I’m dedicating this post to an incredible lady I met yesterday. You know who you are.
Dear friend,
I’m writing to encourage you to undertake the endeavor which you explained to me at length during our first meeting yesterday.
You have a beautiful vision, and a gift lying dormant inside of you. Do not let your age, or your health, or your schedule stop you.
Because people need your message. A message of hope, of joy, of personal triumph in the midst of pain.
I do not understand, and can never fully know, what your audience experiences day to day. But you can, you do. You know, you’ve been there. You’ve lived it and conquered it, and continue to in the midst of daily trials to take ownership of yourself, to exert your joy, to decide how you will look at life.
You see the light shining through the clouds, the flower in the rainstorm.
Thinking about how to encourage you makes me wish I was a poet. How do I describe the feeling I feel as I think about your mission and the effect that I see you will have on people?
You are a leader. So lead. But not as others lead, as you would lead if you freed yourself to follow your dreams and meet the needs that you see.
You are surrounded by an invisible tribe of comrades, allies, friends and fans. As you open that place and begin to voice your message, they will appear, drawn to the light of your words, your voice, the light that is your life.
I beg of you, start writing. Sit down and ask yourself, ask your heart, “What do I truly wish to say?” and then don’t think, don’t second guess, don’t analyze. Just write.
Every day.
When someone like you, who is beginning to awaken, feels the urgency of life, feels the call to serve and to lead, when you choose to answer, to take ownership of your gift, to begin to put pen and words to paper – miracles start to happen.
As you write from your heart, you’ll see words that you know were not meant for you alone. So you’ll put them out there to the world. And you my friend, you have a unique bond with your audience. When you write from your heart, and write the encouragement, the uplifting message that they need, you will paid immediately in joyful gratitude by your readers.
Because here is someone who understands what they are going through. You know it, you live it. And yet you do not let it conquer you. You are in charge of your life, and your thoughts and your emotions.
You choose to interpret your life and give it meaning, and as you focus on all that is good, and express joy and gratitude, as you write and live and share from that place, you will not only inspire others.
You will free them. You will free them to see their life differently, to consider a different perspective on their life story. Your inner strength and force of will to find the good will release in them the inner power and strength of will to choose to see life differently.
And what is the power of changing how we see our own life story?
I am prepared to argue that it is everything.
Everything stems from what you believe about yourself, what you tell yourself about your life.
So go dear friend, and write.
Share practical tips and wisdom as well, never discount the impact of a small idea that helps them sleep better, or eat better, or do any small but significant life activity.
Share the practical stuff, the fun stuff, even the silly, lighthearted stuff, follow your heart and look to your own personality for ideas and content, in order to make it truly yours. Nothing is off topic if it brings your own heart joy to share it.
But always come back to your core message of hope and light. Determine in your heart that you will take time regularly, to slow down, to meditate, and then to share deeply from your soul the message that you know is the core of your mission.
When you do that, you will impart freedom to your readers, and truly liberate them to change their story, to find the courage to embark on their own mission, their own creative journey.
Write, dear friend, write.
If you want to know what inspired this style of writing for me, go read something by Steven Pressfield. If in doubt, start with Do the Work.