"Dread
Pirate will help you navigate life's uncharted waters with his calm reflections
on steering your ship to success. He'll prepare you for a voyage of adventure
and understanding.
Paul Kyriazi
Director & Author.
For centuries
pirates have been an inspiration to sailors of all ages. Their tenacity, motivation
and ability to overcome obstacles can teach us how better to live our lives.
It is in this spirit that I, the Dread Pirate, motivate fellow sailors of
life, via the written word and motivational speaking. As we all know, success
is relative. I feel that I have been a success only because I have created
an agenda, carried it out, and look to the future. All to often we become
caught up in the steps of the process rather than the end product. An example
of this is The
Imperial Dread Sea Scrolls. What were once short entries on a personal
weblog grew to become my first ebook. It is by far my greatest achievement.
I have always wanted to publish something that would help others sail the
backwaters of life. IDSS is the culmination of that desire.
Success is
often more than just achieving a goal. It might be charting a course and never
giving up on a dream. Success may also be setting a goal and surpassing even
your own aspirations! No matter the destination; keeping it real, keeping
it motivated and keeping it positive will help any sailor get there faster
and with more energy for the next leg of the journey.
Over the past several
years, shipmates have asked and emailed the same question over and over, who
is the Dread Pirate and why is he 'qualified' to inspire or motivate anyone?
It is a fair question and deserves a fair answer. I
am a man who was 'kicked out' at the age of 18. I was a misunderstood and
misguided youth according to my parents. For a few months, I wandered. Finding
the homeless life not much to my liking, I joined the US Armed Forces, the
US Navy to be exact. It was in the navy that I received a wonderful education.
I was able to travel the globe and see the real world, and not just the world
that I was told about in private Catholic schools for twelve years. I am a
combat veteran, and am the first sailor to have won the Navy Cup at the National
Matches at Camp Perry Ohio. (In the sport of high-power rifle shooting) I
also earned another gold and bronze that same year. I left the US Navy with
several medals, an honorable discharge and a completely new view of the world.
After my discharge, I earned my Associates Degree in Business Management at
Germanna Community College. I then opened a small bookstore and art gallery
with $2500.00. It was turning a profit in less than a year. Then, both my
business partner and I became ill. Sixty to eighty hour workweeks with not
a day off in over a year, had taken its toll. We closed the store, made a
profit on its inventory, and made the choice to go back to college. I had
always coveted a Bachelors Degree.
This period of illness was to be a catharsis in my life. I was having difficulty
in college, especially my math courses. Considering I was a mathematics major,
this was more than a small issue. It was at this time, via a salvo of testing,
done by a multitude of doctors, that I was to be diagnosed as an adult with
ADD. I reasoned, since people like Thomas Edison, Mozart, & Einstein were
all ADD, I really did not have all that much to worry about.
On the heels of the ADD diagnosis, came a second and more substantial blow,
I was told I had learning disability. In hide sight, this was logical. I had
failed the first grade and had been transferred to parochial school. I was
not allowed to go to public school. It also explained many of my struggles
in my educational efforts. I had taken Calculus three times in order to pass.
I had taken Calc II twice in order to pass. I was determined to get my degree,
but I had to take a step back and rethink my strategy. I changed my major
to something I knew I understood, business, and continued forward into the
fray, armed with things called 'accommodations', with more determination than
ever to complete my degree. I graduated from Mary Washington College, in 2002,
with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. I had no family at the
graduation to cheer for me, but the entire business and math faculty gave
me a standing ovation. I had remained positively motivated, adapted, and overcome,
in order to achieve my goal. I had not given up on my dream no matter the
'diagnosis'.
I have always been a writer. My teachers, as far back as I can recall, have
told me that I was a horrid composer of the written word and should give up
any efforts in becoming a writer. For most of my adult life, I have written
short stories and essays, as well as, kept a personal journal. I began to
pen inspirational and motivational entries in my personal journal in order
to keep myself motivated and positive. It helped me through a time when I
was under intense self-imposed pressure to succeed.
And then, a most unique occurrence happened. When I was a Senior at MWC, I
received an email from a kindly lady named Biannca Brussard, who said that
she had read my work, liked it, and thought that I would enjoy something called
a web log. Never mind the fact that I had never openly published my work.
Forget the fact that there was no way she could have never seen a single word
I penned… I fell for the automated marketing campaign of John and Crew at
Xanga, hook, line, and sinker. I started a 'web-log' and began to pen my musings
and thoughts on the Internet. This blog was unique, because, it allowed readers
to leave comments about your entry. I began to receive positive feedback within
a few days of the start of my blog. My readership began to grow and subscribers
went from 50, to 150, and then, to its current number of around 350. The site
has, over its short lifespan, received over 80,000 hits. I am, still, amazed
at the popularity of my words to sailors, when so many teachers told me that
my words would never amount to anything.
