Change is not easy.
But you’ve lived long enough to figure that out.
Change is hard.
It’s terribly easy to imagine a bright future, just as it is regret and contemplate the wasted past. The could have been, should have been, might have been.
Change is unappreciated.
Accepting change is the key to everything. Because everything that surrounds us, is in a state of constant motion and every action, no matter how big or small, has an equal and opposite reaction. It’s Newton’s third law. Every choice a consequence. Every push has a pull.
And when we cannot change we feel stuck.
Stuck in our lives.
Stuck in the quicksand of our own making.
We cannot lose weight. We can’t find time to exercise. We cannon summon the courage to leave our abusive husbands and we don’t have time to slow down.
It’s because we don’t lead with our minds.
We are lead by the herd.
We only respond to the herd.
We trade our autonomy for promises of comfort and than we wait for signs.
Signs that its time.
Signs that we’re ready.
Sings that we won’t make a mistake.
So when the heard begins to change, we begin to change.
When they move, we move.
When they make resolutions, we make resolutions.
When word reachers us that our friend or a colleague has garnered some success, we dust ourselves off and resume our tired old journey towards our dreams.
That life we forgot.
The life we abandoned.
The life we put on hold, for someday and inconveniently forgot.
Our problem is that we don’t lead with our mind.
I was there.
Not so very long ago too.
I’m still there at times, when I forget.
Sometimes, I feel like my will is getting torn in a million different directions. Just as I settle into one thing, something else rises on the horizon, and displaces me.
Steals my time.
Distracts me.
Seduces me.
But through it all, I have remembered to lead with my mind.
Over a year ago I made a choice to be a writer.
A professional writer.
A writer that writes every day.
Someone who has made a commitment for at least the next five years.
To write. To be self published. To stop hiding and become visible.
And to see how things shake out.
This wasn’t an easy choice.
It’s never easy to write. It’s never convenient to write.
It’s never easy to do anything that matters.
So sharing my thoughts feels very joyous and cathartic, but it’s not without moments of doubt. Doubts creep up. Sometimes they are fast and furious. Sometimes they linger.
Doubts about the usefulness of my work. Doubts of being good enough. Fears of being publicly shamed and exposed as the fraud immigrant I sometimes feel myself to be.
I have doubts because I have always made spelling mistakes.
I have doubts because I make grammatical mistakes.
I have doubts because my syntax may not be too sexy at times.
I sometimes get long winded, on go on a long journey with one of my stories.
But despite these doubts I still choose to write.
I made a commitment to my work and that doesn’t make me special but it does make me a writer.
A good or bad writer is up to you.
I am realizing a childhood dream, inspired by my father and mother, who encouraged me long ago, but life got in the way.
And so today I lead with my mind.
Every day I keep a promise to myself.
A promise to a little boy.
I write and ship each day.
For better or for worse.
I will write.
And I write for you because I hope you’ll lead with your mind too.
There is really nothing like it.
Nothing that makes you feel more human. More alive. More connected.
So, dust off your dreams.
Take some time to revisit your purpose.
Don’t take too long.
Don’t think too long.
You already know what you want.
You already know what you need.
Lead with your mind.
