I wrote a children’s book years ago. I am generally my hardest critic, but I loved every single line. After receiving rave reviews from a few trusted sources, I decided to send the book to several publishers. The next day, I received four emails and three phone calls from interested parties. I was positively stunned! To make a long story short, one publisher was particularly moved by my writing and wanted to fly me to New York for a meeting. I realize how amazing this sounds, but everything was happening WAY too fast! I expected months of rejection and wasn’t at all prepared for possible success. So, I stopped answering the calls, ignored the book, and put the whole situation in my rearview. [Infuriating, right?!]

But, after my “Silence the Critics” blog post, I promised to work harder at not being my worst enemy. I’ve always put so much emphasis on making sure I never do things I’ll regret that I failed to notice the stinging regret that comes from not doing anything at all. So, I’ve decided to try again – along with a proposal to make the book into a series. Of course, I don’t expect the same reception as before. However, for the first time in my life, I’m more afraid of all I’ll miss if I don’t try than of what might happen if I do… And it only took forty years!

“Failing doesn’t make us a failure. But not trying to do better, to be better, does make us fools.”

― Wes Moore