Hey everyone! My name is Naomi Charles. I’m 26 years old and was born, raised, and still reside in the iconic Brooklyn, NY. I am a speech-language pathologist by day and an author by night. I have self published three books (Focus, Chill, and Burn) that are part of The Focus Series. When I’m not writing or helping children communicate, I love to travel and explore the world. You can find out more about myself and my work at TheNaomiCharles.com.
the story
There’s a saying that we all know well: Patience is a virtue. For a major part of my life, I hated being told to be patient. When I was waiting for college acceptances - be patient. When I was searching for my first dream job - be patient. Whenever I was dating and wondered where that was going - be patient. Even when waiting for a package from Amazon, you guessed it - be patient. It seemed as if so many things in life required waiting and, if you haven’t guessed, I’m not one who fancies being patient. The idea of waiting and not knowing when something was going to happen for me seemed like the worst thing to ever endure.
I started pitching my first book, Focus, to agents in the summer of 2019. In my mind, I had just gotten my first degree and it was time for me to officially begin my professional writing journey. If you are not familiar with the querying process, it is one that is not for the faint of heart. Many times an author can go through a series of rejections before they get an agent who is willing to even look at their manuscript. After months of going through this process, being told there wasn’t a market for my story, and now being in grad school, I decided that it wasn’t the right time for me to pursue this goal. I was exhausted and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to give it my all.
Enter in March 2020, when everything stopped. I had been toying with the idea of self-publishing for a couple months. There were pros and cons in exploring this option, but I knew it would require a lot of time I did not have. My schedule had been packed inhumanely and adding on another huge project did not seem like a viable option. When I realized I would be attending school virtually for the foreseeable future, I decided that I would use my newly found time to self-publish my book. I never looked back. Self-publishing is not easy. Yet, it allows me to tell my stories my way and market them the way I want to. Now after hundreds of reads from readers around the world, I know I made the right choice.
the lesson
Sometimes, things don’t work out because it’s not the right time. While receiving a bunch of rejections for Focus was very disheartening at first, it allowed me to step back and wait for a time where I could foster her into something great. Yes, I had to wait and while I was in it, it was not easy. I questioned whether it was just not the right time or if I just wasn’t good enough. Whatever you believe in, God or the universe or just the flow of life, sometimes things don’t work out because it’s not the right time. Once I was able to give this project the proper time, things flowed so much more easily. That doesn’t mean there weren’t points that were challenging, but there were way less blockages in my way.
When you’re met with a lot of opposition, choose patience. Life can be challenging; we just have to wait for time to pass and for the answers to present themselves. It doesn’t mean you’re being lazy or that you’re giving up - which is what I would often tell myself when I would take a step back. What is meant for us can never be taken away. Sometimes we just have to wait for the right time to receive it.
the light
It took time for me to find the path that was right for me. Before this journey, I only knew of one way to achieve my dreams. If we weren’t met with obstacles in life, we would be completely bored and beyond that, we wouldn’t have the thrill of finding the tools we need to manifest what we want in life. Self-publishing not only allowed me to tell my story my own way, but allowed me to realize that I wanted to make this storyline into a series and not just a standalone. It’s hard to say what would have come of my first book Focus and if it would have grown into the series that it is today if things didn’t work out this way. While this journey has had its challenging humps, the feeling of success and pride that I get on the other side is worth it.
Now, I would love to say that I have gained all the patience in the world after this experience. I would be lying to all of you if I said that I’ve never felt impatient again. I do. I can think about a handful of things that I would like to manifest right now that are taking their time to come in, but reminding myself that the time will arise for these dreams to come to fruition brings peace. Nothing that is for you, can miss you.
So, I leave you with this:
Give yourself some grace, you are going at the right pace.
my matcha moment 🍵
I love this new section. It’s so nice when we get to share those little delicious things that make all the difference in our lives. Recently, something that’s really worked for me is meditating. Starting my morning with some high vibrational music or a guided meditation that includes affirmations allows me to start things off on the right foot. When my mind is right, my day tends to follow suit. It might require carving out some time in your morning or waking up a little earlier, but you’re worth the ten minutes!