“Well, if Barbra can do it, I guess I can too!” She was talking about my writing the book, Yes! I Said No! which will be published soon. It’s my first. I’m also leading my first-ever women’s conference and promoting a new web site, www.barbrarussell.com
Whew! When I stop to take a breath and think about those “firsts,” and her statement, I realize that’s what my life’s purpose is all about – encouraging, inspiring and challenging people to believe they can do more, have more and be more. And maybe they’ll start by saying, “Well, if Barbra can do it, I guess I can too.”
But for a long time, Barbra didn’t do it. Through the years I’ve parroted a line of excuses I called reasons to excuse my inaction. “I’m not famous.” “I’m too old to start something new.” “I don’t have a gazillion contacts on social media.”
But after her comment, I realized something. Wouldn’t it be terrible if I let those excuses stop me? What if one day I hadn’t gulped and said, “even if….. Here we go.” Perhaps there will be many people whose lives are helped and changed because they read my book.
And wouldn’t it be terrible if she let her own doubts stop her? They sound like this: “I don’t have a degree.” “I don’t know if I could do that.” But what if she leads a class or writes a book and someday hears those same words, “if you can do it, maybe I can do it too.”
And wouldn’t it be terrible if you keep justifying why you don’t follow your own dream?
What small step could you take to start moving toward your passion? Perhaps it’s finally saying out loud what you’ve been secretly imagining for a long time. Maybe you could start researching what it would take to make your dream come true. What would happen if you recorded a demo? How much money would it really take to go back to school? Could you qualify for a scholarship?
I don’t remember now what made me decide to start writing a blog. That was my first step; I wasn’t thinking of writing a book; I wasn’t even sure I could write well, and I wasn’t sure what I’d write about after the first three articles, but somehow the ideas kept coming, and I kept writing.
But one day, a thought crossed my mind. “I could write a book if I expanded on some of those articles I’ve already written.” That thought, combined with the next small step, (jotting down some possible chapter titles) was the beginning of a new adventure, the writing of Yes! I Said No!
And if I can help you start on a new journey, if one day you say, “Well, if Barbra can do it, I can do it,” we will both be winners!
