Snoopy and Danielle Steel...and Why It Pays to Be Yourself

I'm a goofball, and thanks to YouTube anyone can see that I'm not kidding. That's because my oh-so-clever humans thought it'd be funny to set up a hidden "Bella cam" to watch what I do when I'm left alone for an hour or two. Lucky for me, the camera timed out before it could catch me shredding the bed pillows and adorning myself with goose feathers.

 

Am I embarrassed because thousands of strangers have watched the video? Not at all. Dogs aren't afraid of what others think. We don't care if the rest of the world sees us looking silly or making mistakes. We don't care if they know that sometimes we feel insecure. We know that if we don't put ourselves out into the world, we won't get as many cookies or belly rubs in return.

What if Charles Shulz had given up after the editors of his high school yearbook rejected his Peanuts cartoons? There would be no quirky little dog named Snoopy who lounges on his doghouse and whose best friend is a strange yellow bird named Woodstock.

What if Danielle Steel had given up after publishers rejected five of her books in a row? She wouldn't have sold nearly 600 million books, each one of them a bestseller. (Yes, 600 million books. Holy cow! If my book sold just 0.1% of that amount, I'd be doing the Boxer happy dance 24/7.  I'd certainly like to meet Ms. Steel. She's savvy and is crazy about dogs.)

Dogs (and smart humans) follow their own instincts. We don't worry about being judged or criticized by others because, quite frankly, life is much too short—especially in dog years—to be anyone else but ourselves.  Plus, you can't please all people all the time, so there is no point in trying. There are people who love Boxers and there are people who (gasp) don't. There is nothing I can do about that, except to be the best Boxer I can be.

Be your own dog and don't let what other people think keep you from taking risks and pursuing your dreams.

Really, there is no other way to be.