 If I had given up when the first publisher said no to me then I would have never had a book. | | Martin Evans |
For the last two years Martin Evans has set aside two hours every night, starting at midnight, to just "let the creativity flow". The result of his efforts is a motivational story book called "Day Trip". Real life experience It's a fictional story, based on a real life experience when he went on an aid mission to Romania which didn't go according to plan. Every time something goes wrong in the story, Martin equates it to normal people's lives and how they can not only overcome it, but benefit from their experience. Motivation tips Here are Martin's top five motivation tips: 1. Winners never quit, and quitters never win - "If I had given up when the first publisher said no to me then I would have never had a book, I'd still be knocking on doors now if the 43rd publisher said no." 2. Always set goals - "Who would have watched Euro 2004 if there were no goalposts on the pitch? And how much fun would it have been if there was nothing for Rooney to aim for? It would really be a boring game if it was just 22 men running around a football pitch with nothing to do, yet that's what your life is like if you don't set goals." 3. Make your goals realistic, and set a date to them - "There is no point saying you want to be the Prime Minister if you're not even a politician, but it is realistic to say you want to start a new career. And there is no point in saying that, if you don't put a date on it either. Setting a date gives you something to aim for." 4. Believe in yourself -"If you don't believe in yourself, then you'll have a hard job trying to convince others to believe in you. Trust your instincts and go with your heart." 5. Take advice from people who are at where you want to be - "It's easy to listen to our friends, but always ask yourself if they are where you want to be, if they're not, be respectful, but don't apply their advice. If you want to be the Worlds best footballer, and you had the choice of talking to David Beckham or Alan Titchmarsh, then Beckham would be your best bet, but not if you wanted to be a great gardener!" Dedication Martin said, "I've dedicated the book to my Dad. "He was ill for all of my life, yet never complained and was always there for me, so he made me into a motivated and positive thinking person. "To be able to have a book published, which will hopefully help others is a dream come true." Cotswold Care Hospice Martin will be collecting smiles from all over Gloucestershire on Friday July 9 when he tours the county to promote his first published book. During the trek he'll be collecting smiles for the Cirencester Smile campaign, which has a charity auction of celebrity art at the end of the day to raise funds for The Cotswold Care Hospice. A signed first edition copy of Martin's Book, with a cartoon smile will also be put up for auction. 
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It's the culmination of a lifetime's dream, it took over two years to create, and he was knocked back by more than forty publishers - but Martin Evans can now say "I'm a published author".
