Now's the time
I wasted too much of my life waiting to feel ready to be, create, and share the real me
This weekend I flipped through some old sketchpads and stumbled upon a business growth roadmap I wrote eight years ago, when I was still in startup mode. What I saw made me feel both embarrassed and validated. Validated because my vision back then was consistent with what it is now; I still see the same grand future state for Wonderwell. And embarrassed because there are so many mission-critical steps in this plan that I still have not committed to taking.
Some of these steps are identical to the ones my team and I laid out in our annual in-person planning meeting last week. After eight years they’re still good ideas — and they’re finally making their way to the front burner.
This isn’t the case for everything on that old roadmap, of course. Some of the things I imagined back then are already in full swing, like our Big Leap* book planning program and retreat. Other plans are in process. And a few have been peacefully released because they never quite fit.
But it’s the plans that still pulsate with potential that tug at me. After eight years of waiting patiently for me to pick them up, they still clamor to be brought to life.
Create digital courses for writers.
Set up a writers’ community with self-serve resources for those who want to go at their own pace but not alone.
And the weightiest one of all: write my own book.
(I’m working on that last one — and this Substack is a big part of my creative writing practice.)
It made me wonder, how many of us have major life goals central to our sense of purpose that are collecting dust while we busy ourselves with false urgencies and detours on our path? What is the emotional, financial, and spiritual cost of leaving them in limbo? And what would it take to jump start them?
I spent the first half (or more!) of my adult life feeling like I was too young and unprepared to do the ambitious, emotionally risky creative things I really wanted to do. And then suddenly I woke up one day and decided I was too old.
I was wrong both times, of course.
I think that I was waiting for someone to come along and make things safe and easy for me. To give me permission to put my dreams above life’s noisy distractions and daily demands.
Welp, I’m giving myself that permission right now.
And I invite you to conduct a little experiment with me…
Imagine that I’m handing you an official invitation to do the very thing that you wish you could find the time to do, or learn, or make.
Your application has been verified and approved. You have paid all your dues. You have completed all the forms correctly. All your chores and work tasks have been lifted from your shoulders and put into competent hands. Every resource that you need for your success has been allocated to you.
Go ahead and make your own weird art, even if you’re afraid that people will think you’re crazy.
Share the wisdom that’s inside of you, even if you’re afraid people will think you’re full of yourself for speaking up.
And give yourself the gift of the training, or studio time, or equipment that you need in order to make your art, even if you’re afraid it’ll be a waste of money.
It’s time. You’re as ready as you’ll ever be, which is ready enough to start.
Nice fantasy, you might say, but you can’t guarantee that I won’t fall flat on my face and regret it.
You’re right. I can’t guarantee that everything - or anything! - will unfold in precisely the way you want it to.
But I can guarantee you three things.
One, I guarantee that not everyone will like what you create. And that’s great to know! Because now there’s absolutely no need to make universal acceptance your goal. What a relief.
Two, I guarantee that some people will like what you make! Because even uncommercial, niche artists and creators have their weirdo fans. (And I say “weirdo” affectionately and with respect, because I’m one.)
Three, I can guarantee that you won’t know exactly what you’re capable of until you do it. The thing that you’re designing or drawing or writing in your head will be different in the 3D world. It will have unanticipated flaws, but also beautiful discoveries and surprises that you can’t predict. Creativity is alive, organic. You are not going to pluck the art of your life off a shelf; you will have to meet it halfway and only then it will show you its true self.
So don’t wait! It’s game on. We are here, alive in bodies, with minds and hearts, and stories inside of us that demand to be told.
Regardless of how my art is received in the world, the only way I can lose is if I don’t make it at all.
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it!
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
*PS: We still have ONE SPOT open for the next Big Leap retreat in just over two weeks — pre-retreat calls start February 1! If you’re ready to commit to writing your nonfiction book this year and want professional help to get started, you can apply to join us here.