J.R. Allen Writes

Sometimes I stop and think about everything I’ve done with writing, and I still can’t believe it actually happened.

There was a time when I never thought I would take writing this seriously.

Now I’ve written novels. I’ve learned how to write screenplays. I’ve taken ideas that only existed in my head and turned them into something real.

And I’m proud of that.

Nobody can take that feeling away from me.

I’m proud that I actually did it. I’m proud that I kept going. I’m proud that I learned something new and pushed myself further than I originally expected.

I don’t want to stop feeling this way.

I want to keep creating. I want to keep writing. I want to keep seeing what I’m capable of.

But I’m also learning that I don’t have to chase every single idea that jumps into my head.

Sometimes my creativity moves faster than I do.

One idea becomes another idea, then another one, and suddenly I’m thinking about five different books, movies, characters, or businesses at the same time.

I don’t want something I love to become something that stresses me out.

Every idea doesn’t have to become a project.

Some ideas can sit for a while.

Some might never become anything.

And that’s okay.

I want to enjoy what I’m building instead of constantly worrying about what I need to create next.

But I would be lying if I said I didn’t hope all of this eventually pays off.

I hope my creativity becomes successful enough that my children can enjoy the results of everything I worked for.

I don’t ever want my kids to struggle or suffer.

I understand that life doesn’t work perfectly like that. Everybody goes through hardships. There are things money and success can’t protect you from.

But if something I build can make their lives a little easier, then I want that for them.

I want them to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

At the same time, I want them to be smart about it.

I don’t want success to make them lazy.

I don’t want them to become ungrateful.

I want them to stay humble.

I want them to understand that whatever they receive came from work, sacrifice, patience, mistakes, long days, and somebody refusing to give up.

That matters to me.

Because when everything is said and done, this isn’t only about me.

No matter how hard I work, I’m doing this for them.

That’s the main goal.

Of course I want my books to succeed. I want my screenplays to succeed. I want my businesses and ideas to become something bigger.

But more than anything, I want my children to look at what I did and be proud.

I want them to understand why I kept going.

And one day, long after all the books, screenplays, ideas, and everything else I created, I want them to understand the most important part of my legacy.

Their father loved them.

And everything I was trying to build was, in some way, for them.