Welcome to another edition of “Behind the Scenes of The Dream Doers Series.”
The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets begins on the last day of sixth grade for Alex and Tyler and class bully Zach. But today’s flashback story concludes a short story series of the first day of kindergarten for Alex, Tyler and Zach.
*****
Now Alex had a best friend, too? Zach hated her. He really, really, really hated her.
And he hated her new best friend, too. That boy was going to listen to Alex, not him. Now he had two people to deal with.
Zach had to teach that Tyler kid a lesson. What could he do to get Tyler in trouble?
Hmmm…he could tell the teacher Tyler hit him. That would work. First, though, he had to get Anson and Clay to go along with him.
“Anson, Clay,” Zach said, “you saw how mean that boy was to me, right?”
“Yeah,” Anson said. “I don’t like him.”
“Me either,” Clay said.
“He was really mean when he hit me,” Zach said.
Anson cocked his head. “He didn’t hit you Zach.”
“Yes, he did.” Zach put his hands on Anson’s shoulders and looked into his eyes. “He slapped my face. Remember?”
“I remember,” Clay said. “He just stepped right up and slapped you. Why did he slap you again?”
“Because…” Zach had to think for a second. Then he remembered all the Cubs clothes Tyler was wearing. That gave him an idea. “Because I said I liked the Braves. That made him mad because he likes the Cubs.”
“Right, right.” Anson nodded. “I remember now.”
Zach smiled. “Good. You guys gotta back me up when I tell my mom. Just like usual.”
“Got it,” they both said.
Zach squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the back of his eyelids. Cry, cry, cry, he told himself.
He slapped his face and the tears watered his eyes. He was ready.
Zach turned around and ran across the room to his mom. “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! That boy just hit me!”
“Zach, sweetie,” his mom said, hugging him, “who his you?”
“That boy.” He pointed to Tyler. “I said something about liking the Braves, and he just slapped me in the face. I didn’t mean to make him mad.”
“It’s true,” Anson said.
“Yup,” Clay agreed. “We saw the whole thing.”
“Now he’s talking to Alex,” Zach said. “He might hit her, too.”
“Alex’s mom is right over there. Let’s go let her know.”
Zach, Anson and Clay all followed Zach’s mom to the doorway where Mrs. Wilkins was talking to some lady Zach didn’t recognize.
“Is everything all right, Sue?” Alex’s mom asked when she saw them.
“No, I don’t think so. The boy who’s talking to your daughter just hit my son.”
“Tyler?” The lady Zach didn’t know spoke. “That’s my boy. Tyler wouldn’t hit anybody.”
“Zach wouldn’t just make things up. Look.” His mom put her hand on his cheek. “His cheek is still red from getting slapped.”
The lady frowned, then called Tyler over. Alex came with him.
“Guess what, mommy,” Tyler said as he ran up to them. “Alex is my new best friend!”
“That’s great Tyler,” his mom said, “but I need to talk to you about something else.”
“What?”
“Did you hit this boy?”
“Hit him? No. I just told him to leave Alex alone. He was making her cry.”
“She was already crying,” Zach said, sniffing. “I was just trying to cheer her up. Then you came over and asked if I liked the Cubs. I said I liked the Braves and you hit me.”
“I did not!” Tyler screamed.
“Yes, he did,” Anson and Clay both said.
Then Alex had to talk. “He’s lying. That’s not what happened at all.”
Zach wailed. “She called me a liar, mommy. I’m not a liar.”
“I know, sweetie,” his mom said, putting her arm around him. “I believe you. I think we need to take this matter up with the teacher. All you kids come with me.”
Zach smiled. He was back in control.
*****
That concludes this flashback story. But it’s only the beginning of the kinds of stories you’ll read in future editions “Behind the Scenes of The Dream Doers Series.” So stay tuned!
To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean
P.S. In case you haven’t yet been in front of the scenes of The Dream Doers series, it starts with The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets. In this young adult novel, best friends Alex and Tyler are forced to battle bullies, face their fears and keep strange secrets the summer they learn to do what they dream. You can hear the whole “Front of the Scenes” story for FREE. Just visit TheDreamDoers.com and fill out a super short form. Enjoy the story!
It’s Find a Way to Do What You Dream Day!
Finding a way to do what you dream starts with you being a person of great character. Being a person of great character involves being trustworthy, being passionate and being focused.
To be trustworthy, passionate and focused, you must develop 12 core ‘champion’ traits. So last week, we talked about the first part of being passionate and the character trait of passion.
When you express your passion, you’re ready to ignite your ENTHUSIASM.
Why should you ignite your enthusiasm?
