Inspiration from Octavia Butler

The manifested success of African American author Octavia Butler is the stuff of legend. Awkward, shy, and bullied as a child, she persevered through racial prejudice and stereotypes, financial hardship (see below), and temporary jobs until she achieved her dream of becoming an acclaimed writer—the first science fiction author to ever receive the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.

An avid reader and writer, from a young age Butler recorded her thoughts, ideas, and dreams in a series of personal notebooks that would later reveal her dogged sense of self-belief and immense desire to succeed. Here’s one of her best known affirmations:

“This is my life. I write bestselling novels. My novels go onto the best seller lists on or shortly after publication. My novels each travel up to the top of the bestseller lists and they reach the top and they stay on top for months (at least two). Each of my novels does this. So be it! See to it! I will find the way to do this. So be it! See to it!” (Notebook cover, 1988)

At any rate, I find her various notebooks to be very inspiring. I’ll sign off here with two insightful pages: