Be a Dreamer: Follow Your Dreams, and You’ll Never Work a Day In Your Life

“I'm a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars, and if I miss a star, then I grab a handful of clouds“ Mike Tyson

This week, I was thinking about Dad and how it's been years since I said goodbye to him. I was reminded of one of the first articles I published on Substack called Follow Your Dreams, and You’ll Never Work a Day In Your Life. which I’m resharing here. While growing up, that was the best advice my father gave me. So, it’s my pleasure to re-share the original post with you today, and I hope it inspires you to follow your dreams and goals. It reinvigorated me when I revisited his timeless wisdom. I can only hope it does the same for you. Your dreams are beacons of possibility, guiding you toward your desired future. May the force be with you.

My Dad gave me the most beautiful blessing when he gave me the best advice a father could give their child; he said, “Follow your dreams, and you’ll never work a day in your life. “ It highlights the idea that aligning your goals with your passions can bring fulfillment, happiness, and joy to your life and surpasses conventional concepts of work as a chore. His advice was the cornerstone gem that navigated my voyage and continues to guide me today thirty-two years after he’s passed on.

A gift from my father, the magic stone was so solid that no diamond could scratch its surface. He set it as the cornerstone deep in the soil of my journey, guiding the way for a lifetime path of weaving imagination into reality and aligning my hope of a career with a non-traditional dream job of performing magic. Following your dreams is more than rewarding because the feeling of doing what you love transcends the sense of personal fulfillment. Expressing myself uniquely through my work has not only allowed for an incredible degree of creativity and opportunity but also gave me autonomy and freedom. Why do I perform? I’ll be honest; originally, I wanted people to like me because I had done the impossible. That immediate gratification. But as time passed and I matured, the more I realized the positive impact my performances had on people. How I touched lives through my work and provoked thoughts and new ideas, and that has a lasting effect on society. A ripple effect of creativity. We all can inspire one another. Although my dreams may have been lofty when I was a naive teen, I eventually blossomed into the wise, intelligent, and empathetic creature God created me to be through my work. I was a spiritual evolution in progress, and only now, through the eyes of an eagle, can I peer down and see my path and understand my journey better.

Here’s the thing: a dream job in entertainment ain't all glamour. Behind the illusion of the red carpet are long hours, intense schedules, and demanding work environments. I would work irregular hours and often suffered from intense jet-lag and I still had to meet tight deadlines and production schedules. It looks like you stepped out of a fashion magazine. Lol. That was the magic! The real magic has been backstage! My dream job also taught me how to develop a thick skin and coping mechanisms to navigate the spotlight. Rejection is also a common occurrence. Not every proposal is booming; not every project will come to fruition, and setbacks are inevitable. It's frustrating. It would help if you learned to hear the answer NO 90% or more of the time. Dealing with rejection and learning from failures is a significant part of the journey. You jump for joy and do a big happy dance when you hear an occasional YES. Those are the moments you live for and embrace. All that toughness you build and the thick skin you develop pays off. Every blood, sweat, and tear is worth hearing, just one YES. Then you move on, and the next YES comes faster and easier.

My job in magic entertainment has been gratifying and fulfilling, but it’s essential to know that it came with challenges and sacrifices. None of what I regret, and from that magic stone set solidly in place by my father, the essence of my infinite legacy was built. Both physical and spiritual. This is the story of that magic stone.

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky,” goes the famous lyrics written by Jane Taylor  about those enchanting heavenly bodies we call stars. Who doesn’t want to reach for a star? Right? If you could grab one and hold it.

When I was a kid growing up, the last thing I saw through my bedroom window before I slid off into dream world were the beautiful shining bright stars. And where we lived in the country, there was minimal light pollution at night, so the stars looked like a domed carpet over our heads. Some nights, when I couldn't sleep, I would look out my bedroom window and watch these mysterious lights and slowly follow their course through the universe. Where were they going? As a wondering child, the stars were like diamonds in the sky and the “stuff that dreams were made on,” to quote William Shakespeare, and with this thought in my mind, I would fall into slumber.

Earlier, I wrote how my brothers and I spent much of our childhood in the countryside, a vast natural playground of make-believe,  climbing trees, catching tadpoles out of streams, running from snakes, chewing grass, horseback riding, riding bikes, swimming, and eating produce from fields like tomatoes fresh off the vines. The lovely perfume from the fruit lingered on my fingers after being eaten.

In some ways, I was a bit of a Tom-Boy in spirit and shaped only by my environment. Because, of course, there was the girlie side of me that loved the color pink and lavender and played dolls with Katie Stephenson, the little girl down the street. When I wasn't playing dolls and other games, I was attending ballet and tap dancing lessons and practicing for recitals or baton twirling, balancing out all my life with good study habits and spending time at the library—overall, a pretty good upbringing.

When I recently started my blog, I began reminiscing about the numerous memories pulled from my childhood. Pondering upon all these recollections, I was reminded of one memory I hold dear to my heart: When I was about 8, I asked my Dad about the stars and how the stars moved together in unison—staying in perfect harmony. At the same time, they traveled and twinkled like magic. Then my Dad told me the ancients believed stars were auspicious symbols and that when seen in your dreams, your dreams will come true.  Then he said, “Follow your dreams, Charlotte, and you won't work a day in your life.” I took his guidance seriously, and my path led me to magic—my destiny.

He didn't know that the ancients also believed some stars seen in dreams could bring nightmares. One of those stars must have visited me in a dream because good fortune ran out, and my life as I knew it changed forever as disaster struck.

For the readers who've not followed my history, my marriage to Jonathan had a theatrical finale, ending with a gun pointed at me. I had no choice but to notify 911 as my life was threatened. It was a difficult phone call. I sat hiding in our neighbor’s bushes while reluctantly dialing the number. So, my life ended abruptly— as I watched Jonathan being taken by sheriffs. That's the last time I saw him in person.

In the immediate days following that harrowing incident, friends and family embraced and helped me stay focused and move ahead. Counselors assigned to me by the District Attorney’s office advised me of the dangers of staying in my home and never going back to there unattended.  So, following a few bumps in the road, I followed their advice and sadly moved from my place  in Arroyo Grande, California, making my new home in Las Vegas by myself and hoping my future would be safe.  I'll cover more about this catastrophe in a future story. But for now, I want to establish an accurate starting point for when my “second” life began.

Here in Las Vegas, I started to put my life back together. At the same time, I was sorting out the particulars of my brother’s death and answering friend’s questions from the Classmates websites when magic happened. By chance, I came across Randy’s Classmate’s profile. Curious, I checked him out and sent him a note saying, “Hi.” I was surprised when Randy got back to me. That's how our communication started. In the fall days of 2009, Randy and I began our new lives together, living in Las Vegas.

One of the first photos taken of Randy and me after we reunited. I remember this was taken by our friend Debbie Nix while visiting her and her husband Donnie in Springville, California. Donnie was a member of San Andreas Fault along with Randy.

I felt at that time as if I were in a surreal dream. Jonathan had been my partner in life and on stage for close to 34 years. Now he was gone, and Randy, my boyfriend from my teen years reunited with me. It was a surreal experience. Despite what some rumors claimed, Randy came into my life after I decided to separate from Jonathan, who had a five-year restraining order to stay away from me. And he was in jail.

Randy brought with him a sense of tranquility, peace, and love, spirituality and humor, and at that time in my life he was God-sent. He had been through some of his own trying times, so we rebuilt our infrastructure as a team.

I haven't talked too much about those days from  back in the summer of 2009, and I will do more in future blogs. First, Let me update you about my current status, beginning with the time that led Randy and I to this ranch, located not in any one  town but resting almost equally between two communities: Porterville and the small town of Terra Bella. Since Porterville is the largest of the two municipalities, we call Porterville our hometown. We are those people who live far out in the sticks in the San Joaquin Valley, and when you pass a place like ours on your way to Tahoe or Sacramento, you wonder, “Who in the world  lives way out here?” We do. Now you know. Lol! We live here in a 50’s built farmhouse with our poodle Gidget and kitties, Squeaky and Blackwyn along with about 11 feral cats who keep the rats out of our laundry room, workshop and the other outer buildings. We live on many acres and we maintain a beautiful garden where we enjoy sitting outside and just listening to the music of nature. One of favorite pastimes.

A collage of photos of our garden. Pictured in the bottom left are two of our feral cats.

Our kitties Blackwyn and Squeaky. Blackwyn was a feral cat who became domesticated and now lives inside. Squeaky came up to me while I was in the parking lot at Walmart waiting for an order to be delivered. He became a keeper. He is named Squeaky because he squeaks instead of meows.

Our a little poodle mix Gidget. One evening shortly after Covid lockdowns began we came home to the ranch to find her sitting inside one of the barns. My eye caught her while Randy was pointing out a rabbit. She was scared, matted and very malnourished. In the countryside, many unwanted pets are dumped on a regular basis.

We left Las Vegas for several reasons. In April 2010, we experienced a drive-by shooting at our home. Ironically just a day or two following Jonathan’s release from jail. The gunman had shot three bullets into our home as he drove past our house. We were met by police escorts when we arrived home after an evening out shopping for items I needed to pack for a trip to Mexico to perform in Carmen del Playa. The traumatic feelings returned, and needless to say, I was frightened and anxious, so we made plans to move to our hometown, back to our beginnings together. A place where I knew we could feel safe and secure.