Because it’s like setting your dreams on fire. (Just to be on the safe side, I’m not talking about real fire. So please, please, please DON’T actually set anything on fire.)
With the kind of fire I’m talking about, you feel thrilled to be alive because you know that you get to live your dreams every day of your life and nothing is going to stand in your way of making that happen.
What is enthusiasm?
Enthusiasm is emotional energy that feeds on dreams, desires and goals.
Like I just mentioned, it feels like a fire burning inside you. When that fire burns hot enough, you can see it in your eyes and feel it driving your actions so everything you do helps you find a way to make your dreams come true.
It is passion that fuels that fire of enthusiasm.
How can you ignite your enthusiasm?
To help you ignite your enthusiasm, follow these steps:
- Write down one dream you feel the most passionate about.
- Write down five reasons this dream is important to you. (This is the ‘fire’ of enthusiasm!)
- Draw a picture of your dream.
- Now draw flames around the picture to remind yourself of the five reasons you wrote down in step 2.
- Put the picture someplace where you will see it everyday.
What can you do NOW to ignite your enthusiasm?
It’s hard to be enthusiastic if nobody around you knows about your dreams and the things you are passionate about.
So go tell one person you trust right now about your big dream. Let your mom or dad or brother or sister or friend see the enthusiasm in your eyes and hear the enthusiasm in your voice when you tell them what you want and why.
But no matter how much passion and enthusiasm you have, you’re going to face obstacles as you chase your dreams.
However, when you follow the third part of Dream Doer Rule #3: unleash your CREATIVITY, you can figure out how to overcome any obstacle standing in the way of your dreams. So we’ll learn about that next week.
Until next time, remember that you always find a way to do what you dream when you stick to your strengths.
To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean
P.S. Have you signed up for your FREE audio novel yet and your FREE 14-day Dream Doer Crash Course? If not, CLICK HERE now!
Welcome to another edition of “Behind the Scenes of The Dream Doers Series.”
The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets begins on the last day of sixth grade for Alex and Tyler and class bully Zach. But today’s flashback story continues a short series of the first day of kindergarten for Alex, Tyler and Zach.
*****
“Hey! Are you bothering her?” Tyler stepped between him and Zach.
Zach stepped back. “No.” He laughed. “She just looked scared. I came over to cheer her up.”
“She cries a lot,” Anson said, “because she’s a girl.”
Clay spoke up. “Yeah. We just came to tell her she didn’t need to be scared.”
That sounded okay to Tyler. Then he looked at Alex. She was shaking her head no and kept crying.
“We play with little Alex all the time,” Zach said. “We live in the same neighborhood. I’m Zach. This is Clay, and that’s Anson. What’s your name?”
“Tyler.” Tyler crossed his arms and cocked his head. “You were really just trying to cheer her up?”
“Yes. I don’t like to see little Alex cry.”
Tyler decided he didn’t like this Zach kid. Something about him just seemed…mean. Still, what Tyler said next surprised even Tyler. “Well, I don’t like to hear people tell my best friend they’re gonna pinch her and hit her and pull her hair.”
Zach’s face suddenly changed from trying to look nice to looking super mean. “You can’t be her friend,” Zach said. “Alex doesn’t have any friends.”
“She does now,” Tyler said. “So you guys just need to leave her alone, or you’ll have to deal with me, too.”
“Let’s go, Zach.” Anson tugged on Zach’s shoulder.
“He can’t protect you all the time, little Alex,” Zach said to Alex, then went away.
For some reason, though, Alex was still crying. “Did you mean that?” she asked. “I thought you wanted a boy to be your best friend.”
Hmm. He did want a boy to be his best friend because boys liked baseball. Maybe if this girl liked baseball…he’d have to ask. “Do you like baseball?”
“I guess.” Alex sniffed and shrugged. “My brothers play all the time, and I like watching them.”
Tyler nodded once. That was good enough for him. “Okay. You’ll do. We’re best friends. As long as you don’t cry anymore. I can’t have a best friend who cries. We just can’t be best friends if you cry.”
Alex wiped her face and shook her head. “’Kay. I won’t cry anymore at all. Ever. Promise.”
“Good. Let’s go tell our moms we’re best friends!”
*****
This flashback story concludes next week with another edition of “Behind the Scenes of The Dream Doers Series.” So stay tuned!
To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean
P.S. In case you haven’t yet been in front of the scenes of The Dream Doers series, it starts with The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets. In this young adult novel, best friends Alex and Tyler are forced to battle bullies, face their fears and keep strange secrets the summer they learn to do what they dream. You can hear the whole “Front of the Scenes” story for FREE. Just visit TheDreamDoers.com and fill out a super short form. Enjoy the story!
