I am working on my next book, or rather, my team and I are working on my next book.
And to be honest, I am scared. Not because I haven’t written a book before and certainly not because I don’t have a topic.
Cards on the table, I am afraid I won’t say what I have to say. I fear that the message I have in my head and in my heart, won’t come through. I want this book to play like a carefully crafted piece of music. I want it to sing.
This is part of the reason that I found my recent conversation with Lewis Howes so compelling.
His has not been an easy life. Lewis is dyslexic, he struggled in school, a lot. He suffered sexual abuse, crippling self-doubt and experienced a major family tragedy at a young age. Lewis is also insanely accomplished. He is a two-time All-American collegiate athlete, successful entrepreneur, NY Times bestselling author, and host of the wildly popular podcast, School of Greatness. He is determined, and I found his grit most inspiring.
Even with all that, Lewis found himself on my podcast, talking himself down, not sure he could take on the challenge of learning Spanish, kind of like I just did about my book. Lewis said, “I put myself in situations where I’m uncomfortable and stay with it until I’m comfortable.”
He faces his fear until the fear looks away
We humans do this. We overcome and persevere through insanely difficult circumstances only to shrink within and question ourselves when faced with the next overwhelming challenge. I find this so frustrating about myself, but after talking to Lewis, I realized that I am in good company.
So, rather than give into the self-doubt, I’m giving Lewis and myself a pep talk ––and sharing it with you too, in case you need it.
Whatever it is that you want to do right now, stop talking about how hard it is. Stop saying, “I don’t know if I can do this,” and start plotting out how to accomplish your goals. Words matter, especially those we speak over and into our dreams. Ask yourself, what is my dream? How do I want my life to look? What do I want my legacy to be? Then look into your fear, until the fear looks away.
This is me practicing my own counsel. Right here. Right now.
I am a writer who writes books that sing.
I am grateful for the opportunity to write a book.
I am grateful for the people around me––on my team––who are helping make this book sing.
I am a writer who writes books that sing.
All my best,
Whitney
P.S. You can listen to my full episode with Lewis Howes here.
