By Brandon Hatten

I was in Disneyland Paris the day before I was offered a contract to publish my latest novel and getting to be immersed in that enchanted realm is unbelievably inspiring for me as a creator. I’ve always wanted to make magic, and writing books allows me to do just that! Why should I ever “grow up” when worlds of fantasy and adventure are waiting to be discovered? I may never be able to summon the same sort of spells that a wizard of fables might do, but I can bestow charms–through the magic of beautiful and tragic tales–on countless readers and compel them to feel every type of emotion and influence them to change the people and world around themselves.

My dream is to change the world to be a better place and I’ve discovered, through incredible strife, that it’s possible to blend letters in an alchemical mix to produce enchantments that alter people’s ways of thinking to experience goodness. The magic that other people have produced throughout history has given me the creative passion to generate my spells and I sincerely hope that I can do the same for countless others as I continue to confront antagonists in my extraordinary adventure.

As in any good story, using magic in real-life brings its specific consequences. Sorcerers in fairytales that suffer from excess use of spells are a metaphor for the pain and disappointment in reality that creators consistently endure whenever they are in the process of making their dreams come true. Manifesting a dream is one of the hardest things a person can do, which is why so many people give up. We’ve all put a book down because we were afraid of what might happen next and asked ourselves how the ending could be good whenever so much bad has already happened. We’ve cowered through the worst storms, imagining that any second could be the end; believing that the end has arrived and there’s nothing we can do to change that is sometimes the most dreadful experience. People forget, however, in the midst of all hopelessness, that they need to be their own cheerleaders by generating their own positivity and motivation.

Most people will never share your vision, which is why it is up to you to make that vision something tangible that everyone else can enjoy. The magic of achieving your dreams means that the world will never be the same again. You can touch numerous lives by pursuing what makes you happy, even though you may trip and fall along the way; your experiences serve as a beacon of hope for many others that you may never meet! C. S. Lewis once said, “you can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” People always talk about going back in time and doing something small to change the future, but nobody talks about doing something small right here in the present to drastically change the future. Despite being rejected more than one-thousand times in five years of writing professionally, I’ve always held onto the belief that I am much happier practicing magic than not, and that there will always be an opportunity to share my spells with the world if I keep working and keep perfecting my craft; I’ve always known that one day, my dreams will become my reality.

Seneca the Younger said, “as is a tale, so is life; not in how long it is, but in how good it is what really matters.” Live your dreams, change your future, inspire others, and transform the world. That’s only four things; anyone can do just four things!