Becoming Your Future Self
Even when the future's not so far away
It’s not an exaggeration to say this book by Dr. Benjamin Hardy changed my life. The night after I finished it, I dreamed I was in a red convertible parked in front of the Park Plaza Hotel in New York City, while my daughter helped me unload boxes of books. The sun hit the windshield just right, and the boxes in the back seat were stamped with my name. Even the doormen came over, smiling, to help.
That dream sparked the idea for my Inn Trouble Mysteries—my “Scooby-Doo for adults” series set in historic, iconic hotels.
In his book, Dr. Hardy encourages us to picture ourselves twenty years into the future. And, admittedly, that’s easier when you’re twenty than when you’re already a senior citizen. When I woke up, I almost dismissed it. It felt impractical. Indulgent, even. I had plenty of reasons not to start something new. But I couldn’t let it go. So I started writing.
In that dream, I wasn’t young—I was something better. I was healthy, confident, and successful. And those are qualities available to all of us, no matter our age.
Every book in the series begins with Willa arriving somewhere new, unsure what she’ll find. I think that’s true of all of us.
In my rewrites, I discovered I especially loved writing older characters—the ones who’ve lived enough life to be both wise and a little fearless. Characters like Aunt Iris, and later Miss Mabel, who became the kind of seventy-something I hope to be: smart, resourceful, courageous, and deeply devoted to the people around her.
Maybe your future doesn’t look like a red convertible in New York City. Maybe it’s quieter, or closer to home. But the invitation is the same: to imagine a life that still has room to grow.
There is more ahead of us than we sometimes allow ourselves to believe. All it takes is one idea—or one dream—to start.