Warning: This Blog Might Suck

Hey, it's Bern.

This. Is. My. Blog.  ACK!

Truth: I’ve never done this before and I’m reluctant to start. Starting something new when you’re unsure of the outcome is hard. It’s difficult to surrender to the process of trying when you are hung up on the idea of producing something good. No one wants to create something that sucks - and a new blog is highly likely to suck - so we just don’t even try. 

I have had to prepare a long time for this day - to actually start the starting - and ramp myself up to a place where I could let go of the finished product and just focus on the doing. “Fall in love with progression,” says Trent Shelton. (Well, Trent, I’m not in love quite yet...but let's just say Progression and I are 'talking'). I’ve had to read a bunch of books and set solid intentions for how I would tackle this blog beast. I’ve even resorted to self trickery in order to put pen to “paper” because beginning this blog is very important to me for several reasons: 

1. I plan to be an author and, well, I don’t write. Have you ever heard of a writer who doesn’t write? No, me neither. In fact, I KNOW that writers write every day. They practice their craft. They aren’t always great at first but they keep practicing and improving  - it’s what they do. It’s what all successful people do. So, this is me practicing. 
2. There’s a little story that I tell myself (and others) on a regular basis and it goes like this: “I’m not an expert at anything. I don't really know what I would say.” I’m not sure where I picked up this bologna (baloney?) or when I started doing it but, gosh, I do love to repeat it. I mean, maybe it’s true, perhaps no one will find value in what I have to say. That’s a totally valid possibility. But, it’s also possible that the opposite will be true. And, what I’ve decided is that repeating that little lie - out loud or to myself - is unhelpful, limiting, and might not actually be the case.  People say, “you just can’t care what other people think.” But we do. I do. The best I can muster is to declare that I will focus on caring about my effort and improvement...and let whether or not other people like it be their job to figure out. 
3. Finding one’s own voice is very ‘buzzy’ right now but now it’s extremely relevant to me at this point in my life. When I took a step back to examine the ways in which I do and do not use my own voice, I was shocked and thoroughly disappointed. I was going to have to do a better job - in all areas of my life - saying what needs to be said and sharing my real self. But, yikes, expressing one’s true self requires exposure - and don’t people die of exposure?!
4. I believe all the business mindset mumbo jumbo: “to go where you’ve never been, you need to do what you’ve never done” and “what got you here will not get you there” and “do one thing every day that scares you”. I subscribe to it all, lock, stock, and barrel. But I know: saying and doing are two entirely different things. 

What I've had to tell myself now in order to get this blog thing under way:

1. Bern, all you have to do is write a rough draft today. Just sketch it out and come back to it later. It doesn’t need to be perfect (I am COMPELLED to correct as I go - it’s a sickness) just write down anything and fix it later. 
2. Get over yourself! My mother-in-law says this all the time and it’s so true. Guess what, buttercup, it’s not about you. If it’s about you, you’re doing it wrong. Focus on providing value to others for their sake - not yours. Ego has no place in excellence. 
3. It’s going to suck. The next installment might suck less - but there’s also a chance it will suck even more. The suckiness is inevitable. Embrace the suck. 

The facts are: I need the writing practice, there’s value in sharing ideas that may serve others, my website and new business need visibility, and this blog plays an important role in my personal journey to develop and use my own voice. 

So, at the risk of starting yet another banal blog that the world doesn’t need; at the risk of starting out as a crappy writer; and at the risk of still feeling like I’m not an expert with anything of value to say: I’m doing it anyway. What I want, wants me. It’s out there and this blog is me running out to meet it.