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Drawing Out The Dragons: A Meditation on Art, Destiny, and the Power of Choice by James A. Owen
annashiv's review
5.0
A great read for anyone who wants to succeed doing what they love. I loved everything about it. I would recommend it to everyone.
orsuros's review
5.0
This book is short but powerful and inspirational. The book helped me to appreciate more the little things I do and how they might lead to great things down the road. I feel this book gave me a lot of encouragement during the days I was feeling down. Most importantly, it shares the message of never giving up on your dreams, but also doesn't look away from the fact that you'll have to work hard to achieve them.
Update: Read it again after getting a sign copy of the physical version of the book. It's still just as amazing and I'd definitely recommend it for anyone looking for an inspirational book.
Update: Read it again after getting a sign copy of the physical version of the book. It's still just as amazing and I'd definitely recommend it for anyone looking for an inspirational book.
tmleblanc's review
5.0
Everyone has an amazing story. However, not every amazing story is inspiring. I don't quite recall how I discovered [a:James A. Owen|19733|James A. Owen|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1267396619p2/19733.jpg], but I do known that his novel, [b:Here, There Be Dragons|34908|Here, There Be Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, #1)|James A. Owen|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347702915s/34908.jpg|2498824], and the subsequent books in the Imaginarium Geographica series appealed to the Peter Pan that still resides inside of me. It wasn't until I connected with James via Facebook and his blog that I discovered his inspiring tale, which he shares in this, his first book in his Meditations series, [b:Drawing Out the Dragons: A Meditation on Art, Destiny, and the Power of Choice|17085965|Drawing Out the Dragons A Meditation on Art, Destiny, and the Power of Choice|James A. Owen|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358209830s/17085965.jpg|15864752]
As a rising star in the industry, James encountered many setbacks, victories and course corrections in quest to publish his own comics. This aspiring Merchant Philosopher seemingly has experienced it all and has found the strength to carry on when many of us may have given up on our own dreams. With each instance James shares, he explains how his choices made him a successful author and artist and has allowed him to live his dream.
Drawing Out the Dragons is truly an inspiring memoir. Owen does not talk down the reader or boast that he is better than the reader because he has overcome all these obstacles. The wonderful thing about this memoir is that each reader that I’ve passed it along to since it was first published in 2011 has found something that resonates with him or her. For me, as an aspiring photographer, it is the following quote that appears in the first pages of the book and the final pages.
Magic is real. And worth looking for.
Thank you, James, for being one of the people in this crazy world that has inspired me to keep looking and has showed me where to look.
As a rising star in the industry, James encountered many setbacks, victories and course corrections in quest to publish his own comics. This aspiring Merchant Philosopher seemingly has experienced it all and has found the strength to carry on when many of us may have given up on our own dreams. With each instance James shares, he explains how his choices made him a successful author and artist and has allowed him to live his dream.
Drawing Out the Dragons is truly an inspiring memoir. Owen does not talk down the reader or boast that he is better than the reader because he has overcome all these obstacles. The wonderful thing about this memoir is that each reader that I’ve passed it along to since it was first published in 2011 has found something that resonates with him or her. For me, as an aspiring photographer, it is the following quote that appears in the first pages of the book and the final pages.
Magic is real. And worth looking for.
Thank you, James, for being one of the people in this crazy world that has inspired me to keep looking and has showed me where to look.
jelundberg's review
5.0
As a writer, it's sometimes very easy to get discouraged with this career I've chosen. Rejection rather than acceptance is the norm, a book may sell to a publisher then get dropped because of financial reasons, work that does gets published may get panned or, even worse, ignored. Holding onto that motivation that made me want to be a writer in the first place can sometimes seem a futile endeavor.
And so when James A. Owen released Drawing Out the Dragons as an e-book (on April Fool's Day, of all days), it was like an inspirational bolt from heaven, exactly what I needed to read right now at this point in my life and career.
