How many times have you thought:
“I’ll start eating better tomorrow.”
“I would love to do something about the extra weight I’m carrying.”
“I’ve got a great business idea!”
“It’s time to look for a better job.”
“I’d love to start using better skincare.”
And you do nothing and just go back to normal everyday life. Sound familiar? Ever wondered why?
It might be a whole range of reasons. But often it’s because we feel fear.
Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of starting, fear of not being worthy, fear of the unknown … you get the gist. Since reading Richard Branson’s book, Losing my Virginity, in my early twenties, I learnt pretty early on from him, that you have to give things a go to have any chance at success – whatever your definition of success is. No matter what your upbringing is, no matter how old you are, no matter what has happened in your life – if you don’t take positive action and start to actually do something towards your goal or idea or whatever, you are just watching time pass you by.
Me personally, I have plenty of fears (which I’m always consciously working on). At the same time, I also like to give things a red hot go – and I do. Things haven’t always worked out. I’ve made mistakes. I don’t always know what I’m doing or feel I’m “qualified” and I work a lot of shit out along the way. Much like my writing here.
When I started last year, I just knew I wanted to write and eventually start a blog. I knew I wanted to use the knowledge I had gained in my life so far and share it to help others make the switch to healthier products and better life choices – and make it easy for them. I didn’t have a website (which I’ve verrrry slowly been building in the background), I didn’t have a fully thought out plan, I didn’t have it all worked out, and I certainly didn’t feel ready – and with all these obstacles which are often the cause of fear, I could have let it stop me.
But thankfully, I didn’t.
I followed my intuition, and just started.
And I’m so glad, because it has been one of the best things ever. It has connected me with a beautiful community – all of you – and exciting opportunities have presented themselves which wouldn’t have, had I not started.
Success can be defined in many ways – it’s a personal thing. For me, giving things a go represents success – it’s the way I feel I live a full life as I never want to say in my later years “I wish….”. I’m a successful starter – and for now that’s enough for me. Each day, I turn up and do something to move forward, whether it’s for my community, in the background on my website, planning, researching and trialling new products, building relationships with amazing brands and their people and most importantly writing, whenever I can around my other commitments.
Please don’t watch time pass you by. Our life is fleeting, things can change in an instant. If you have a dream, an idea, a goal – please take one small action to start today. In the words of Richard, “Screw It. Let’s Do It.”
Success is just around the corner for all of us.
Photo by Braden Collum
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