Living the Risk-free Life

Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing. --Benjamin Franklin.

I absolutely love this quote.  As a mantra for daily living, it involves everything that I think is essential to successful living. It requires determining your purpose and focus.  It involves taking a risk and moving head-on into the challenges of life.  It also involves sharing what is learned and serving others through my favorite media, writing. While I've always had a basic belief in living life to the fullest, I can't truthfully say that taking risks has always been a part of that.

When I was a little girl, my favorite fairy tale was Goldilocks and The Three Bears. You remember the story don't you? She sits in one chair and it is too big and she sits in another chair and it is too small. She finally sits in a third chair and it is JUST RIGHT! I can't tell you how strongly I identify with this little girl who is trying to get everything in her life 'just right'. Much of my life's goal has been to fly below the radar and take the comfortable risk-free path.  While the idea that following a certain path would take me to my destination without any mistakes is quite appealing, I frequently have to remind myself how unrealistic that is. After all, even Goldilocks had to try out a few options before she got it just right!

Recognizing that living a purposeful, intentional life involves making mistakes and taking risks is important because it gives us permission to try different options and to be okay with possible failure. An unwillingness to fail can result in an unwillingness to try and ultimately an unwillingness to move beyond the status-quo. Doing something worth writing about by necessity involves taking a chance and risking failure.  The lesson for myself and Goldilocks is that being concerned with getting everything just right is really...just wrong.

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Why Do You Blog? Five Reasons Why I Blog.

filedesc http://www.epa.gov/win/winnews/images05/0510keyboard.gif (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Next week I'll be speaking to a meeting of Christian authors about my journey as a writer and how I've recovered the dream of being a writer through publishing children's stories about Wyatt the Wonder Dog and most recently, my book for grown-up children, The Call.  In addition, it's coming up on three years that I've been writing this blog. All of this has caused me to reflect on my journey through the world of writing.  It has been an exciting and rewarding learning experience for me. I've slowly become a blog addict.  In the beginning, I was nervous about putting out my thoughts and feelings.  I have a strong censor and I write then edit, then write again.  With my high "C" personality, this could go on forever, but I've learned to let some of it go.  Thus, the process has become quicker and while I still edit for typos and grammar and flow of the whole piece, I've learned not to obsess so much about the content that I spend an inordinate amount of time processing and reviewing the material.  Sometimes you just have to close your eyes and click that publish button...

One of the biggest obstacles to overcome in beginning and following up on a blog is the fear of not being good enough.  I suspect you know what I'm talking about, that inner voice that says, "Why do you think that you have something important to say?  You don't even have your own life figured out, how can you advise others?  What if you write and write and no one reads it?  (In the beginning I actually sort of hoped this would be the case but the momentum quickly turns on that one).  There are so many experts out there, why would I try to write something significant?"

I've learned some important lessons as I've confronted these doubts and personal deficits.  Here's what I've learned:

1. You don't have to be an expert to share your knowledge and experience.  Just as there are always those who are ahead of you, there are also many who are behind you in these areas.  Write for them.  You just might find that the "experts" ahead of you can learn from you as well.  There is a tendency to put people on a pedestal that only makes sense from our own perspective. 
2. Be yourself.  People don't want to read material from a textbook or a technical manual on how-to-do-it.  They want to know about you and your struggles and achievements.  Make it personal.
3. Be generous.  One of the things that I really like about the Dan Miller and the 48days  community which I have been actively involved in for about four years, is that it is a very generous community.  People share experiences, resources and products.  Benefiting others ultimately benefits you.  Zig Ziglar used to  say, “You can have anything you want if you help enough others get anything they want.”   Share your resources, your ideas, your creativity and your support.  Too many people act as if when you share what you have, everyone will steal your ideas and you’ll be left with less than you started.  In reality, the opposite is true.  The more you give the more you have.  
4. Have fun with it.  There are of course some days when I stare blankly at the screen and wonder what to write about.  There are just as many though when I hate that other responsibilities keep me away from blogging.  I'm always thinking about getting to it and always feel a sense of relief and completion when I finish.  If there is no fun, no pleasure, no clicking into the zone and enjoying it, then find your passion elsewhere.  Write because it fills a need and is fun!
5. Be a learner.  Every post I write engages me in clarifying my thoughts, researching some topic or reviewing some past experience.  Just as I hope to teach others from my experience, I learn just as much in the doing.

What about you?  Why do you blog?  Why do you write?  What have you learned?

Are You Feeling Bald?

Image via WikipediaYou gotta love kids.  I was recently teaching a class on feelings and the book I was reading had the line in it... "Are you feeling bold?".  I've learned never to assume that children know what I am talking about, so I stopped and asked the kindergarten class if they knew what bold meant.  Being five and six year olds they of course did.  The child I called on confidently replied "You know, it's when you have no hair."

I thought about this story as I worked on my yearly goals.  A couple of them involve stepping way out of my comfort zone and I'm having a hard time getting past that.  What concerns me?  Failure and rejection to name a few DEVASTATING  feelings. Certainly is hard to quiet that negative voice inside, isn't it?  What does it take to make a difference in the world though?  Taking a calculated risk?  Sailing in new seas?  Feeling bald...I mean bold?