My memory, such as it is, doesn’t function that well anymore. I’m sure the number 47 has something to do with it, but I’m not going to have age be the “be all, end all” excuse. Because of faulty memory, I tend to write things down now more than I did previously. And I should have written down, to commit to memory, a load of things that have happened in my past.
I’ve posted before about how one of my dream jobs when I was younger was to become a writer. I’ve routinely beat myself up in the past because I didn’t do more to advance that dream, to get the process in to flow so it may have had some opportunity for success.
But I don’t make a big deal of that anymore. The fact is, I was doing plenty of things to make my life exactly the way I wanted along the way. There was no room for writing, as I just had so much else going on, the majority being living my life and building a business within the walls of the family restaurant. I read a quote recently that pretty much hit home what was happening to me, and why:
“We do things when we are ready for them.”
Simple, precise, and to the point. And I agree with it 100%. With the exception of death and taxes, nobody really has to do anything that they don’t want to do. There are no rules or regulations, only the ones you impose on yourself.
You can do things, do anything, on your timetable.
I wasn’t taking on writing again until I was ready. I didn’t want to make room for it until I thought there was room to share. There wasn’t a voice that I had that I thought was worth giving to others. That’s over. I can go with that concept now.
So, you’ve wanted to do something for a long time. Or you want to try something new. How do you know if you’re ready?
1. Get confident. This one’s kind of a Catch 22. When you realize that your life is your own no matter what, your confidence spikes right then and there. The more you move your life in the direction that you choose, the higher the confidence level.
To get confident, do things have to be perfect?? No. As a matter of fact, make as many (non-fatal) mistakes as you can. Mistakes and failure are a learning tool. Things will look and sound better with more experience and more attempts. You just have to get it going. Remember, perfect is the enemy of the good.
I know for a fact that, where this blog is concerned, I will write some good stuff, and I will write some crap. But the crap is just as important as the better writing, because it’s still a tool that is sharpening my skill. And then the hopeful result in the end will be quality content, every time.
2. Schedule It. If necessary, put what you want to do on a schedule or a calendar. Or not. If you want to do something enough, you will just start, and then do it consistently over time. Really, do we need a reminder to do stuff we like?
3. Don’t worry about outcomes. Just take a step forward. And then another. If you take enough of them, the outcome will arrive soon enough. And if it doesn’t, you can always tweak your approach, and then take another step.
4. See the end in mind. Visualizing your life as it will be, not just as it is, is hugely important. True, the present is all we have, but I don’t want to see just my job, tonight’s dinner dishes, and tomorrow’s baseball practice.
I want to see new business opportunities, our upgraded kitchen, trip(s) to Italy, my kids growing in stature and confidence, a (pre-owned) Cadillac CTS as my preferred toy, and a whole bunch of blog readers. And that, for me, would be just a short list.
So see the future. Do things in the present to get there.
Whenever you’re ready…
Joe DeGiorgio 