This is the slooooooow time...

The truck showed up with the final copies. I can't believe I'm at this place in my life. I did write a book, and it got published. Oh yeah!!!
Now I will market, promote and continue to dream big.

I'll dream about little girls reading it.
I'll dream about young boys reading it.
I'll dream about aspiring sports reporters and talk show hosts reading it.
I'll dream about broadcasting students reading it.
I'll dream about current talk show hosts discussing it.
I'll dream about TV sports reporters talking about it.
I'll dream about guys I used to work with reading it and feeling good that I made it through their tough personalities.
I'll dream about the good guys in sports, the ones who supported and believed in me, even though I was different.
I'll dream about knowing I made it through to this side and still want to work in the business.
I'll dream about getting back on the radio and being passionate about sports again.

I've been a little down lately, wondering if anyone will even find the book interesting. I know the stories are different than any others, but will people care? I sure hope so!

Go to the website, buy the book, then tell me, because I want your honesty, like I have offered you. My book is not going to win a Pulitzer Prize or any literary awards, but it's interesting and entertaining!!!

Now, will people buy it?

I wrote it. I re-wrote it. I re-wrote it again and again and again. We edited it, we edited more. We read it, we read it again and again. I read it more. My publisher read it more. My mom read it more.
It goes to print...
We wait...
We wait...
We wait...

It comes off the truck in nine boxes.
The truck driver opens one box.
He holds up the book.
It's mine, my book, the book I wrote!!!

He unloads the boxes into my garage.
I stand alone in the garage and open a book.
I wrote a freakin' book!!!

I notice a couple mistakes, one on the cover and one on the title page.
I try not to freak.
I freak.
The book signing is in five days.
How do we fix that???

We fix the cover.
We re-cover all of the nine boxes of books.
We have a great turnout and an amazing book signing.
We sell out that day.

We fix the errors.
Now it's all on pre-order at www.cjsilas.net.

I wait now.
I market now.
I promote now.

Then...I hope...and wait...and hope and wait.
Now, we wait, we wait, we hope, I hope...I know.

Dreams are more than that...

Heading out this morning to speak to an assembly of over 250 5th and 6th graders at Taylor Elementary School in Santa Maria, California. This is really exciting for me. I get to share my stories with them and urge them to have dreams and search for a way to make each and every one of them come true.
My book is a collection of stories about my life in sports radio and TV. But, it's about so much more too. It's about having dreams at any age and doing everything you can to fulfill them, even when many people try to stand in your way. The stories are true and heartfelt. The experiences are honest and only from my personal perspective. I'm sure others see our encounters differently, and that's fine. I convey my life's work in my words for people to enjoy. The journey wasn't always bad or painful, there were some great times too. I met some fantastic people throughout my career, some that I couldn't have done it without. Then I also came into contact with some genuinely awful people. But, I've tried not to hold grudges or hang on to past resentments. Instead, I've learned from each adversity and even grown because of most of those struggles.
Telling these kids about the hard parts of my career will not be my focus. Yes, I was challenged and yes, it was really tough at times. But, my career took me to some amazing places, where I covered cool sports stories and exciting games. It was as much fun as it wasn't, and if someone came to me right now and offered me the chance to do it again, I'd do it. I would be careful, but I would give it another try. Because I won't stop trying, I won't give up, I will not be satisfied until I'm on the radio again talking about sports and the people who play them and the people who run them and the people who make that 'show' happen.
I think these kids today will walk away feeling strong and hopeful, even if their lives don't illustrate that today. I want each one of them to hold their heads a little higher after they've heard some of my stories. If I can give them some confidence and encouragement to follow each dream, even the crazy ones, then I've done my part and I know I made a tiny difference.