of my chronicles.