River of Thoughts

Christine Royse Niles — Changing the world one word at a time

Love Song for a Conference

It’s been a long couple of weeks.

  • My writing time last weekend was spent whittling my work emails down from 1,600 to Inbox Zero.
  • I have been at my desk, working, before 5:30 every day this week.
  • I fell asleep, fully dressed and glasses on, at 8:00 the other night.
  • My writing has suffered.

But it’s all worth it.  Because this morning, I am hitting the road to Jon Acuff’s second Quitter Conference in Nashville!

You might have seen that I attended the first Quitter Conference last July.  In fact, if you ‘re reading this blog (which, well, you kinda have to be, because you’re reading it…), then you, too, have reaped the benefits of this amazing event.

Quitter is why i’m being intentional about writing.

Jon taught me how to recover my dream from the depths of my soul.  Jon taught me to hustle and be disciplined and just get up and do it.  Jon taught me to see my day job (the one that has me working 13-hour-days) as a patron of my art, and to respect it as such.

Am I a great writer right now?  Not really.  But I’m getting better every week.  I’m practicing in public.  I’m finding secret mentors and soaking up what they have to teach.  I’m sticking my neck out and meeting people that I respect and admire, hoping to find something I can do to serve them, and praying that I can learn a little more every day from them.

I’m a better writer than I was a year ago.  Next year, I’ll be even better.

This week has been rough.  But my inbox is back to Zero, and my sights are set on Nashville!

The next three days are fully devoted to the dream of writing, to meeting others who are also daring to get real about their own dreams, and to followup with people I met in July and see how their dreams are growing, too.

Three days of dreaming and writing.

Yay!

What’s your dream?  Leave a comment….

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About Christine

I am a writer, a project manager, and a corporate refugee with a heart for orphans around the world. My two daughters were adopted from Ukraine at ages 12 and 14. I post about writing, chasing dreams, and making a difference in the world, and sometimes I share fun snippets of fiction in-progress.

16 Replies

  1. Looking forward to seeing you!! Safe travels.

    1. Christine

      Great to see you last night…today is going to be even better! :)

  2. See ya there! Have safe travels and I’m sure it will all be worth it in the long run.

    1. Christine

      It’s absolutely worth it…Jon’s reminder to not swim in tennis courts was a good one for me. I just need to keep perspective and remember to try to love all the people that I come in contact with through my day-job. The hardest ones to love are the ones who need it most.

  3. My dream is to make it to the next Quitter Conference…
    and that your battery will last long enough to “Skype” the entire weekend! :^}

    Have an awesome time!

    Seriously, my dream is to get my ebook out in the coming weeks! I’ve been working long hours at work, so I have been getting up at 4:30am and going to bed at 11:30pm to work on it.

    So, needless to say, “Spellcheck” is my best friend!!!

    1. Christine

      You’d better be at the next one…your dream is too important! If you need a peer edit, let me know….I’m standing by!

      1. Thanks! I will definitely take you upon the peer edit. I’m running way behind schedule….trying to become debt free, and fund an ebook release in the same month are opposing goals! (unless, of course, I borrow the money to put out the book!). lol

  4. Loved getting to make the connection with you at the Quitter Conference! Safe trip home to you!

    And my dream – Curing hunger one note at a time

    1. Christine

      Me, too, Laura! Your spirit and your dream are so creative and amazing…

      Everyone, listen up! Laura recycles broken guitar strings into the most beautiful pieces of wearable art and then uses the proceeds to support ministries that attack hunger and poverty…Go check her out NOW at http://www.stringsforhope.com

  5. Great to meet you at Quitter! I look forward to reading more about your family – you have a good looking bunch! :)

    1. Christine

      Likewise, Tony! Your boys are hysterical, and your ability to laugh and love is so encouraging!

  6. Christine, great post and meeting up at Quitter – great time!!!

    1. Christine

      Thanks, Tor! Killer Tribes will be like a reunion of old friends! Oh. Um. Not friends who are old. Just friends…um….I’d better stop!

  7. Christine! I am so excited to hear all about your Quitter experience!!! I hope to make it to the next one. You are doing so great. I am encouraged by your great passion for orphans!

    1. Christine

      We missed you there! It was a great shot of encouragement – Jon gave us a LOT more time to connect with each other, which was fabulous. I met so many people with so many powerful dreams….that room is producing some serious change in the world! Proud that you’re a fellow Quitter!

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