Ready, set, LEAP!
This image has been partly stolen from Austin Kleon’s book, ‘Steal Like an Artist‘. I just Photoshopped the parts in yellow.
When I posted the image through Instagram I got a few replies and comments. The one that stood out the most is the one I’ve used as a title, “The Bridge is Faith”.
Simple and eloquent, it contains an essay worth of thoughts and ideas.
The thought of taking a Leap of Faith can be terrifying, as illustrated in this 45 second clip (take a minute to watch it) from an Indiana Jones movie.
<iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/a_-BOvWVycM” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
You’ve plotted and planned, you’ve taken the necessary steps to advance your idea, to set it free into the world and then suddenly, at the edge, you’re confronted by your fears and worst nightmares. The “I might not make it” thought enters your head and you’re filled with doubt.
“But what if I fail?” You certainly will if you never once try. That’s a fact.
This blog took me a long time to get started on. I had the domain name, the hosting, WordPress loaded and it wasn’t until 3 months later that I actually made my first post.
Q1: What if I say something wrong?
Q2: What if nobody likes my content?
Q3: What if I’m not really good at writing or blogging?
If any one of those thoughts has crossed your mind, here are a few short answers that will hopefully motivate you to continue on:
A1: You won’t know you’ve said something wrong until you say it.
Unless you’re already a successful blogger or social media type, nobody will know about you yet. Take this time to make mistakes, lots of them. Go back and read your posts after a week or so. Do you agree with what you’ve written? How can you make it better? This is practice time, make the most of it.
A2: There isn’t a pre-made crowd standing by waiting for you to address them. Curate the content, create the content, and take it to them. Put it out there. It’s only after you’ve done this that readers will begin to notice. They’re not mind readers, they can’t read your thoughts if they’re not down on paper. Just remember to ask for feedback at the end. Not sure if your content is good? Ask. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
A3: Practice, practice, practice. Write, write, write. I don’t know how to expand on this other than to say and do just that. It’s the same method over and over again in anything that you’ve learned how to do. Ride a bike, drive a car, counting, math, juggling…the actions here are endless. Some relate this to exercise and working out: If you’re sore the next day, you did it right. Good job. Keep going. You don’t have to be good at it, you just need to try.
Modesty is good, but don’t forget to pat yourself on the back. Don’t be too shy to congratulate yourself for a job well done, share it with yourself if you have to. We all need encouragement, the source can be arbitrary.
Taking a Leap of Faith should be exciting, not dreadful. Fear is a constant, it never goes away. Once you start to face it more often, you grow, not it. Take some simple advice from the signs at the zoo, “Don’t feed the animals”. Treat Fear as one. It’ll grow tired and weak, allowing you to take your Leap. You’ll have bridged the gap with Faith (and hard work, determination, sweat, tears, and motivation).
the-bridge-is-faith <- Free PDF download (Use it, Pin it, Share it)
