A White Feather — the Sign You’ve Been Waiting For?

After 20 years, it’s time to stop dreaming and start taking action.

Walking on the beach this afternoon, I spotted a white feather in the sand

Nature, I like to think, has a deeper meaning. To me, rainbows mean hope, a promise fulfilled. Trees represent ancient wisdom. The swirling waves of the sea reflect the unconscious mind.

Of course, we see our own meaning in the natural world.

For me, white feathers are linked to writing. I stopped to take a photo of the feather because it reminded me of how one of the world’s bestselling authors beat his fears, stopped running away from his dream, and started to write.

Paulo Coelho dreamed about being a writer for many years. He doubted himself and ignored the inner calling he felt.

Close to hitting 40, Coelho realised his time had come. He woke up one morning and made himself a promise: “If I see a white feather today, that’s the sign I’m looking for, and I will start my book”.

I’m glad he saw a white feather that day (because I really like his books!).

Coelho wrote a book and found a publisher. Then he wrote another book and published that one too. He now writes a book every two years, as long as he sees a white feather.

This sounds simple, and now that Coelho is a bestselling writer, it’s easy to assume he was destined for success. But the fact is, he wrote without any assurance or certainty about what would happen to his words.

There was no overnight fame to encourage him in his writing. Just writing a book, and submitting to his publisher.

Instead of waiting for success to come to him, he kept writing.

The ending is a happy one. Coelho’s books have now sold upwards of 300 million copies around the world, and they’re the most translated books by a living author. His most popular book, The Alchemist, has sold over 100 million copies.

Yet the first print run of The Alchemist was only 900 copies. After poor sales, Coelho’s original publisher dropped the book.

Still, Coelho trusted his heart and continued writing. Only after a later book was published did The Alchemist become a success.

Dr. Seuss in his book Oh the Places You’ll Go! says “everybody is just waiting” — for a train to arrive, a plane to catch, for their life to start, for the rain to stop, for a loved one to call, for the holidays, for inspiration to strike.

What if we stopped waiting, and just got started? That’s the choice I am making. I’m going to stop waiting for my dream, and start creating.

It’s 20 years since I realised that my calling is to be a writer. And while I’ve written a ton professionally, I’ve also spent most of my time waiting for the “writer’s bus” to arrive, to take me to the place where I feel with certainty “you’re a writer”.

Now I’ve realised, there is no writer’s bus. It’s up to me to take the first step and to keep walking.

I’m not choosing to live my dream because I saw a white feather (though the fact that I saw one makes me happy). I’m choosing to follow the prompting in my heart, the longing to write.

There is no certainty, there is only a prompt to start, and a fragile one at that.

Do you have an inner prompting too?

You might be thinking that you have so many dreams, you’re not sure where to start.

The best thing you can do is build something. Make a small shift in your life. Start something new, and stick with it.

Your time is now. It’s time to stop waiting, and start being. Live the life you know you are meant to live. Be the person you know you are meant to be. Start writing, drawing, singing, dancing — whatever dream calls you, the time to start is now.

No matter how long you have been waiting to live your dream, the time to begin is now.