Everyday Creation

The Courage to Embrace Your Second Act

Kate Jones Season 2 Episode 120

Patricia Falvey left a successful and financially rewarding career in accounting to do what she always wanted: write full time. She made this her second act and encourages others who have a dream to do all they can to pursue it. 

This episode is an excerpt from my full interview with Falvey titled "Author Patricia Falvey on Being Brave, Resilient, and Focused on Your Dream." 

There are also three other excerpts: "Five Books and Counting: the Novels of Patricia Falvey," "Always a Writer at Heart," and "Goodness, Resilience and Paying it Forward."

To learn more about Falvey's books, visit patriciafalveybooks.com. And if you read one or all, please write a review.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

Patricia:

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It was almost like I had escaped from Alcatraz

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because there is that golden,

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you know, handcuffs that people, they're doing very

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well financially,

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they're on the track.

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It's very hard to get off that track.

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And it was hard for me because

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I mean, I knew better than anybody, being

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an accountant, what the odds were of making

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a living

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and getting a book published. And so it

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was one of those things that I tell

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people, I just went on faith.

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And I really came to understand what faith

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meant

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when I did that. And so that's how

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I got to

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where I could finally call myself a writer,

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not a wannabe. And that took a

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while. It took a while before I could

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actually announce that I was a writer. And

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it came in handy later when I would

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go and do research and go to places

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in little towns in Ireland or wherever. I

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remember once asking to get into Armagh's

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women's

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prison because in the back of my mind,

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I do have an idea about writing a

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book about that.

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And I had my sister with me and

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it had been closed because they were going

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to make it into a hotel,

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oddly enough.

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And I said, well, I'm a writer.

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And, you know, all they wanted was an

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acknowledgement

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of their name in the book somewhere. And

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they took me on the tours

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and all of that. So I grew in

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confidence

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after that, but it took a long time.

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But it's great for cocktail parties now because

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when I used to tell people, you know,

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what do you do? Well, I'm a CPA

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and I have a degree in taxation. I

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work with insurance companies, you know, people are

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moving away.

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But, oh, you're a writer? Cool. I always

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wanted to talk to a writer.

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So it's been fun. I tell people I'm

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nowhere near as rich as I was,

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but I'm much happier and I don't have

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that pull anymore.

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And then the other thing I like to

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try to tell people is there's always a

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second act.

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And I'm living proof of that, that you

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should never, if you can help it, give

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up on your dreams. It's never too late.

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You're never too old.

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There's always lots of reasons why you couldn't,

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shouldn't do it.

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But if you wanna feel good about

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the remainder of your life and what you're

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doing,

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then I think it's worth taking a chance.

Kate:

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And there's also a reason you have that

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dream, that you have that call, that part

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of you that

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wants to do something.

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And if you don't

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take heed

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of that call,

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it can be really detrimental.

Patricia:

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It can. And that's what I'm saying because

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I used to feel like I was being

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pulled in two different directions, and I was

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never

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satisfied.

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And lots of people would say, well, you've

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done so well. And what they didn't say

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was for an immigrant, but it didn't satisfy

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me.

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