Today, Fire Country by David Estes turns one year old. In the first year since Fire Country was born, so much has happened. David signed with an agent, sold more than 10,000 books, wrote five more books and published a further three). He knew he just had to celebrate and he'd love for you to be a part of it! David owes so much of his support to the blogger community, and he wants everyone to have the chance to be a part of the Fire Country Birthday Bash.
Everyone goes home a winner, simply follow the prompts below and swipe your eCopy of Fire Country from Smashwords. Read and leave a review on Amazon if you enjoyed it. Feel free to share the code with your friends, family, neighbours and literary inclined pets.
What's a party without prizes? Yes, David is not only giving everyone a chance to download their own copy of Fire Country, book one in the Country Saga for free, but he's also giving you stuff too. You could win an Amazon giftcard open internationally, U.S residents can win a signed copy of the David Estes book of your choice, or a handful of David Estes eBooks of your choice. Awesome.
What advice would you give your younger self (or any young
person)?
By David Estes
Thanks for having me on your awesome blog, Alana, and thanks
for the awesome topic! I think this is a really cool topic because I often
think about my past and what I would change if I could do it all again. Living
with any sense of regret probably isn’t the healthiest thing, but I think
learning from mistakes IS important, particularly when you can pass that advice
on to the next generation.
So if I could hop in the Delorian or some other time travel
machine and have a Pepsi with my sixteen-year-old self, what would advice would
I give him?
Well, besides slipping him a list of sports teams to bet on
and lottery numbers to play, the first and most important thing I’d say is:
Follow. Your. Heart. Although there’s a lot that can be said about making smart
decisions and using your brain to make them, I personally believe that life is
too short to be pragmatic all the time. Sometimes what seems like the smart
decision, is really just the easy one and it won’t lead you to true happiness.
For me, I went into accounting because I was reasonably good at it and I was
pretty much guaranteed a decent-paying job after I graduated from college. I
even stuck with it for 7 years! But was I ever really happy in that job? No. I
made some good friends, saved a bit of money, and was able to move to Australia
because of it though, so I don’t regret any of it, but I could have been doing
something I loved all those years…writing books.
The next thing I would say is: If it doesn’t feel right it’s
probably not right. That might come across as rather cryptic, but if
interpreted correctly, would save him a lot of pain in the future. That being
said, I wouldn’t want my younger self to avoid all the mistakes I made, as
sometimes it’s our mistakes that allow us to grow the most and become a better
version of ourselves.
Finally, I would tell teenager David Estes to enjoy every
moment. The years pass by in a flash, and it’s the small moments in our lives
that we regret not having appreciated at the time. Enjoy those moments when
they’re happening, not ten years down the line when you wish you could do it
all over again. Laugh more. Argue less. Count your blessings.
Although I still consider myself young at 32 years old
(don’t you dare say I’m not!), to anyone younger out there who’s trying to find
your way in life, I’d say to enjoy life NOW. Don’t always be looking ahead to a
time you think will be better, like retirement. Love your high school years,
love your college years, and love your adult lives. Every stage of your life,
even the ones that feel the most awkward, are worth living to the fullest and
equally important. Be yourself and don’t let anyone tell you you’re not
special, because you are. Dream big and fight for what you believe in. Treat
others with kindness and pay kindness paid to you forward to others who need
it. Love with all your heart and don’t be afraid to let it be broken sometimes.
It will heal and it will become stronger. Love you for you, and don’t try to
remake yourself to satisfy someone else. Be you. Perfectly imperfect.
Now if I could just follow all my own advice, I could be the
happiest man alive! In any case, we’re all human and we’re all connected and
trying to live our lives as best as we can. And if we fail, we’re always
allowed to get back up, even if we need someone to pull us from the front and
push us from behind.
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