Then came the comments, emails, post cards and letters from sailors of life
thanking me for helping motivate or inspire them in a time of crisis. I was
taken aback that they would find my writings helpful. But the feedback
kept coming, and I began to understand that my nautical musings, written under
the pen name Dread Pirate, were helping others, just as they were helping
me. Shipmates often asked if they could copy or have a personal copy of specific
essays that had helped them. Their requests gave me an idea. I now wanted
to share my words with others. I never bothered to send my work to publishers.
With the help and inspiration of my very good friend and mentor, Paul Kyriazi,
I began to self e-publish my essays as ebooks. I created Dread Pirate ebooks,
(DPebooks.com) and began to self publish my own motivational essays under
the name, The Imperial Dread Sea Scrolls. I have published two volumes and
plan on publishing more. I am currently working on an audio book that is a
compilation of both volumes I & II.
Having a web log, and now my own e-publishing home, as well as an authors
page on AuthorsDen.com. I decided to create Dread Pirate's Secret Cyber-Island,
Dread Pirate Radio, and Dread's Ships Store. One positive email, began a cascade
of events that has yet to stop. Given this background, I now feel that an
answer to the above asked question is in order. I am no more, or less, qualified
to motivate you than motivational speakers/authors such as Anthony Robbins,
Gene Simmons, or a host of others that make a living inspiring the masses.
What I offer, in my own unique style of writing, drawn from my wit, heart,
and life's experiences, is nothing more than basic observations so many sailors
of life miss, because we are to overwhelmed by life and its fast pace. I write
for me, if you care to sail along with me for a while, and read my words,
I would be honored. If you find a bit of treasure on your journey, then, both
you and I, have been successful. All I offer are words that may help you along
your voyage. Motivation comes from within; it is up to you who inspires and
motivates you. Only you can keep it real, keep it motivated and keep it positive.
To read
more about my efforts in the horror, sci-fi and fantasy genre, please sail
here: The
Author MM.
About
DreadPirate.info
As
the Dread Pirate, I had a variety of different cyber efforts. The popularity
of The Imperial Dread Sea Scrolls Web Log has never waned. It has gained readership
to number over four hundred and is growing daily. What began as inspirational
nautical style motivational essays on a private web log has given rise to
self-publishing my efforts in ebook format. The Imperial Dread Sea Scrolls
ebook has received rave reviews from shipmates far and wide. Having various
web pages scattered about the backwaters of a variety of cyber oceans is good
for keeping the pirate hunters at bay, but it has its drawbacks for the buccaneer
who wants to self-publish. From the aspect of being a motivational essay /
horror author it is not necessarily a boon to be unknown. Thus, my quandary.
Having a
web presence can mean a variety of things, but for an author, it all boils
down to one thing, visibility. It occurred to me the one bright and shiny
day that while my efforts have been scattered, they may have not been for
not. I realized that I had the right idea about what I was doing, but I had
gone about it in absolute reverse fashion. I had built a web presence in reverse
so-to-speak. I had created very good parts, but had no real home port. I came
to the solution that what was needed was a secret place that Crew, readers,
and fellow sailors of life could go in order to see the entirety of the Dread
Pirate's cyber-realm. Being a sly fellow, I managed to purchase a small island
from a group of disgruntled islanders that had grown tired of golden sunrises
and seventy degree year round temps.
Scuttlebutt
has it that pirates buried treasure in the sand of their tropical island paradises.
Dread Pirate's Secret Cyber-Island is no exception! Keep a sharp lookout for
buried treasure here and there! Find the Dread Pirate's treasure map and you
will have found the key to priceless treasure. Just as in your journey of
life, you never know what treasure you may stumble across while sailing the
backwaters of Dread Pirate's Secret Cyber-Island!
Shipmates,
I welcome you to the absolute definitive resource on all things Dread Pirate!
I hope that you enjoy your visit. Now, pass the rum will you?
Legal
Notice: DPebooks
lays claim to and establishes rights in the following marks based on legitimate
use of these trademarks: Dread Pirate ebooks, DPebooks,
DPebooks.com, DPe, Team DPe, the DPe Compass Rose Logo, Dread Pirate's Secret
Cyber Island, Dread Pirate Radio, and the DPR Compass Rose Logo.
DPebooks also claims copyrights on the following books (hard copy, ebooks,
etc.), The Imperial Dread Sea Scrolls, The Imperial Dread Sea Scrolls, Volume
II, IDSS, IDSS II or IDSS 2, Crossing the line into Motivation, and Birthright…
Slayer.
All the content of Dread Pirates Secret Cyber-Island, The Destiny's Quest,
Destiny's Quest, Dread Pirate Radio, DreadPirateRadio.com and DPR is the property
of DPebooks and may not be reprinted or used without express permission of
the publisher. All rights reserved.
