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Marcus Lopés

LGTBQIA2S+ Author, Blogger, Runner

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live your best life

2020: It Changed Everything

December 2, 2020 by Marcus Leave a Comment

I don’t know about you, but at the beginning of 2020, I had some big, ambitious plans. I’d hoped to: publish two full-length novels, complete my second full marathon, and begin transitioning out of a job that I no longer enjoyed. Those were my top goals for the year that would push me closer to living my life’s purpose, to be more daring and bold. Most of all, I wanted to stop caring about what other people think and focus on what matters most. Then COVID-19 hit and changed everything.

Embracing Reality

COVID-19 brought a lot of chaos to the world, turned lives upside-down, and claimed too many lives. Until March of this year, I worked in the aviation industry. As airlines cut flights, I was among the first of employees that were furloughed. I had a choice — wallow and complain about my situation, or make the best of it. I chose to embrace reality and threw my energy into what mattered most. Writing. Living my best life. Staying true to who I am.

What 2020 Has Taught Me

changed everythingDespite being able to focus on my writing, it hasn’t been easy. Going from a full-time job to no job. Staying home and not seeing friends or family. Feeling cut off from the world, a growing disconnect. Still, I’m learning just how resilient the human spirit is. There is hope just beyond the horizon. That if we believe, good things can, and will, happen.

As the year winds down, and with a potential vaccine for COVID-19 only weeks away from approval, I am hanging on to hope. Hope is the light that guides us through the darkness, that gives us the courage to go on when we’re on the verge of giving up.

For me, 2020’s greatest lesson is this: don’t give up.

Signing Off

A lot has happened this year. One thing I’ve become better at is taking care of myself, knowing when to push on and when to rest. Now it’s time to rest. I’ll see you in 2021. In the meantime, be well, stay safe, and live your best life.

What is your biggest achievement of 2020? Leave a comment below or click Reply to share.

Filed Under: Writing Life Tagged With: 2020, chaos, covid, don't give up, hope, live your best life, lockdown

Staying Positive During a Pandemic

November 18, 2020 by Marcus Leave a Comment

When the first lockdown occurred here in Ontario — and especially when there was a lot of uncertainty about the way forward — I stayed positive. Despite losing my job, I saw it as an opportunity to focus on my writing and other creative pursuits. And that was how I spent my days. Being creative. And since March, I’ve written three novels (two solid first drafts and one that’s almost ready for publication). I learned to make duck confit. I ran (until an injury sidelined me for a while). Writing. Running. Being creative in the kitchen. Those things made staying positive in the early days of the pandemic possible. [Read more…] about Staying Positive During a Pandemic

Filed Under: Writing Life Tagged With: attitude, COVID-19, live your best life, lockdown, positivity, reality, writing

7 Days of Bliss

November 4, 2020 by Marcus Leave a Comment

It’s like a magic pill. The moment I turn off social media, everything falls away. The overwhelm. The doubt. The fear of both success and failure. It’s the easiest way to get back to myself, to remind myself of what really matters. So, that’s what I did last week. I unplugged from social media, and that gave me seven days of bliss.

The ONE Thing

7 days of blissWhen life gets busy, and I feel overwhelmed, some of the things I love fall to the wayside. Like listening to podcasts. During my time away from social media, I downloaded a few episodes from the ‘Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod’ podcast. Elrod’s interview with Geoff Woods, the Vice-President of The ONE Thing, stopped me in my tracks. The conversation reminded me about all the ways I’ve gotten off track. And that to achieve my goals, I had to simply focus on one thing. My ONE thing. Writing. [Read more…] about 7 Days of Bliss

Filed Under: Writing Life Tagged With: dreams, fulfillment, goals, habits, life lessons, live your best life, social media, stay focused, writing life

Course Correction

October 21, 2020 by Marcus Leave a Comment

When I learned to kayak, my instructor made swim the rapid. Even though I grew up with a pool in the backyard, I wasn’t a strong swimmer. And the lifejacket strapped to my body didn’t really comfort me, either. “Don’t panic. And take a big breath when the rapid shoots you out, because then it’s going to pull you back down again.” Sure enough, I panicked. Underwater, my arms flailed grandly as I tried to reach the surface. When my head popped out of the water, I took a breath — probably not as big as I should have — and then quickly disappeared underwater. When I came to the surface again, I was beyond spent and, to my dismay, headed straight for the next rapid. And I was desperately in need of a course correction. [Read more…] about Course Correction

Filed Under: Writing Life Tagged With: course correction, creatives, do what you love, dreams, habits, live your best life, routine, writers, writing life

It Wasn’t Supposed to be Like This

October 7, 2020 by Marcus Leave a Comment

The last thing I wanted to do was travel during a global pandemic. The idea of being stuck on a plane for hours with others held zero appeal. In fact, just thinking about it made me even more anxious and paranoid. But on 30 September, I flew to Edmonton to see a dear friend who was diagnosed with glioblastoma in August. Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive primary brain tumor. My friend’s diagnosis has left me in shock, and I’m asking myself a lot of questions about life and this journey. And one thought runs constantly through my mind: it wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Don’t Wait

wasn't supposed to be like thisIn life, we’re always waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect opportunity that we believe will allow us to pursue a dream or goal. I hear people say, “When I retire…” or “Once I get a new job…” or “When I’ve saved ‘X’ amount…” The problem is that when we wait, we’re kind of tempting fate. We hope that when all those perfects align, we’ll take the plunge and do the thing that calls to us. But, sometimes, life has other plans for us.

So, don’t wait. Whatever you need to do, or feel compelled to do, do it now. Take one small step forward that sets you on the path to achieving your goals. It doesn’t all have to be done at once. You don’t have to wait until everything is perfect. Because it may never be.

It Wasn’t Supposed to be Like This

I had a great visit with my friend, even though it was tough to see her in pain and how tired she was after radiation therapy. (But I am forever grateful to the thoughtful and dedicated staff at the Cross Cancer Centre for their marvellous care.) We shared some great belly laughs, and tears. Quiet moments of reflection and power naps. (Falling asleep in a hospital chair can really put a kink in your neck!). Twenty-six years of friendship, we’re not just friends. We’re more like brother and sister.

And, still, that thought is ever-present: it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Yet this is the reality we face. And, if anything, it’s a wake-up call.

Don’t wait. Do what you love. Live your best life.

Filed Under: Writing Life Tagged With: do what you love, don't wait, dreams, live your best life, reality, wake-up call

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