You’re already doing it!

“I always wanted to be a creative writer but was never brave enough to really do it. The cost of failure seemed too great. So I pursued a number of other things—photography, art history, Asian studies. At some point in my mid-twenties, I quit my job in art history and found a writing job. One where I had to write a lot of articles, success stories, interviews—silly corporate things. But they gave me a lot of confidence that I could put sentences down on paper. Be persuasive. Provide information and direction. Frame things in a point of view. And I got comfortable doing that, and even a little confident. In looking back, this ‘silly’ writing job laid a great foundation for me as a more creative writer and  more recently a poet.”—Heidi Schulman Greenwald, award-winning poet

How much do you want to bet that you’re already doing whatever you’re telling yourself that you don’t know how to do and could never do in a million years? Maybe you’re terrified of reading in front of an audience, but you just led a conference call at work. Maybe you are too scared to approach a short story, but you regularly make up bedtime stories for your child. When we don’t allow ourselves to attempt what we really want head-on, often we come at it sideways, or crawl in the doggie door. What small space are you shuffling around in that is echoing a larger playing field of your passion? Chances are good that the seed of your skill in this area has already been planted, and even watered, on the sly. Imagine what would happen if you simply brought it out into the light!

Transforming fear to courage: Tip #1
Transforming fear to courage: Tip #2
Transforming fear to courage: Tip #3
Transforming fear to courage: Tip #4