If you could do that one thing that you have been thinking of for a long, long time, why would you not start? Comfort? Fear? Procrastination? Something else?
Once, I asked myself a question… what comes easy to me? And I thought… it’s always been so easy to write or make up stories, imagining something and then putting it on paper. It was always easy to paint and make random creative paintings. Creating things out of nothing- was always my thing.
On the other hand, someone once said, ‘What comes easy don’t last. What lasts does not come easy' I am totally lost. Can my book not last? Certainly not in my head. So, I’d better write it – make it difficult so it will last.
How it started:
I opened Word. I had dreamed about writing a book for at least five years.
Where have I been? Lost somewhere in the day to day rush between Monday and Friday, dreaming on Saturday and Sunday and so on…
But then I thought:
It’s okay. I can start again.
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(5 mins later)
I will just look at Facebook one more time as I open Mozilla.
--
It’s okay. I can start again.
And maybe I’ll open Instagram as well.
Oh, and WhatsApp.
Oh, and LinkedIn.
Oh, Instagram has fewer likes now. I need to like a few more posts to ramp it up again.
I can start again. Now. Tomorrow. Never.
But this time, actually… I did… after a minimum of five years wondering… about what it would be like… to write a book. I looked through the old mini-stories I wrote in the past years...
Then, I opened a Word doc and wrote:
‘Two farmers lived in a village called Dreamford.’ (Not true: First I wrote “Dreamanella”, but as I was sipping my gluten-free coffee – or something else – “Dreamford” came up and got stuck in my head for good.)
Oh, suddenly, I have a headache, and I never get headaches. But as I open Word to start writing this book, I get a headache. It must be a fear of success. I opened Napoleon Hill’s book on the subject of “the six basic fears” but realised that the fear of success is not mentioned as one of the biggest fears; therefore, the fear of success should not be giving me a headache.
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It’s okay. I can start again. And I did.
‘Dreamford was a beautiful, prosperous village. The trees always grew high and the fruit always shone as if it was smiling at the sun. The people were kind to one another. It was a privilege to live in Dreamford. The animals trusted their farmers and the horses worked with an astounding effort. However, one spring…’
From my upcoming book: Dreamford! Release date TBC. :) :) :)
So now, I am going to repeat my favourite blog post on starting small:
Just as for me, somewhere out there are the ideas which are waiting for you to be ready. Get up from the sofa and start doing something. Start small, start stupid, start ridiculous. As I wrote in the previous post (The Idea which I met down the road):
Start. Start small. Try. Fun-test it. Start somewhere. Just like that. Start with something small. Try. Write the title if you can’t write the whole book. Make that video, or open iMovie at least. Book that trip, or at get a map, at least. Visit that city, or at least go somewhere. Paint that painting, or at least buy the canvas. Sign up for that course, or at least attend a taster session. Time will pass quickly. Whether you do it or you don’t, you’ll get older. You’ll ask yourself why you haven’t started yet... More people will tell you that your idea is rubbish and so you’ll keep getting older, more disappointed that you haven’t yet started.
Somewhere out there are the ideas, waiting for you to let them into your life. I promise! Open the door and carry on! DO IT.
K.
