Do Your Work World Changer
I wrote a book ten years ago. It took me a year to finish, which I did despite moving to Europe for a few months in the process. I was so committed, I even packed a printer in my suitcase, plus several pounds of hard copies. ⠀
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Later, I took the book to some writers' conferences and had some quasi-serious conversations with a few agents and publishers about it. ⠀
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They said they liked it, but I didn't have a big enough platform to publish it. Then somehow I decided it wasn't good enough, and I wasn't good enough either. So I stuck it in a drawer. Ten years later, here's what I know for sure: ⠀
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☘️ Not big enough, not good enough were only potentially true. I made them true because I believed them. I could have believed something else and behaved accordingly. It was my choice, but I didn't know that then.⠀
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☘️ Had I trusted I was already good enough, I would have admitted how badly I wanted to write professionally and found a way to put the best version I could out in the world. I would have grown as an author in a thousand ways since. ⠀
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☘️ If there is no 1.0 there will never be 2-10. ⠀
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☘️ Perfectionism kills 1.0.⠀
Most people, even famous artists, don't feel like their work is good enough but they do it anyway. J.Lo once said, "even though I had sold 70 million albums, there I was feeling like I'm no good at this." ⠀
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It doesn't matter what anybody thinks about your work, if it's burning inside you and you'd regret dying without doing it, then you must do it.⠀
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And you must start now. ⠀
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While I believe God makes everything beautiful in its time, I also know, I have to quit making excuses. God and I can't co-create if I don't show up.⠀
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So here's the deal. On April 21, 2020, there will be a completed rough draft on my desk. I don't know what exactly it will say, but I know it will be good enough.⠀
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What's your commitment? Drop it in the comments. ⠀
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ps. The picture is of Wallowa Lake in Oregon. It appeared on my screen as I was about to write about writing. Incidentally, it played an important role in the book I wrote ten years ago.⠀