Outside the comfort zone

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Outside the comfort zone

Self-promotion, marketing, advertising, asking people to purchase, convincing them to part with their hard-earned money is a skill set I'm not familiar with and most definitely out of my comfort zone. Apparently, this is not uncommon for writers, artists, or any creative professional. We just want to create a thing, right? A beautiful thing that should sell itself. Organically. Magically. Effortlessly. 

But as Dan Blank discusses in Be the Gateway, getting the thing into people's hands is as critical to the effort as it's creation. In other words, creation is only half the journey. His book also teaches me to minimize overwhelm and uncomfortableness by focusing on one connection at a time. Singular. Simple. Satisfying. 

Sure I have spreadsheets of tasks but ultimately recognizing how I get to promote inclusiveness, gladness, literacy, adventure, and travel makes this stage of publishing Hoofen Floofen Island fun again. 

In other words, shine a light on the message of the book rather than the book itself. That's a task I can get behind. 

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It doesn't matter

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It doesn't matter, so let it go. And once you let go, forget about the fact that you let go. No sense in wondering where it went either or how it took this long to release what is no longer serving you. There may be all sorts of valid reasons why. You need no justification. No sense in worrying about why it was, seemingly, of service to you. Enjoy the feeling of releasing the who, what, when, and why. 

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Balance

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About this time every year, the internet and social media is ripe with goal setting strategies. Everything from charts and diagrams, assessing the past year, to writing a lengthy annual list are used to create a fresh path for the year to come. Unfortunately, it's been proven how often these goals fizzle within a short time. 

I absolutely subscribe to the notion of having a mission or vision for a project, a time period, or a goal to be accomplished and then limiting oneself to only participating in tasks and activities that feed that mission. What has typically tripped me up is trying to remember exactly what I'm pursuing without finding and rereading the document, perhaps making adjustments (or excuses), and then recommitting. 

Instead, and in honor of a more minimalist attitude these last couple years, selecting a single word for the year is actually working better for me than any other strategy I've tried. And I'm a person who likes LOTS of words. This simplification allows for ease in remembering what I'm striving for, flexibility interpreting its meaning on any given day, and is more sustainable. 

Last year's word was Magical. Balance is my word for 2017. 

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