One thing the book does is to humble me utterly. Owen has gone through ten people's worth of seemingly-insurmountable challenges, and yet he has never lost his faith in himself as an artist and creator. Not when he was expected not to survive a mysterious childhood illness, not when his drawing hand was crushed in a car accident, not when he sold everything he owned to move overseas for his dream job and then watch that job evaporate before his eyes. Owen's consistently positive outlook enabled him to not only meet these adversities (and many more) head-on, but to turn them into opportunities for life-changing triumphs.
In the telling of his life's lessons, Owen consistently relays the impression that while his experiences may have been unique, the way that he handled them was not, that any of us can maintain the same mindset toward success. That the choices we make -- moving long-distance for a new career, quitting a safe regular job to focus on one's passion, taking inspiration from Superman and visualizing oneself healthy, or simply making lines on paper -- are always up to us to make the best of.
Unlike normal types of self-help or motivational books, Drawing Out the Dragons provides inspiration through experiential storytelling. Owen never lays out the "keys to success" or the "steps to happiness," but through his actions and the wonderfully fluid way in which in relays them in this book, any reader can glean these keys and steps for oneself. A modern riff on the idea of giving a man a fish versus teaching a man to fish, and Owen proves himself a master teacher.
I've known James Owen for a number of years now, but only online. We've never met in person, but he has done more for me as a friend and "big brother" than many people I know in real life. But perhaps the best thing he's yet done is to write Drawing Out the Dragons and present it to the world, and for this I am infinitely grateful. If I am ever lucky enough to meet James in the flesh, you can bet I'm going to ask to see his Superman ring.
And so when James A. Owen released Drawing Out the Dragons as an e-book (on April Fool's Day, of all days), it was like an inspirational bolt from heaven, exactly what I needed to read right now at this point in my life and career.
One thing the book does is to humble me utterly. Owen has gone through ten people's worth of seemingly-insurmountable challenges, and yet he has never lost his faith in himself as an artist and creator. Not when he was expected not to survive a mysterious childhood illness, not when his drawing hand was crushed in a car accident, not when he sold everything he owned to move overseas for his dream job and then watch that job evaporate before his eyes. Owen's consistently positive outlook enabled him to not only meet these adversities (and many more) head-on, but to turn them into opportunities for life-changing triumphs.
In the telling of his life's lessons, Owen consistently relays the impression that while his experiences may have been unique, the way that he handled them was not, that any of us can maintain the same mindset toward success. That the choices we make -- moving long-distance for a new career, quitting a safe regular job to focus on one's passion, taking inspiration from Superman and visualizing oneself healthy, or simply making lines on paper -- are always up to us to make the best of.
Unlike normal types of self-help or motivational books, Drawing Out the Dragons provides inspiration through experiential storytelling. Owen never lays out the "keys to success" or the "steps to happiness," but through his actions and the wonderfully fluid way in which in relays them in this book, any reader can glean these keys and steps for oneself. A modern riff on the idea of giving a man a fish versus teaching a man to fish, and Owen proves himself a master teacher.
I've known James Owen for a number of years now, but only online. We've never met in person, but he has done more for me as a friend and "big brother" than many people I know in real life. But perhaps the best thing he's yet done is to write Drawing Out the Dragons and present it to the world, and for this I am infinitely grateful. If I am ever lucky enough to meet James in the flesh, you can bet I'm going to ask to see his Superman ring.
bootman's review
5.0
What a fantastic, inspirational book for creatives as well as just about anyone who is trying to pursue their dreams. James Owen is a comic book creator and novelist, and this book is part memoir and part inspirational book. Owen has many challenges throughout his life from illness as a child to runs of bad luck, but he tells the story of how he never gave up. Something he says throughout the book is, “If you really want to do something, no one can stop you. But if you really don’t want to do something, no one can help you,” and I love it. Personally, due to my anxiety, I think some of the decisions he made were super reckless, but they worked out and really show some bravery. This is a short read and more than worth it for anyone out there who needs some inspiration, and I’ll definitely be reading it again.
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