Upon my return from Mexico, we readied ourselves for the move. The decision to move turned out to be a good one. Randy's parents were elderly at this time in their lives. His Mom, Velma, had been ill off and on for many years, so this was a chance for us to spend quality time with them. We had several good years being near his mother until she succumbed to her illnesses and passed on to her next journey. Randy’s Dad, Sam, was with us longer but died by himself in a convalescent home, blocked from physical contact with his family and friends. Through a window, we said farewell to him, called Grandpa Sam by all his grandchildren. I can't imagine the terror he felt sitting alone in his room, not being allowed visitors, and not understanding the government health mandates due to COVID.  But the time we had with him was precious.

Sam and Velma Lessley, Randy’s parents.

Besides Randy’s  parents, my half-brother, Keith, who was mentally disabled, lived in a care home. His own life had gone through some drastic changes. My half-sister, who lived near him and provided much companionship died from cancer a few years prior. His caretaker, Lisa Timmons, whose family he adored, also died from cancer, so counselors moved him to a new home ran by strangers—all the changes in his life were very upsetting to him. So, our move back to Porterville gave him the extra stability he needed. And just like my father-in-law Sam, he was locked down in his home due to Covid mandates.  Keith died alone only a few days before Sam’s memorial—no more hugs and love from me or my brother Kelly. We shed many tears during those few final days over our loved ones.

Picture above taken at my brother Keith’s care home shortly before Covid lockdowns. This would be my final visit with him. Keith is in the middle, my younger brother Kelly on the right.

Life moves on just like the hands of a clock. When Randy and I returned home from all the memorials and grieving, we focused our attention on our magic, music, and our shows. During the pre-Covid days, we were in the process of producing our live shows. A show I stopped performing a few years earlier due to a badly broken wrist, which continues to affect me today.

The Covid environment changed everything for us, although we were also unexpectedly prepared for some of those changes. Suddenly, entertainers were forced to perform in their living rooms in front of their iPhones for Zoom audiences. Randy and I already had a green room with professional lighting and a second stage to record live performances, as well as a video editing room and music studio. The type of show we planned to produce before the long term lockdowns caused by COVID-19 mandates was an integration of our video performances, live shows, and featuring our audience as an integral part of the entertainment experience. So, we decided to postpone producing our live shows and focus primarily on concept videos of our work. We will feature these on our membership website, which we anticipate launching in the late winter-early spring of 2024.

Our music studio, green room, theater, and computer room where we will be producing our shows. Notice my initials CP logo in the bottom left photo? Randy created it for me.

People who know Randy are aware of his talent as a songwriter, musician, and videographer. Most of his work is unpublished until the launch of our website, but you can listen to a few of his audio recordings here. He will be coming out with video productions of these songs in the future.

Swing Shake Boogie

As for my magic, I've been working on many new routines and some original work over the past few years. We weren’t happy with the royalty-free music selection available to accompany a stellar magic routine. I must have my original music to avoid copywriting issues when my videos are published. The fifteen pieces Randy wrote, composed, and produced for me sounds like a Broadway musical to my ears. It's with much anticipation I look forward to sharing my work with the public.

It was a very different experience choreographing and staging a routine to music being written specifically for one of my illusions. Until recent times, I was trained to find a piece suitable for the magic effect. And then choreograph moves and essential moments in the routine to coincide with the changes in the music. It's an effective process that most good performers eventually perfect. The challenge we both faced utilizing Randy’s original music conflicted with how I had done things in the past. I had always adapted my routine to the best piece of music I could find. The way we do it now is reversed. I work out my routine; Randy studies it, and then creates music to fit my routine. I can easily say I’m overjoyed with the outcome of our joint venture.

I establish my onstage persona in my first routine to a song named Magic Maker, because that’s what I am. I am a magic maker, and in the act, I produce lights I turn into stars, ending with the stars strewn together on a thread. It is a delightful and whimsical routine dictated by the fanciful music and fitting because it embodies the guidance my father gave me years earlier about following my dreams.

My  favorite routine from my show is based on the Old Rabbit Out of the Hat trick, except with my own particular twist. Where as instead of pulling one rabbit out of the hat, I produce a whole family of rabbits out of the hat and with a surprise ending. It’s like a piece of magic pulled from a story book. The music Randy created for this illusion is called

Wabbit’s Waltz

Wabbit’s Waltz, which I’m sharing with you here.

I hope as you listen to this magical number you are reminded of your own goals and that the music inspires you to follow your dreams and aspirations.

Until we meet again, keep wishing upon a star. ✨