Beating the Bully, Fear
Last week, I attended an amazing conference presented by Jon Acuff, satirist and creator of StuffChristiansLike.net. Jon’s new project, “Quitter,” is the story of how he transformed his life of serial job-hopping (eight jobs in eight years) into his dream job as a best-selling author and speaker with the Dave Ramsey organization. But more than that, Jon shared practical steps to replicate that transformation for any dream.
Just as one day was not enough to share all the lessons Jon has to offer, one blog post could never include all the takeaways (although other participants have provided wonderful recaps! ). But several of his points meshed seamlessly into this season of my life, starting with naming your dream and facing your fears.
For me, I’ve always known that writing filled me up. Writing has provided the moments when I have felt the most peace and the greatest accomplishment. I even feel good about editing a rockin’ email for a friend. Family, friends and coworkers have all encouraged me. You read me. While this doesn’t make me Stephenie Meyer or J. K. Rowling, I do have at least a couple fans that aren’t my mom.
Despite knowing this, though, it’s been crazy hard for me to find my voice and share it consistently. Last weekend, I learned how to stand up to the bully named “fear” that wants to silence this voice. Jon picked that bully into little pieces and blew him out of the room for me. When he tries to come back, Jon taught me and 180-some other people to slam the door in his face like a door-to-door window salesman. For me, for now, that rocks.
Now that the bully is gone, it’s up to me to act. to experiment. to give myself permission to fail gloriously at something that matters rather than to avoid failure by doing nothing at all. This means that you’re going to be hearing more from me. I hope to hear from you too….
Post a comment if fear is stopping you from taking a step toward your dream?
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About Christine
I am a writer, a project manager, and a corporate refugee with a heart for orphans around the world. My two daughters were adopted from Ukraine at ages 12 and 14. I post about writing, chasing dreams, and making a difference in the world, and sometimes I share fun snippets of fiction in-progress.
Nice post. Congrats!
Any hints on how to beat that bully called fear? Or did you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement?
While I did not attend the Quitter Conference I have read the book. Jon does share some great insights on conquering fear. As a coach at Christian school we are always encouraging our athletes to embrace fear and look for what God is teaching them through it. Here is the link to my blog post on being "Free From Fear" http://compete4christ.blogspot.com/p/pillar-5-free-from-fear.html
Hope it is helpful.
Beautiful!
@BokGwai, Jon shared an amazing number of practical hints in such a short time. Short list: Throw parties, experiment, don't let fear lie and tell you that failure at a task = failure as a person. …As i think about it, this is a whole additional post! Thanks for giving me another day of content!
@KurtEarl, thanks for sharing your blog….your message is powerful and i love that you're targeting Christian athletes, but that your message is applicable to so many others as well. Keep up the great work!
I wasn't at the conference nor have I read the book yet. But I'm following the hashtag on twitter and can relate to what everyone is talking about. I'm launching a new blog Sept. 1st. Good luck with your writing.