A few years ago, with a lot of my editing work falling away, my husband and I were left trying to figure out how we were going to support our family. To this point, all of my work had come in via referrals, meaning I’d never had to advertise or make myself known to the public generally. Economic changes, along with career changes of some of the people who had been my key referrers, meant that we needed to find a new strategy—and pretty darn fast.

I was struggling with finding my voice and expressing myself to the public. I wasn’t sure whether I was building a brand separate from myself or a brand that was simply me…and whether I was going to continue being an editor, move full-time to other things, or build a brand that combined multiple aspects of my personality and interests.

Then one morning, I received a message: Be brave. It was accompanied by a song, Sara Bareilles’s “Brave.”

I was inspired to write a blog post (which eventually turned into a series of posts). Although it’s been nearly three years since I wrote “Be Brave” and I’ve written or otherwise created at least one post every week since then, it’s still one of the pieces of writing that I am proudest of. On top of that, I still revisit it regularly because it continues to teach me.

Yes, a piece of text that I wrote teaches me. I believe the post was—as so much of my writing is—full of wisdom from my spirit guides and/or my higher self, and as with all lessons from good teachers, I can glean something useful from it every time I revisit it..

These days, rather than inspiring me to write—which has become routine for me—the text inspires me to speak to others when I would be more comfortable staying silent, to create videos, to reach out to people as I expand my life and my businesses yet again and in yet more ways. I offer it this week in the hopes that it will do the same for you. Especially with the potentially challenging astrological energies we’re facing right now, “be brave” is a message I think we can all benefit from hearing.

~~~

(This post originally appeared on my Empowering Editor website on March 11, 2017.)

Be Brave

I know, it’s not Tuesday, but today, I felt urged to share a message right away.

I’ll be honest with you (well, okay, I’m always honest with you, but I felt like that was a nice way to start a blog post): This post was triggered by Sara Bareilles’s song “Brave,” which I was listening to while making breakfast this morning:

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave.

Typically when I hear this song, I think of my kids and the challenges they’re going to face in life. But on this morning, I had been contemplating my own struggles with writing, and I realized that other people have those struggles, too. So, dear reader, if you are a writer, or if you’re even thinking about writing, but you’re scared, listen to this song and take the words to heart. “Honestly, I wanna see you be brave!”

If you have a message you need to share with the world, SHARE IT!

In 2009, my life fell apart (so it could be put back together even more beautifully, of course, because that’s the way this bold and brilliant Universe works). Off and on since then, I’ve felt the urge to write my memoir. Sometimes I’ve faltered, let my fear creep in and stop me, but the overwhelming sense of urgency kicks in at times and I know I must write. (In fact, one of my goals for 2017 is to complete my manuscript and begin the review and publishing process, which means I must write. Every. Single. Day.)

I’ve come to learn over the past few years (yep, since 2009) that when I feel an overwhelming urge to write, it’s because my message needs to be out there. Someone needs it, or I wouldn’t keep feeling that urging from my soul.

Even creating my blog posts and social media posts are challenging for me, but I follow the promptings of my soul to create them. It is not my natural tendency to speak up and out to people who don’t know me, but I’m following the promptings of my soul and being brave, pushing through the fears that would keep me silent.

So should you. Write. If your soul is pushing you to speak out, to speak up, to write…DO IT! As my intuition/guides told me this morning, “You will make a mistake or misstep, but that’s how you learn; don’t be afraid of that.”

Don’t fear other people’s reactions to what you write. Instead, consider what happens when we don’t listen to the deepest urgings of our souls. What happens when we silence those promptings and squelch them? We are left unsatisfied. We become dissatisfied. We can even become resentful because life isn’t turning out the way we want it to. But it can—it will—when we follow the promptings of our souls.

Follow the urging of your soul. Write. Be brave.

My soul urges me to write because someone needs the message I’m delivering, in the way I deliver it. To trust that prompting requires me to push through my fears. I would never offer my advice without solicitation otherwise. But because I trust that prompting, here we are. I have written …

And you’re reading my message.

You’re the reason I felt the urge to write. Or you’re going to get the message to someone it’s meant for. Or both.

The universe is vast and complex, and yet it is incredibly simple: It gives us what we need, when we need it. It is up to us to use what we are given.

If you are given that urge to write, to get your message out, do it.

Be brave.

~~~

If you are interested, you can find the next installment of the Brave series at http://empoweringeditor.com/2017/03/21/be-brave-the-unfolding-path/.

Have you written a book that you think can change the world? If so, I would love to edit it. Learn more about my editing services at www.empoweringeditor.com.

 

 

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