Wake Up and Dream, by Author Pat Mesiti
Every night before bed, I would read a chapter or two from Wake Up and Dream, but eventually, I had to stop. I found that I was losing sleep because I would lay awake and think about ideas I have or something I want to accomplish. So, I had to start reading the book during the day because I got too motivated to sleep after reading it! This book was actually a catalyst in my becoming a Stay At Home Mom. For the last 20 months of my daughter’s life (and 9 months before that), I’ve wanted to be a stay at home mom. I’ve been thinking about it in the back of my mind. But, just in the first chapter, Pat Mesiti made me think, “Why haven’t I done it yet?” If that is my goal right now, if that is what is important to me, then why hasn’t it happened already? I figured I should stop procrastinating and get on with it. So, first I talked to people. I thought about who I trusted and talked to them about what I wanted. Mesiti says to get your ideas out in the open, that way they become more real. Also, that way people can help you if they happen to be in the same line of work you are hoping to be in. I thought about what I would have to do to quit my J-O-B, and stay at home to take care of my daughter. I still needed to bring in an income. I put an ad in the newspaper for babysitting, and now I have a set of twins, Gracie and Owen, and Morgan, all one year olds, that I babysit five days a week. Luckily, my mom lives around the corner to babysit for me while I go to class, and the kids’ parents are fine with that situation. So, when you put off procrastination, and negative thinking, and when you get your ideas out into the open, a lot can happen in a short period of time.
As far as the book goes, I have quite a few thoughts about it. First, I like the way it is written, overall. I tend to be a bit editorially critical when reading (maybe I should have been an English major!), so I noticed quite a few typos, misspellings, and incorrect grammar use. For the most part, I shrugged this off as a result of the book being published in Australia, and I just don’t know their form of the language system (for example, spelling realize with an s-realise). Also, Pat Mesiti sounds like a wonderful person, but he refers back to himself more than he does the people he uses for examples, such as Abe Lincoln and Walt Disney. I do really like the quotes that he sets off every few pages, such as on page 64, he says, “Your success in life is not based on what has happened in the past, but what can happen in the future.” I really believe that, because I’ve been through a lot in my short 24 years, like everyone, and things have turned out fine. No matter what has happened in the past, you can still be successful in the future. Life is what you make it.
