a website & community for women who write & blog
A year ago today I was at the Clubhouse on Highland being honored by Girls On the Run Birmingham as one of the city’s “Women Who Inspire.” I walked through the door and was greeted with handshakes, hugs, and a hot pink sash that read. “Inspirational.” I draped it across my body noting the nice contrast with my grey dress. I smiled as my proud husband took my photo for the obligatory Facebook and Instagram posts.
But I felt like a fraud.
I didn’t feel inspirational. I felt like a mess.
It’s Sunday, October 2 and I’m at Nissan Stadium in Nashville surrounded by thousands of people. We’re all here for one reason: Beyonce’s Formation World Tour.
This is it. There are 90 days left in 2016. October is here and we’re in the final quarter of the year. And as a football fan I love a good 4th quarter win. But this month if you see me strutting around holding four fingers in the air, it may not be for my favorite football team (Roll Tide!) but for myself and for the ladies of See Jane Write. I am declaring that this quarter is ours! Here are four things you should do today to claim that fourth quarter win.
I have notebooks on notebooks filled with tips, tricks and strategies that I need to implement to grow my blog, business, and writing career.
Some of the advice on these pages I’ve actually put into practice. Much of it I have not. I tell myself I haven’t done these things because I just don’t have the time. And to be sure, my schedule is quite chaotic. But last month I managed to blog five days a week and keep my business afloat despite family drama, sickness and a heavy workload at the day job. To quote entrepreneur Melanie Duncan, “Successful people don’t have the time to learn and grow; successful people make the time to learn and grow.”
But I recently realized it’s not the lack of time that’s truly holding me back. It’s me!
Last week I looked at that stack of notebooks and asked myself, “What are you waiting for?!” And I realized I’ve been waiting for perfection.
I’ve been putting off a much-needed brand photo shoot because I’d convinced myself I needed to lose 20 pounds first. I’ve been putting off trying to collaborate with my favorite bloggers because I’d convinced myself I needed to revamp my website and Instagram feed first. I’ve been putting off submitting story pitches to my favorite publication because I’d convinced myself I needed to improve my writing skills first. And I’ve been putting off taking See Jane Write beyond Birmingham because I’ve secretly wondered if anyone outside of my hometown would care.
But this is all bull shit.
I recently heard someone say, “You don’t have to get it right; you just have to get it going.” It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress. I say this to the women of See Jane Write all the time. Now I need to take my own advice.
So as I sat down to set my goals for September, I decided to pick five things I’ve been putting off and just go for it. Ashes to ashes, dust to self-doubt. (You’ll catch that on your way home.)
I’m sharing my bold goals in hopes that they’ll inspire you to set a few of your own.
As I sat in my home office with a notebook and my favorite planner before me, preparing to set my goals for this month, I heard a voice whisper to me. That voice said: “Don’t lose yourself.”
No, I’m not presumptuous enough to say that this voice was the voice of God. I believe this voice was my inner warrior woman that speaks to me often and helps me survive circumstances I can’t control and the consequences of my own foolishness, too.
And so, as I set my goals for August, I kept those words in mind.
Losing myself would be easy to do this month. This month the 2016-2017 school year begins, which means I go back to juggling my full-time job with all my part-time hustle. So in the midst of it all I have to make sure that working on my side hustle doesn’t result in treating myself like a side piece.
I can’t lose myself in teaching. And as much as I love my blog and my business, I can’t lose myself in See Jane Write, either.
Instead, I must find myself by writing for myself, while also making boss babe moves.
Here are five things I’m going to do this month and perhaps you should give them a try, too.