Getting Here
A few weeks after graduating from college, I drove away from the Rocky Mountains, my Toyota Corolla piled high with belongings. I glanced in the rearview mirror, stunned by the beauty of the sun sinking behind the jagged peaks. In that moment, the inspiration first hit me to write a book. I felt it in my bones. Without professional writing experience, or a clear vision for what my book would be about, this was a daunting idea. Yet I knew that a book was waiting to be born through me. Somehow, saying no was not an option.
What could I do but stick with it? Over the next several years, while balancing jobs and relationships and adventures, I stayed true to the feeling that brewed within. One day, one month, and one year at a time, I took practical baby steps that led to the achievement of my goal. As satisfying as it’s been to write a book, getting to this point hasn’t always been easy. As with any new endeavor, I’ve had to develop skills, face fears, and enter unknown terrain without a map. There were even times I cried because I doubted so heavily my ability to finish what I had started.
But now I understand. That’s how inspiration works. At first you aren’t given the “how.” You’re not even given a doubt-free mental zone from which to make decisions. All you get is an inkling, a whisper, an urge to give something a try. It might not make sense. You just feel it. If you don’t take action, fine. The inkling will come back. Again and again it will return until it becomes a full blown desire, and you can’t stand living with this thing draped over your shoulder anymore.
So eventually you get the hint. You surrender, drop your guard, and get started. You take the first step. This leads you to the next one, and then the next. Along the way, you grow into yourself. That’s how it’s been for me anyway. I’ve been living and breathing the message of my book for years now: the necessity of following your inner voice wherever it leads in order to find and live your calling. I know the challenges, and I definitely know the rewards.
It’s all brought me to this moment, full and content and excited to share this space with you. If I’ve learned anything, it’s this: Pay attention to the hunches that keep tugging at you, and just get started.
