The Secret No One Tells You
…a manifesto for the discouraged
When you start chasing a dream, it’s new, it’s fresh. You feel inspired.
You decide on a focus. You start a blog to share your dream with the world. You set a schedule. Word counts, posting goals. You tweet. You write.
You watch as your traffic grows and you celebrate your tenth subscriber.
There are hard times, too. There are days when you really just want to stay in bed, but you get up and you slog it out. There are days when the words don’t come easy. You get in the ring, lace up your gloves, and come out battered and bloody with maybe only a couple hundred words to show for it.
You’re ready for that too.
You get back up and you keep doing it, just because it’s hard. You’re a pro, and that’s what pros do.
But there’s a little secret that no one told you when you were starting out:
there are days that you just can’t do it at all.
Those are the days that no one tells you about.
A Gift For You
I’m honored to share a short eBook that might encourage you when you hit one of those days when you just plain “can’t” keep going.
You can receive a free copy by joining my update mailing list here:
(Enter your email address in the box above, and click “Get it.” More details about the mailing list can be found here)
Here’s what a few dreamers have said:
“You are inspiring.” –Tammy Helfrich (Twitter: @tammyhelfrich)
“Wow, amazing story” –Pilar Arsenec (Twitter: @pilararsenec)
“I really feel like you wrote this just for me.” – Scott Kerzner (Twitter:@skottydog)
After you get back up…
Thank you for reading! I know there’s a lot of words out there in the world, and I appreciate the opportunity to encourage you.
If you liked it (or even if you didn’t), I’d love it if you would share your thoughts in the comments, and share this resource with others that might need it.
And thank you again for finding a little rest down here by my river.
*Photo Credit: Stephen Depolo (Creative Commons)
Thanks for your honesty about the whole process. I was very encouraged because you’ve persevered through some of the same struggles I’ve had. I admire your dedication and willingness to keep getting back up.
It really makes me want to hear more of your journey too!
Evan, you’ve been inspiring to me as you’ve packed up everything and moved halfway around the world to live a truly full life!
*W*O*W*
…is there an (((ECHO))) in here…?
Great Writing & Encouragement…My Wife & I have traveled many of the same paths as You and Mark in our Adoption Journey with Malachi.
Humor:
BTW, “Brick-hard Brown Sugar” softens right up in the Microwave…HA!!!
NJOY U’R WK…>
Thanks, Mark! Brown sugar softens up if you throw a piece of bread in the bag too, but that takes a while. I’ll try the microwave next time!
Friends and family sometimes just don’t fully understand how we feel, even though they are by our side to help us fix things when we’re stuck–often times, they don’t know what’s broken…and neither do we.
This manifesto is that good friend that “gets it”. The one that says, “It’s okay to feel dejected, demotivated, and depressed once in a while. We all fail. Now cut the crap and get back to it!”
After reading this, I felt compelled to immediately dust myself off, tend to my bruises, and get back in the game…with great enthusiasm. Your generosity in sharing this came at just the right time in my journey. Thank you.
It’s nice to know we’re not alone in our struggles, not because misery loves company, but because fear hates community.
You make a great point, Scott…As we fight for whatever our dream is, we learn to only show the enthusiastic positive side to the people around us, so they often don’t even realize when we’re feeling a little empty. So glad to have helped you when you needed it.
Very Well Said.
Njoy U’r Wknd…>
This was just the pick-me-up I needed today. Thank you.
Honored to help encourage you, Gabriel…you’ve been an encouragement to me as I’ve been hiding in my cave lately! thank YOU!
As a current corporate project manager who has also stumbled across Jon Acuff, first through SCL and then Quitter, and recently Jeff Goins, we do share a lot in common. I also notice many Zig Ziglar principles at work in your manifesto. I am still in the wannabe stage but with encouragement such as yours I may be ready to move to the next development phase of my dream soon. Thanks for the encouragement.